State of Ballooning

Balloon Life,September 2000

Maine

Therearejust as many activeballoon
pilotsinMaine than there are people who
havelaunched balloons thereandsuc-
cessfully flown across the Atlantic.
“We have about 10 activepilots,”
said Tom Handcock, of Portland.
Not bad, considering more than 85
percent of the state isforested. More than
half of Maine’s 1.2 million residents live
between Augustaandthe NewHamp-
shire border. Balloonists have a narrow
strip of fieldsbetween the forests and the
rockyAtlantic coastline to fly without
worrying about destroying their balloon.
“We have to be pretty careful when
we take off,” Handcock said. “Outin the
midwest, you have competition. Taking
off and landing safely is all the challenge
anybody needs.Wedon’t need to add
anything to the adventure up here.”
Butthe effort is worth it. Once up in
the air, it’s not hard to glance one way to
see islands off the Atlantic coast, and see
Mt.WashingtoninneighboringNew
Hampshire on your other side.
“We do see a lot of deer, and occa-
sionally afox,but if you seeamoose
down here, it’s sick,”Handcock said.
Brian Carlton sees plenty of moose
whenhefliesin Caribou,innorthern
Maine. And the flying there is great, al-
though a bit remote. Caribou, acity of
10,000whichoftenboasts thecoldest
temperatureinthe lower 48states, isabout
15 miles west ofthe NewBrunswick,
Canada border.
“It’s open farm country with no red
zones,”he said. “Thenearestballoonwas
three hours south of me in Bangor.”
There are numerous farms in north-
ern Maine; the stateis famousnot onlyfor
its lobster, but for blueberries and pota-
toes too.
The biggest precaution while flying
near Caribou used to be Loring Air Force
Base, which requiredCarltontobe atleast

five miles away. When the base closed in
1993, Carlton was free to launch from the
end of a runway and land atthe other end,
12,000 feet away.
“That made a fun target to fly into,”
he said. “We often thought they ought to
havethe nationals herebecause it was
such agreat placeto fly.But nobody
wanted to drive that far.”
But remoteness has its advantages.
Maine has been launch spot of several
historical transatlantic crossings, includ-
ingthe Double Eagle II from Presque Isle
in 1978,JoeKittinger’ssolo flight in
Rosie O’Grady’s Balloon of Peace from
Caribou to Italy in 1984, and three suc-
cessfulcrossingsduringtheChrysler
TransatlanticChallengein1992from
Bangor.
A permanent monumentwas erected
in the launch field used by the Double
Eagle II crew in Presque Isle. Carltonhas
inflated and flown next to it.
“Itlookslikejustanotherfieldamong
thousands,” he said.
Those historic flights provided the
seed for another ballooning accomplish-
ment, the largest passenger carrying bal-
loon,builtby 20people who wantedtoset
a record of their own.
Handcock spearheaded the effort to
buildtheSuper Maine, a2.6millioncubic
footballoonthat carried 61 passengers 50
feet on a tether on Feb. 19, 1988.
“Peoplewerecoming here trying to fly
across theAtlantic, these multimillionaires,
thefirst thing they unloaded werefourLand
Rovers. We couldn’t compete with that,”
Handcock said.
Their plain white balloon was made
from Tyvek.
“We were able to glue the seams with
food adhesive so we wouldn’t have to sew
it. The seams were stronger that way,” he
said.The plywood basket was constructed
not to exceed 8 feet in width, so it could be

transported down any road.
The 220-foot-tall, 1,060-pounden-
velope was onlyinflatedfor abouttwo
hours onfrozen Sebago Lake, about 15
mileswest of Portland. But it waslong
enough to make it into the Guinness Book
of World Records.
“Itsatnextto mygarage for three
years,”Handcock said. “Eventually, Itook
it to the dump.”
Because meeting another balloonists
in Maine is so rare, there are no balloon
clubs there and only one repair station.
Thereusedtobeasmallrallyin
Caribou, but the only annual rally in the
state now is held each August in the towns
ofLewiston and Auburn, separated by the
Androscoggin River.
About 35 balloons participate in the
Great Falls Balloon Festival, which offer
paid passengers a nice view ofmountains,
hills and lakes.
Maine has2,500lakesandponds,
whichprovide easy launch andlanding
spotswhentheyarefrozenduringthe
long winter season. But there’s only 70 to
100 clear days a year, Handcock said. His
passenger-ridebusinessrunstypically
mid-May through October.
“MarchandAprilareusuallytoo
windy, rainy and wet,” he said.
Pilots should avoid Portland’s Class
C airspace, butpermission isoftenob-
tained to fly in it if the tower is contacted
in advance, he said.
Handcocksometimeslaunchesa
quarter of a mile from the ocean in a sea
breeze, then flies inland. About 60per-
cent ofhis passengers are tourists, he said.
Touristy Kennebunkport, aretreat for
George and Barbara Bush, was a popular
place to fly. “Once he became president,
we had to notify the Secret Service when
we took off,” Handcock said. “They don’t
like surprises.”