BalloonLife,
March2000
North Carolina’s license plates may boast
“First inFlight,” butthefirst aerial voy-
ageinAmericatookplaceinPhiladel-
phia,110yearsearlierthantheWright
Brother’s little hop at KittyHawk.
ItwasJanuary9,1793,whenJean-
PierreBlanchardandhisdogascended
from a prison yard and landed in Depford,
New Jersey.The flight wasobservedby
President George Washington.
Balloonshave beenflyinginPenn-
sylvania ever since.
Somepioneering20th-centurybal-
loonistswhocalledPennsylvaniahome
haveincludedluminariessuchasTony
Fairbanks, Don Piccard, Peter Pellegrino,
ConnieWolf,FrancisShieldsandBob
Trauger.
“Pennsylvania has got a good history
behindit,”saidBobSparks,ofAllen-
town. “Peoplekept flying here when there
wasn’tanyflying in America.”
Fairbanks, whoflew gas balloonsin
Ohio prior toWorld War II, helped start
th eB allo o nCl ubo fAmericai n
Swarthmore in 1952, along with Piccard,
Wolf,Pellegrino,PeterWoodandBob
McNair.
“Therewas no balloon club anywhere
atthe time,”saidhisson, MichaelFair-
banks.“Itwasformedtocontinuethe
promotionof gasballooning.”
The group, thanks in part to Piccard’s
famousnameandmilitarybackground,
managedtoobtain11gasballoonsdis-
cardedfromtheNavywhichhadbeen
used totrainairship pilots.
The Wingfoot Lighter-Than-Air So-
ciety in Akron, Ohio formed in 1956, and
thetwoclubsevolvedintotheBalloon
Federation ofAmerica in 1961. Pellegrino,
whodiedin1999,wastheBFA’sfirst
president.
In1956,TonyFairbanksflew what
wasperhapsthemostrecognizablebal-
loon, La Croquette, in the movie “Around
the World in80 Days.”
“DavidNivenwassupposedtofly,
but he refusedtounlessthe balloonwas
on a crane,” Michael Fairbanks said.
TonyFairbanksdiedin1998atthe
age of 92.
AlthoughhelivedinNew Jerseyat
the time, Bob Sparks, now of Allentown,
Theballoonistshadfungettingto-
getherandtalkingabouttheir sport,but
never managedto flythat week.
“Itwaswind yandvisibilitywas
lousy,” Hager said. “There were tornado
watches, pouring rain, the whole works.”
The day after the event, however, the
weather wasperfectanda fewballoons
stayedtofly.
“Itwasthebiggestracethatnever
was,” Hagersaid.“Themerchantswere
furiouswithme,eventhoughitwasthe
best weekend theyever had.”
In hindsight, Hager said it was prob-
ably best that the event didn’t become an
Albuquerqueof the east.“We just don’t
have thecountry,” hesaid. “But46bal-
loonsback thenwas a heck of a lot.”
The state has managed to holdsome
large annual rallies. For the past 11 years,
up to 50 balloonists have enjoyed autumn
flying at the HersheyParkBalloon Fest.
The rally was votedthe best balloonfes-
tivalbyBalloon Lifereaders.Some25
pilots were onthe waitinglisteach year.
But the future of the rally is in ques-
tion. Balloonmeister DonDillon sayshe
isnolongeraffiliatedwithHersheyand
doesn’tknowwhetherasmallerevent
with a different organizer will happen this
year.
Duringthe Hersheyrally,pilots and
crewreceived $5,000 in prizes given away
inrandomdrawings.Giftssuchassix-
packs of soft drinks and tickets to hockey
gameswere given toeach landowner.
Richard Clark, a meteorologist from
nearbyMillersvilleUniversitywhohas
beenspeaker atmanyballoonseminars,
gave the weather briefings.
“Ifitwasgoodenoughtofly,we
made sure he had to fly,” Dillon said. “We
put him inone of the balloonsandmade
himfly it.”
