U.S. National Hot Air Balloon Championship

Columbia, Missouri hosted its third and final U.S. National Hot Air Balloon Championship in August. 76 pilots from around the country gathered to try and out maneuver one another to take home the title.

"Third times a charm" held for much of what will be remembered about ColumbiaÑexcept the weather.

Columbia was experiencing a drought. The last real rainfall was in early July. If this kind of weather patterns holds a record number of tasks could be flown.

Pilots begin to arrive early marking maps, driving roads, checking targets, reading the rule book and searching out potential launch sights.

Columbia sits in mid-Missouri, a land of green rolling hills, farms, and a honeycomb of powerlines. Half way between Kansas City and St. Louis this college town pulls out all the stops to put on a well run balloon championship.

The skies over town begins to fill with balloons. The anticipation of non-stop flying keeps pilots and crew double checking their maps and studying the rule book. Important since many pilots have lost the championship because of inaccurate maps or failing to follow all the rules.

With little rain the rural roads are very dusty. But not to worry, the balloons are in town. Things are bound to change.

And change they do. The weather looks questionable for a scheduled fun/media flight after the mandatory roll call and briefing on Friday evening. Already the bad weather is starting to rear its ugly head. A flight is flown none-the-less.

Saturday morning and the beginning of the competition. Event Director Dan Sherrill sends the pilots out on a three part taskÑPilot Declared Goal, Fly-In, and Fly-on tasks. Ceiling at briefing time is approximately 4,000 feet and winds aloft provide a 90 degrees or better of steerage.

The contest is on and 35 pilots will score within ten meters of their first goal. Not bad for having to find just right launch point, fly over town, select a goal that is far enough away from the main field, where the second target is, and avoid the red areas. However, not everybody read the rules closely enough. There have been some changes since last year and almost half the pilots flying receive a penalty on the first task. The vast majority are related to the amount of information about the goal that must be declared to their observer prior to launch.

According to the rules for a Pilot Declared Goal an eight digit map coordinate and a description or diagram of the goal must be placed on the declaration sheet. Fly-on tasks, a goal declared by the pilot after achieving a previous goal, only requires the eight digit coordinates be declared. Subtle difference for what is basically the same type of contest.

The contestant can be tripped up by other subtle little sections in the rule book. For example, say the pilot chooses an intersection on the map. They had better examine the map with a magnifying glass. Why? Because the fine detail of the map might show that the intersection is not exactly a perpendicular crossing of two streets. The cross street heading east-west might actually be off set ever so slightly. Now which intersection are you declaring. If you have not drawn that goal out correctly and stipulated which two street intersections you are declaring you will be measured to the lest advantageous.

The second task requires reading all the fine print on the task sheet. The pilot must make a gravity drop within the scoring area. Only four violations here. But, only 13 scores inside of ten meters. What a difference slinging the baggie can make.

On the third Fly-on task. Few violations here and many pilots will score inside of ten meters. The weather is changing however. By the time the last balloons land the 4,000 feet ceiling has dropped to below 1,000 feet.

Saturday night the winds are light. A fair competitive flight cannot be held. So pilot inflate and fly for the crowd. They didn't fly very far. Most barely make it out of the launch field, over the treeline, and highway, about a quarter mile, before landing 30 to 45 minutes later. What a show for all the freeloaders who are picnicking at the National Guard Armory where the balloons land.

Sunday morning Event Director Dan Sherrill calls a two part task. A PDG and Elbow. Pilots must fly at least 3,000 meters from the main field to their first goal. Then try and reverse their course and drop the second baggie, within 25 meters of the center line of a road, no more than 8,000 meters and at least 3,000 meters from their first baggie. The pilot with the best reverse angle, 180 degrees, wins.

Winds appear to only be heading north down low with a right turn very high up. All but two pilots select their first goal north of the field. As the balloons begin to lift off a tree top wind direction to the northwest develops. Two pilots change their goal to one in that direction and stay low. Riding the tree top wind will make it easier to achieve a favorable result in the elbow.

With the surface winds light, a one meter drop is not close enough to make the top 25 on the PDG.

