October2000
George Denniston
niston is presented to enhance safe flying
by providing balloonists the opportunity
to gain experience from others without
actually flying. The column is edited by
George Denniston who is a d octor and
balloonist living in Seattle, Washington.
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think we have all had one of those flights
where we are able to really hook someone
on the sport. I can attest to several pilots
andcrew now inthe sport who had their
first flight with either Carolyn or me. One
flight inparticular I will always remem-
ber for special reasons.
For a couple of years I worked on an
ArmyHelicopterprogramasaconsult-
ant.DuringameetinginAlbuquerque I
offeredballoonridestoseveralofthe
ArmyProgramManagersattendingthe
meeting. Onlyone accepted—a full bird
withmoretimeincombat
aircraftthanGod.Basedonhisno-non-
sense conduct in the meeting, he was one
ofthe last people Iwould have expected to
take me up onthe ride.
The flight day was one of those great
Albuquerquedayswhereastrongbox
was really working. I launched next to the
oldFiestafieldandasIclimbedoutI
explained theconditions to my passenger.
I also explained my planned flight profile
including what I hoped would be a splash
and dash in the Rio Grande. I offered to let
himflytheballoonifhe wanted, buthe
declinedsayinghe preferredtoride and
watch. As the flight progressed he talked
verylittle. I settled into what was for me
a very enjoyable flight. The splashandn
dash required a little maneuvering to get
intothewindsparallelingtheriver,but
resultedin a nice longtrip down the Rio
Grande among the colorful cottonwoods.
AsIclimbedoutoftheriverIex-
plainedthatIwouldbeshootingfora
landing in a nice grass field about a mile
away, where I also knew the landowner. I
radioed Carolyn andmycrew myinten-
tionsandtheyproceededtothepickup
point. I was able to maneuver to a landing
area onthe edgeof the grassnext tomy
crew.Thisfeatdidnotgounnoticedor
without comment by my crew because my
previousflighthadnotbeennearlyas
exact.
Untilnowmypassengerhadsaid
very little and I honestly thought that even
himtheflightwasprobablyprettyho-
hum. This somewhat gruff, nononsense,
Army officerstraight out of action comics
turned to me with one of the biggest grins
I have ever seen. He proceeded to say that
the flight was one of the most interesting
andenjoyableflightexperienceshehas
ever had. He then went on to say that the
flightwaslikesailinginthreedimen-
sions, atermI stilloften usetodescribe
balloon flight.
For the next twodays,themeetings
consisted of somebusiness and a lot of hot
air balloon talk. He returned toSt. Louis
and I receiveda very nice thank you card
fromhim.AboutsixmonthslaterIre-
ceiveda letterwithseveral picturesof a
beautiful new balloon. In his letter he said
he had taken an early retirement from the
Armyforhealthreasons,movedback
homeandboughta balloon. He thanked
meforintroducinghimtob allooning
which was allowinghim to continue fly-
ingeven thoughretired.
Sho rtlyafterreceivinghisletter,
Carolyn and I moved to Las Cruces. I did
not hearfrom him after that. Several years
later when I moved back to Albuquerque,
I learnedthathehadreallyenjoyedbal-
looningandflewthe balloonquitea bit
untilhisdeathfromthecancerhehad
beenfighting for severalyears. I am told
hisdecisiontoretire andgoballooning
came shortly after his trip to New Mexico
and hisfirst balloonride.