One challengingbutbeautifulloca-
tionfor anannualballoonrallyisatthe
Shawnee Resort onthe New Jerseybor-
der. Pilots try to “shoot the gap” by flying
up theDelawareRiver, bordered by dense,
tree-lined mountains. The trick is to find a
safe landing spot without needing a repair
station.
“Shawneewasthemostbeautiful
place I’ve ever flown, but when I landed,
Liberty Bell balloon was commissioned
by Constance Wolf to celebrate the bi-
cen tennial of the U.S. Constitution .
BalloonLife,March2000
I kissed the ground,” said one pilot.
Flyingcan be challenging inwestern
Pennsylvania as well. About30 balloons,
many corporate and special shapes,fly
each year near downtown Pittsburgh in
the annual Three Rivers Regatta Balloon
Classic. The rally is partof a larger event
that draws1.2 million spectatorsover
four days.
“The event started in 1980 and the
balloons cameafew years later,” said
Kevin Poeppelman,who organizes the
balloon portion of the festival.
Balloonsascend from a park next to
the Allegheny,Ohio andMonongahela
rivers and compete in a hare and hound
race for cash prizes or trips.
“It’sconsidered by a lot of pilotsone
of the three toughestevents to fly outof,”
Poeppelman said.“But the guys feel it
hones their talents. It’s not a place where
you want to have light winds. You want
low surface winds but also winds to kick
you out of the city at least four miles.”
Butthere’s plenty of gorgeous—and
easy—flying in the state.
Meadville,between Pittsburgh and
Erie, has plenty of farmland for its sanc-
tioned competitions, one of the few sanc-
tioned events in the northeast.
And Lancaster’s rural suburbs and
rollinghillsmake itthe perfectplaceto fly
a balloon, said Ed Heltshe, who can fly
360 degrees from his tree farm.
“Every other field isalfalfa,”he said.
“And there’s a lot of Amish people here
(who don’t use electricity), so we don’t
have a lot of wires. You can land on the
roads or land in alfalfa and walk it out to
the road.”
Hager and Heltshe said there were
probably once more than 20 active bal-
loonistsin Lancaster, butthat number has
dwindled. A saturated ride market, pilots
losing interest and urban sprawl are rea-
sons, they say.
Severalballooncompaniesstilloffer
rides in Lancaster, ranging from $135 to
$165 perperson,pilots say.Afterall,
there’s somethingodd about flying a bal-
loonover Lancaster’s Amishand Menno-
nite farmers, who travel in a mode that
predates ballooning:horse and buggy.
“Aslongas youdon’t ruintheir crops
and ask first before you go in and be nice
tothem, there’s no problem. If we land in
theirfields andthere’stimeformore
flying, we ask them if they want a ride,”
saidSherryWillauer,presidentofthe
John WiseBalloonSociety ofCentral
Pennsylvania.
The club was named aftera 19th-
centuryballoonistwhowasbornin
Lancaster. JohnWisemade hisfirstflight
in 1835, when he was 27. He made 462
more during his 44 years of ballooning—
before he was lost presumably over Lake
Michigan.
Pennsylvania is also home to one of
the largest balloon clubs in the country.
About350membersinPennsylvania,New
Jersey and neighboring states are mem-
bers of the Great Eastern Balloon Asso-
ciation. Some members have decades of
experience while others are newcomersto
thesport. The clubpublishesa newsletter,
hostsmeetings, an annual safety seminar
and club competitions.
“Ourmissionisto involveclubmem-
bers,promoteballooningandstayon
friendly termswithlandowners,” said
GEBA President GeneBurnstein. “We
have social events for the club members,
andalandownercommitteetohandle
difficult situations with landowners”
NeighboringNewJerseyhas
struggledwithlandownerissuesforyears.
