Balloon Life,October2000

36

Plainville Fire Company
Hot Air Balloon
Festival

by Jim Ellis

LOGBOOK

The16thAnnualPlainvilleFireCom-
panyHotAirBalloonFestivalin
Plainville, Connecticut, southwest of Hart-
ford,sawnearperfectweatherforthe
August 25-27, 2000 event. Any balloonist
interestedinattendingisinvited,butno
free rooms are providedor sponsor rides
required, somost of the balloonists who
participate areConnecticut Lighter-Than-
Air Societymemberswhodrive infrom
home.
There was no Friday night flight, but
therewasastreetcarnivalandsocialat
Norton Park.About a dozen balloons teth-
eredbeforesunsetandparticipatedina
NightGlowafterward,withtheGlow
followedby fireworks.
Saturday morning’s amazing weather
forecast was for clear skies with light and
variablewindsatthe3,6,9,and12
tho usandfootlevels.Locallow-level
winds still provided a good north to south
flow downthe valley to Southington and
other areas to the south for the 30 balloons
that took tothe skies.
Saturdayevening’sflightwasabit
morechallenging,withgentlebreezes
headedwesttoeasttakingmanyofthe
balloons towardandovertheoldindus-
trialcityofNew Britain.Visibilitywas
excellent,andtheHartfordskylineand

the Connecticut River valley were clearly
visible.Aftertheflight,rallyorganizer
Dale Martin and his fellow Plainvillefire-
men hosteda dinner for pilots and crews
at the Plainville Fire Company building in
town.
Sundaymorningprovidedyetan-
otherflight,withathirddirectionona

third flight. Balloons choosing to stay low
flew at a leisurely pace south to north over
Plainville toward Robertson Airport, while
those that flew higher againheaded east.
Threeflightsoutofthreeinthree
different directions, with gentle winds for
landing.Doesn’tgetmuchbetterthan
that!

Saturda y evening’s launch from Norton Park in Plainville, Connecticut.