Now it is off to altitude. Between 4,000 and 7,000 feet there are some very favorable wind directions. Those with enough fuel are able to navigate long enough to achieve a very good reverse angle. Most will have to terminal down from 7,000 feet to get close enough to the ground to make sure their baggies land close to a road.

Phil Glebe wins the task with a reverse angle of 179.94 degrees.

Sunday night's weather is very questionable. Competition is canceled but, the pilots are invited to fly for the crowd and balloon bucks.

Balloon bucks? Oh yes, if you fly a passenger for the organizer you receive 30 balloon bucks. Extra passengers on the same flight earn the pilot 10 more balloon bucks each. The pilot can then use these balloon bucks to purchase merchandise. Items like event shirts, hats, bread maker, pins, tote bag, you know, all the stuff you always wanted.

The questionable weather gets worse and showers do appear in the area. A cold front moves into Missouri and turns stationary. Over the next three days the stationary front moves back and forth over the festival sight. At one morning briefing meteorologist Lou Billones has good news and bad news. The good news is the front has passed the field. The bad news is that the front hasn't reached the airport ten miles away yet.

The drought is over and the theme for the 1997 U.S. Nationals becomes, "Let it rain, let it rain, let it rain."

With two flights and five tasks completed Bill Cunningham is the leader. Bill Arras, last year's second place finisher is in second. The 1996 champion, Pat Cannon, is in third place.

The joke on the field is that Cunningham is getting real nervous. If the weather doesn't break he will not have an opportunity to get to second place. Bill took second all three years the championship was held in Middletown, Ohio.

At the Wednesday morning pilot briefing Lou Billones was booed (cheerfully so) at the first briefing. In the hopes that the weather would improve Sherrill puts the pilots on a weather hold. At the supplemental briefing a hangman's noose is suspended above the speaker's podium with a tag reading Lou. Lou gets the message and solicits police protection as he commandeers a state trooper as a body guard. All in good fun.

With six straight competition flights canceled pilots are getting lots of rest, taking in movies, and actually having a real vacation just relaxing.

Wednesday is a scheduled night off and big party. The party is postponed and Sherrill calls for a pilot briefing. The weather has broken and an evening PDG is called. Pilot's can declare two goals and fly to either one.

With light and steerable winds you would think that this one would be a piece of cake and lots of baggies measured inside of one meter. With a setting sun and lots was small clouds this task is anything but easy. Changing winds cause the median distance to be 220 meters. Cunningham retains first, David Levin moves up to second, Arras drops to third, and Cannon is now eighth.

Thursday morning dawned with favorable weather and the vacation is over. A five part, six baggie flight is the order of the day. Sherrill calls a Fly-in and Minimum Distance Double Drop task at a local park. That is followed by two Fly-on tasks and a Maximum Distance Double Drop. Before they land most pilots will fly more than 20 miles to cover the necessary territory to achieve the best results.

Maybe the pilots have had too much rest. For this is a morning that will produce stories of humor and mistakes.

Calamity begins for some before they leave the field. One pilot tells his crew chief to take the baggies and observer to the chase vehicle while he visits the port-a-potty. When the pilot emerges and goes to his vehicle it is not to be found. The crew has taken the observer and left. Fortunately they realized that something was missing and came back for him.

Another pilot puts three of his baggies in his jacket pocket and gives the other three to his crew chief. At the launch site the crew chief makes sure that the three baggies in his care make it into the basket. The pilot takes his jacket off as the morning sun warms the field. He takes off with only three baggies onboard.

Bill Arras' crew chief tells him that he has been given too many purple baggies and Bill returns one to the officials before departing the briefing room. Two purple baggies will be used on the Minimum Distance Double Drop.

As Arras begins his inflation he double checks his baggies and potential targets. Suddenly he realizes that he is one purple baggie short. The task sheet says that a purple baggie is to be used on the Minimum Distance task. A misreading of the task sheet in the pilot briefing lead his team to think they should have only one purple baggie. Bill now realizes that he should have two purple baggies.

With a one hour launch window and subsequent one hour target window at the Fly-in and Minimum Distance tasks there is not time to drive back to the main field and retrieve the marker. Arras digs through his flight bag and finds a purple marker from another balloon event. He explains the situation to his observer. Places his competition number on the new marker and has his observer and another pilot's observer sign the baggie.