Despitethe drop inballoonpilotsand
thediscontinuationof ralliesinplaces like
Quakertown and Williamsport, balloon-
ingisenjoyingsomewhatof a renaissance
inthe past few yearswithgasballooning.
BertPadelt, of Allentown, operates a
balloon repair station and builds experi-
mental hot-air and gas balloons. In last
year’s RE/MAX Cup National Gas Bal-
loon Race, half of the 20 teams entered
used helium balloons built by Padelt.
He charges $23,000 for a complete
1,000cubic-meterballoon,orjust$14,000
for an envelope that can be hooked to a
hot-air basket.
Padelt said the use of ammonia as an
inexpensiveliftinggas“openedsome
eyes” about the possibilityof less expen-
sive gas ballooning. The global attempts
and successful long distance races have
also helped.
He estimates there is more than 100
active hot-air balloonistsin the state, and
a dozen ormore pilots who hold a gas
balloon rating. Mostcan trace their inter-
est to Tony Fairbanks, Don Piccard and
the other foundersof the Balloon Clubof
America, he said.
BalloonLife,March2000
Clubs:
Great Eastern Balloon Association: About 350 members from Pennsylvania, New Jersey and neighbor-
ing states. Three meetings a year, in February, May and November, awards dance, safety seminar, picnic,
club competition, landowner program. Annual dues: $20 for pilots, $30for families, $15 for associates
which includes a bi-monthly newsletter. Contact: P.O. Box 635, Holland, PA 18966. www.dca.net/geba/
geba.htm
John Wise Balloon Society: About 125membersfromPennsylvania and surrounding states. The club
sponsors a seminar each March. Seminar attendees are automatically members. Otherwise, membership
is $10a year and includes aquarterlynewsletter. The club alsohas a landowner program and holiday
banquet,but no regularmeetings. Contact: P.O. Box 5023, Lancaster,PA17606.Internet www.johnwise.net
Events:
PottstownFourthofJulyHomecomingCelebration/BalloonRally,20balloons,threescheduled
flights around the Fourth of July infun competition, passenger rides anda glow. Contact: Blair Beard,
1840 SwampPike, Gilbertsville, PA 19525. 610-326-6789.
HarborFestinHarborcreek, northof Erie, mid tolate July, 15balloons flyfive flights, from Friday
throughSunday evening infuncompetition, paid rides and glows. Other eventsinclude carnival rides,
entertainment andfireworks. Contact: Harborcreek Chamber of Commerce, P.O. Box 92, Harborcreek,
PA 16421. 814-899-9173. www.harborcreek.com
Pittsburgh Three RiversRegatta Balloon Classic, first full weekend in August, 30 balloonsfly from
Point State Park as part of amajor festival which includes Formula One race, stern wheel races, an airshow
and major fireworks display. Contact: Kevin Poeppelman, 26809 Haines Road, Clarksburg, MD 20871.
301-881-6262.
MoscowCountryFair,12balloons,firstweekendinAugust,withtheMoscow CountryFair. Three
eveningfunflights,FridaythroughSunday. Contact:DougLane,1049N. SekolRoad,Scranton,PA
18504. 570-3441221.
PennsburyLand Trust Hot-Air Balloon Festival, mid-September, 25 balloonsfly three flights from
FridaythroughSaturdayevening 30miles southof Philadelphia. Proceedstobenefit landpurchase to
preserve from development; $1,000 cash purse, bestdressed crew award. Contact: RickSchimpf, P.O.
Box711, Paoli, PA 19301. 1-800-826-6361.
Shawnee Fall Foliage Balloon Festival, weekend after Columbus Day, 25 to 30 balloons fly from a resort
at the Delaware Water Gap at the New Jersey border; two flights scheduled on both Saturday and Sunday,
paidrides.Contact:KellyFigler,1River Road,Shawnee-On-Delaware, PA 18356.1-800-742-9633.
Internet www.shawneeinn.com/balloon.htm
•Meadville
Lancaster •
Philadelphia •
