January 2000
yearswe have spent our
Labo rDayattendi ngtheCo lo-rad o
Springs Balloon Classic. This year would
bealittledifferentsincewe
wouldbedoingthefirstroad
trip in our new chase vehicle, a
one tonSuper DutyFordvan.
Wefinishedinstallingthelift
gate, put in a specially designed
floor,loadedtheballoonand
equipment,andwerereadyto
drive the 350 miles to Colorado
Springs. We arrivedon Friday
September 3, checkedintothe
AntlersAdam’sMarkHotel
(our sponsor thepast 8years),
went through pilot registration,
and the pilot briefing. After the
briefingtherewasaGetAc-
quainted Reception tokick off
the2 3rdAn nu alCol orado
SpringsBalloonClassic.
At the pilot briefing Satur-
day morning we were informed
that theweatherconditions were
almostideal.Weallheaded
backto our launchspotstoget
our aerostatsready for flight. I
launchedearlyinthesecond
wave, carrying our sponsors on
theirfirstflight.Afterflying
down the lake that shares space
inthepark,Ifoundanarrow
layer of wind that took me back
tothelaunchfield.Thewind
was veryslow so I was able to
boxed back to the field. We landed back
on the field after we received the OK from
Balloon Classic
Officials.Over twentyballoonsfol-
lowedusbacktothefield,muchtothe
delight of the spectators.Later I was in-
formedthatthiswasonlythe
second time in23 years of the
Classic.Saturdayeveningwe
allattendedaMexicanbuffet
heldina largetentnexttothe
launchfield.Afterthebuffet
some ofthe balloonsputona
Balloon Glofor a huge crowd
that came for the Glo.
Sundaymorning’sflight
was cancelled because of high
winds.Afterhearingthecan-
cellationweheadedofftodo
breakfast at a downtown eatery
with our local crew, then we all
headedupto ManitouSprings
tocheckoutanartshow that
has become a yearly excursion.
Monday morning the flying was
great, although the winds were
almost to light & variable. We
flewseveralmilesinalittle
ov ero neho ur,landedan d
packeduptheballoon,refu-
eled, then headed offto the Fare-
wellAwardsBrunchbackat
the Antlers Hotel.Mostof the
balloonist’sattendthebrunch
sothattheyhaveachanceto
win one of the many prizes that
areraffled offduring the brunch.
You have tobe there inperson
to win.
Be h r m a n n