Balloons fill the air and make their way to Cosmos Park. The first balloons arrive and take a sharp left turn near the surface. Joe Heartsill is one of those balloons and he has a no result on the Minimum Distance task. He says later, "I got this sharp left turn, much sharper than I expected. I turned around and looked back at the incoming balloons. 60 balloons all went up and caught a right to compensate."

So much for reading the balloon in front. The trailing balloons all stayed to right. The left did a disappearing act. Only 15 balloons will get a result in the Minimum Distance Double Drop. One of those will be Bill Arras.

The Minimum Distance task has two triangles, sides are 40 to 50 meters long and are placed about 80 meters apart, that require a purple baggie in each. Closest distance wins. The Fly-in task X is in-between the two triangle scoring areas.

Of the balloons that miss wide right 15 drop their Fly-in task baggie on a ball field separated from the field where the target is by a small ravine. A maintenance worker comes along and picks all the baggies up. Realizing later that he has made a mistake he tries to put them back where he thinks they were. Officials will later confer with the affected pilots and try to reconstruct where the baggie should be measured from. There are some unhappy campers on this one.

While the Fly-in task baggie can land anywhere the Fly-on task baggies will only be measured within 25 meters of the center line of a road on the competition map.

The first Fly-on task must be 1,000 meters or more from the Fly-in marker and will be the first baggie in the Maximum Distance Double Drop. For those pilots who missed wide right of the park their day is going to continue to go down hill. Most have chosen a target that is line with the triangle and X at the park. And, the road leading away from that intersection to the east, read pilots right, doesn't go very far. Most pilots will not be able to drop until they are 900 meters north of their goal.

One pilot who is able to salvage a reasonable drop not only tosses his baggie but his map board and GPS fall off the basket and disappears into a strip mine. These maps take days to prepare. And, you must have one in the basket or you will be assessed penalty points. Not only is he going to have trouble with the rest of his flight but, it is going to be a long night for this pilot.

Another pilot on this first Fly-on task has an excellent drop near his goal. Winds are light near the surface. As the baggie lands a car pulls up and out steps a man holding a can of beer. The man takes a swallow of beer and picks up the baggie. The pilot asks the man, very nicely, to please leave his baggie alone because it is very important to him. The man takes another swallow of beer, makes a finger gesture at the pilot, and the baggie heads down the road in the car never to be seen again. That's a no result on two tasks and lost market penalty.

The way things are going many pilots will land with three markers in their baskets.

To achieve the maximum distance possible balloons are trying all altitudes to find the necessary right to get to the coffin corner of the Maximum Distance scoring area. Reportedly, at least one pilot went above 13,000 feet, without much luck.

The second Fly-on task must only be at least 3,000 meters beyond the first Fly-on marker and scored within 25 meters of the center line of a road on the competition map. The second Maximum Distance marker just has to land within the grid coordinates of the scoring area. Those two markers could land next to each other. There is an intersection near the maximum distance boundaries. Some pilots will declare and attempt to throw these last two markers in the same area.

The markers used to score the Maximum Distance Double Drop are both white. The second Fly-on task marker is light blue. David Levin drops both his markers from a reported 900 feet above the ground. His white marker lands within 25 meters of the center line of a road and his light blue marker does not. Levin tells the officials that he threw the markers out of order. He receives a 25 point marker out of order penalty for each. If not scored that way he receives a no result on the Fly-on task, worth about 400 competition points in this case.

That result will later be contested by another competitor who will eventually take his case to the Jury. The jury, based on the evidence presented, will uphold the Event Director's decision and allow the posted result to stand. It should be noted that three other competitors also were penalized for throwing there markers out of order on those two tasks. The rule allows for the penalty only if there is no competitive advantage gained.

Bill Arras is initially assessed a 250 point penalty for his unauthorized marker on the Minimum Distance task. He verbally appeals to the officials and reduction is made to 100 points. That leaves Arras 20 points behind leader Joe Heartsill. Arras puts his appeal in writing asking for a reduction to 25 points. It is denied.

Arras then takes his appeal to the Jury. The Jury turns down his appeal.

