Page 24 2015 Lincoln Balloon Festival LINCOLN DAILY NEWS.COM September 1, 2015
Windless night not much for
hot air balloon distance,
but still memorable
LINCOLN - On Thursday evening after the ribbon
cutting at the Logan County Airport, a few members
of the media had a chance to go on a balloon flight.
With little wind, just five of the balloons lifted off.
Though a bit nervous about being airborne, I went
up in the “Luck Is In The Air” balloon piloted by
Ed Dowling of Lincoln. Dowling and his family
gave it this name because the balloon has a rainbow
descending from a pot of gold.
Lifting off from a spot near the runway, the balloon
rose about 300 feet in the air, smoothly gliding over
the cornfields and landing near the hangars several
hundred feet away. It was a very calm experience
floating along with the wind and seeing an aerial
view of the world.
After a bit of a bumpy landing with some assistance
from Pat Doolin, the crew, which included Joe
Jones, Rick Zimmer, Hayden Zimmer and Eric
Henrichsmeyer, got to work rolling up the “envelope,”
which looks a bit like rolling up a very large sleeping
bag. The balloon was then put into a bag and loaded
up in a trailer.
Once the balloon was put back in the trailer, Dowling
gave the traditional champagne toast, reciting the
balloonist’s prayer, which states “The winds have
welcomed you with softness. The sun has blessed
you with its warms hands. You have flown high and
so well that God has joined you in your laughter
and set you gently back into the loving arms of
Mother Earth.” Dowling explained that this tradition
started back in the 1780s when balloonists offered
it to pacify the farmers whose field they landed in.
The balloon website explains that “The champagne
convinced the farmers that they were not in fact
demons and acted as an apology for disturbing the
land and animals grazing in the field.” Now, it is a
way to toast a good flight.
Dowling has piloted hundreds of flights. He has
