The ideal speed is 4-6 mph.
"We'll typically fly anywhere from an hour
to two hours. It's based on the fuel you have
on board. Wind speed obviously dictates how
far you go. Winds are never exactly the same.
Where you think you'll land and where you
actually land ae two different things. That's
why you have a chase crew on the ground with
radio communication." The crew has a trailer
the balloon is hauled in and communications
are constant to project where they will meet
the balloon.
"I've flown anywhere from where I took off
and landed only a couple hundred feet from
there. Or I've flown 30-40 miles away from
where I took off."
At the festival, kids and grownups could
take a tethered ride for $10. They could also
stick around for the evening glow, an awesome
spectacle where balloons are tethered to the
ground and lit up like huge lanterns. "With
a dark sky and the contrasting bright
colors of the balloons, the glow is
sensational," observed Wayne
Rhodes of Fayetteville, who
took the photographs
for this story. Austin
explained what the glow
is all about. "There's a
glow burner that throws
a brighter flame but it
doesn't shoot the heat
quite as high in the
envelope as the main
burner does. When you
use that one, it lights
up the balloon even
more."
While the
competitions are
called "races," they're
not about speed at
all. Austin said the
competition has to do
with accuracy. You start
at a point and fly to a
destination. For one
race, 'Xs' are placed
on the ground and
you get as close as you
can and throw a beanbag.
Whoever gets closest gets the
most points." With another race,
"there's a pole with a ring on top that
you try to grab." Austin competes in races
once a year and always scores in the top five
or six.
For pleasure flights, he usually takes
passengers with him, including his wife, Hailey,
and three-year-old son, River. "But primarily
I fly people who never had that experience."
Austin, who is a fixed-wing, private pilot,
decided to add another endorsement as a
balloon pilot. To earn his license, Austin trained
with an instructor, then soloed in the balloon.
"I flew for a while to build the hours, took the
written exam and a check ride."
What made him choose to fly a hot air
balloon? It happened in 2012 after he took his
first balloon flight in 2012. "I was hooked."
Photos courtesy Wayne rhodes
www.officialKidsmag.com • NoVember 2021 • 27