At the Thursday evening briefing Billones is creating with the chant, "Lou, Lou, Lou..." How a little good weather can change attitudes. The winds are too strong to fly and the forecast for the morning is not promising. Lou says that he will bring his police buddy with him.

About 1:30 a.m. on Friday morning a spectacular thunder and lightening storm begins over Columbia and last for three hours. The posted sign in the hotel lobby says it all, "Flight Canceled."

Friday evening Billones comes to the podium wearing a flax jacket and riot helmet with face shield. Winds given at the briefing are 15 knots with gust to 25. Prospect is of the wind settling to 10 knots by 7 p.m. A PDG where the pilot can select two goals is called. Pilots are send out to find their launch sites and told to monitor a local radio station where the final go/no-go decision will be announced. At 7 the flight is canceled.

Saturday morning is pretty straight forward. Surface winds are 10 knots and forecast to increase to 15 with gust to 30. Joe Heartsill is the new U.S. National Hot Air Balloon Champion. Arras's misstep costs him $5,000 and the championship.

The general consensus among competing pilots is that Dan Sherrill, although limited by weather, called excellent tasks for the flights that could be flown. The four flights and 11 tasks may be a record low for the U.S. Nationals.

There are likely to be additional modifications to the rules in coming years and further reassessment of penalties. Too often the championship is lost not by how well a pilot flies but, by how well they know the rules.

At the awards banquet the Mayor of Rantoul, Illinois talked about how excited his community is to have the championship coming to his town for the next three years. A team from Rantoul was in town all week learning from the Columbia organization.

For the first time since the U.S. Nationals left Indianola the organizer will not go bankrupt. The Wake Up to Missouri U.S. National Hot Air Balloon Championship has many things to be proud of.

Their landowner relations committee worked tirelessly to improve the community relations. Whenever the balloons flew the staff was in the field to assist immediately should a problem arise.

The local fire and police departments coordinated to provide superior support to the balloons while they were in the air and during recovery.

The organizers awarded $108,000 in cash prizes ($120,000 if all 100 pilots slots had been filled) to the competition pilots.

The biggest contribution to the success in Columbia was the more than 120,000 hours of volunteer time donated to make this event happen. And that does not count the volunteer local crew who took vacation time from work to get up early every morning and go to bed late after an evening flight.

Rantoul will have a hard act to follow. I bet they are up to the task. See you in Illinois in 98.

Top 25
1. Joe Heartsill Texas 9057 $15,000
2. Bill Arras Oregon 9037 10,000
3. Phil Glebe Michigan 8043 8,000

4. Bill Cunningham Tennessee 8588 5,500
5. Johnny Petrehn Kansas 8560 4,000
6. Owen Keown California 8481 3,000
7. Dick Goss Texas 8467 2,000
8. Bill Bussey Texas 8390 1,800
9. David Levin Colorado 8369 1,500
10. Brian Beazly Indiana 8307 1,350
11. Kinnie Gibson Texas 8062 1,240
12. Henry Rosenbaum Virginia 7994 1,225
13. Jon Nusrala Missouri 7944 1,210
14. Patrick Fogue Iowa 7891 1,195
15. Steve Wilkinson California 7876 1,180
16. Patrick Cannon Texas 7728 1,175
17. Harold Cliver Texas 7402 1,170
18. John Johnson Iowa 7396 1,165
19. Alan Blount Illinois 7185 1,160
20. Pete Fay Illinois 7171 1,155
21. David Edmister Nebraska 7155 1,140
22. Matt Matthews Texas 6927 1,135
23. William Walker New Mexico 6909 1,130
24. Mark Sullivan New Mexico 6825 1,125
25. Bill Clemons Iowa 6723 1,120

Top Female
26. Cheryl White Texas 6721 1,110
Rookie of the Year
41. Tom Schroeder New Mexico 6006 890
Plus $1,000
1996 National Points Champion - Robert Ambeau, Louisiana, Trophy and $1,000
Al Desmond Award - Bob Zanella, Ohio
Elizabeth Dumont Award - Lou Billones, Nebraska
Spirit of Annie Pryne Award - Mike Tuten
Top Five Fiesta Division
1. Larry Pugh Missouri
2. Theron Riley Missouri
3. Andy Beard Michigan
4. Bill Pautler Alabama
5. Don Stibor Missouri