24th Kodak Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta

The Big One!

by Tom Hamilton

The annual trek to Albuquerque for this fall spectacular of color has become a seasonal rite for many. With almost 900 pilots registered, thousands of loyal crew, thousands of Fiesta volunteers, and a million spectators, this event has become the focal point for the world of ballooning during early October.

Given the enormous logistical requirements of this event, it is a tribute to the many people that orchestrate Fiesta that it runs like a well oiled machine. Just consider trying to get 876 pilots registered, briefed, and ready to fly.

Rod May, in his second and final year as Balloonmeister, set the stage early for a fun and safe Fiesta. The pilot briefing tape this year departed from its light hearted approach of the last ten years. The objective of any director is to have a safe and enjoyable event. For ballooning weather is often the key element. In the past this magazine has taken Fiesta to task for some of the go/no-go decisions.

Not this year. Two flying days had some questions as to whether the winds would be safe. May and his staff evaluated the situations carefully and did not hesitate to keep the balloons on the ground. On key grab day there is a lot of pressure to fly the balloons if at all possible. A fast moving cold front was approaching and the weather wizards were unsure of the speed of the winds behind it. The flight was canceled. The right call no matter what the weather turned out to be.

Being the biggest balloon event brings out the media. There were 1166 registered media types. Among them was ESPN. KAIBF has been selected as one of "America’s Great Events" a series that profiles unusual and challenging events on ESPN. Balloon Fiesta will be one in a series of one hour programs for national and worldwide distribution. The ’95 Fiesta will air twice on ESPN, ESPN 2 and ESPN International, with the first national airing on Friday, December 8, 1995.

Future balloonists had a opportunity to get a hands-on experience during Fiesta. The center attraction of the ’95 Balloon Explorium was an actual "basket" in which kids could get in and "burn" the burners just as if they were flying in a balloon.

Special Albuquerque classroom tours were conducted Monday through Friday at the Balloon Fiesta. Many of the kids had assignment sheets and went around looking for pilots to complete their answers. Some of the questions required knowledge of balloon equipment terms not used for two decades. More than one pilot was stumped trying to give answers.

In addition to being able to get in a balloon basket and "burn," there was a computer simulated balloon flight, video tapes of balloons and high wind landings with several balloon oriented weather displays, a frozen bubble machine, electronic games dealing with the history of ballooning and fabric displays explaining the difference in fabrics used for balloons.

For each of the primary pilots AIBF increased the showup money to $200 plus returning the entry fee of $90. Although this amount might not cover lodging for nine days of Fiesta, pilots, primary and secondary, did not have to worry about buying meals. The Albuquerque Aerostat Ascension Association provided free breakfast on field to pilots and crews.

The real bonus came from Shoney’s restaurants. Each pilot received a card in their pilot pack that entitled them to three meals a day throughout the entire Fiesta- breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Fiesta hopes to add one more bonus for pilots in the near future.: a new launch field with grass. Although it will probably not be ready for next year, the area known as the north gravel pit will become the new home of Balloon Fiesta Park. This location will have a permanent infrastructure to accommodate the many support and vendor services. The new site is expected to be able to accommodate 1,000 balloons. Fiesta expects to be able to fill the field given the long waiting list to get into the event now.

Many of the special shape balloons came with their own special characters	76 special shape balloons took part in the Special Shapes Rodeo and Glowdeo

Fiesta has gone from being one big event to many small ones, all housed in one place over nine days. Massive displays of balloons on the weekends, competition during the week, night glows, special shapes rodeo and glow, gas balloon races, tailgate parties galore, zoo party, sights of New Mexico, vendors of everything balloons, and meeting of old and new friends.

Next year will be the 25th anniversary. If you want to overdose on ballooning this is the place to be.

Number of balloons              671
Number of special shapes         76
Number of hot air pilots        876
Attendance              1.3 million
Gallons of propane           97,000
Official programs sold       30,000
Official balloon pins        16,000
International pilots            104
1995 budget              $3 million
Number of vendors               100
Gass balloons                    12
Registered media               1166

1. Bruce Bussey          $10,000
2. Mark Bowie            $ 7,000
3. Johnny Petrehn        $ 5,000
4. Bill Bussey           $ 3,000
5. Jodie Smith           $ 2,000
6. Phil Glebe            $ 1,000