Page 44 2015 Lincoln Balloon Festival LINCOLN DAILY NEWS.COM September 1, 2015
Saturday at the Balloon Festival
starts lousy, ends lovely
On Saturday morning, pilots for the hot air balloons
participating in the Lincoln Balloon Festival gathered
at the airport at 6 a.m. At the time Mother Nature
was showering the area with light rain. Under those
circumstances, it was obvious that the hot air balloons
would not be flying into the airport for their annual
target competition. During the discussion at the pilots
meeting, pilots learned that the chances of rain in
the early morning hours were 30 percent, and it was
indeed raining. For later in the morning the chances
would increase to 40 percent, which meant that
delaying the fly-in was also not an option.
With much disappointment, the pilots retreated from
the airport, as did several spectators who had gathered
to see the competition. The pilots determined they
would hold off on making decisions for the evening
flight and glow until the 5:30 p.m. pilot meeting.
Mother Nature continued to put down a light rain
that ranged from what most would call ‘sprinkles’
to something close to a ‘shower’ until about mid-
morning.
In the afternoon, the rain stopped completely, but the
heavy cloud cover continued into the evening. At the
evening pilot meeting, it was determined that though
there were clouds, conditions were otherwise good for
a lift off and glow on Saturday night.
Public Announcer Cameron Kurtz may have become
the most popular guy at the Logan County Airport
Saturday when at approximately 6 p.m. he announced
that there would be a launch and glow.
The wind was pushing the balloons in a north-easterly
direction when they lifted off, making for a beautiful
sight for those who were on hand to watch. And there
were plenty of people on hand.
Throughout the evening hours, folks came to the
airport with great expectation. Thousands gathered on
the grass runway and surrounding are to watch as the
balloons inflated. Around the area spectators dropped
their blankets and lawn chairs in the midst of the
balloons and filled the green space to a capacity not
seen before.
To those who have been attending the festival at the
airport for the last several years, the number of people
appeared to be larger than years past. While it will
be a while before the Logan County Alliance has the
estimated attendance numbers figured out, anyone you
ask at the Alliance would surely tell you they were
pleased with the Saturday night attendance.
When the pilots were all in line on the west side of the
grass runway, the anticipated time had finally arrived.
The balloons referred to as envelopes were unloaded
and laid out. The baskets were put into position, and
the large fans began filling the envelopes first with
cool air, then flame heated air to make them stand up.
In the midst of this activity, several pilots and crews
suddenly loaded up their vehicles and left the airport.
It left several wondering what had happened until
announcer Kurtz solved the mystery.
Because there had been no fly-in Saturday morning, it
was decided that some of the pilots would go off-site
to inflate and fly into the airport. Kurtz announced
that they would be coming in, flying low over the
target area they would have aimed for in the morning
completion. They would then regain altitude and fly
on past the airport.
