Balloon Life,November 2000

20

Every October balloonists fromaround
the world journey to Albuquerque, New
Mexico to soak up the sun and fly over the
Rio Grande Valley with hundreds of their
friends.Thisyear,however,everyone
spentthe better part ofthe week grounded
soaking up rain drops.
Whileonly three morningflightwere
officiallycancelled, weather on twoother
days discouraged many participantsfrom
takingtheir balloonsoutof the bag. Many
were saying that it was the worst weather
year ever. I’m not sure about that, but it
certainly the worst in the last decade.
Balloon Lifereported 14 years ago
thatthe 1986 Fiesta saw three flyingdays
canceled due to bad weather, two for rain
andoneforsnow.
Onatleastone other
daythatyearhalf the
balloonswere
grounded when the
wind increased and
thefieldwasclosed.
Samethinghap-
penedonthelast
Saturday thisyear.
Lessthandesir-
able weather or not,
more than1,000bal-
loons registered for
the29addition of
The BigOne. An all
timerecordthatmay
notbe broken inthe
foreseeablefuture.
Officialsannounced

thatnextyear’sFiesta, the30anniversary,
will be limited to 750 entrants.
On the bright side, after many years
of promises datingback to the late 1980s,
thereisrealgrass on the south end of
Balloon Fiesta park. Not because of the
balloons, although the corporate guys got
thegood stuff, butbecauseitwillbea golf
drivingrange. In fact,partof thesoutheast
corner of the field has been lost to a golf
practice area.
The promise is for the entire field to
grass by as earlier as next year. Much of
the remainingarea will be used for soccer
fields.
The opening day broughtanovercast
cloud layer and the admonishment from
the weather guru to
“stayclose to home
and don’t fly long.”
Those who elected
toflyheededthe
active. Gas balloon
racewascanceled
that evening.
Sundaywas
worst. At 4:30 a.m.
it was raining hard,
remaining that way
allday.TheBIG
balloon glowSun-
dayeveningwas
washed right out.
Monday morn-
ing it wasn’train-
ing.Pilotswere
placedontwo30

1000 in 2000
Kodak Albuquerque
International Balloon
Fiesta

by Tom Hamilton

Balloon Life,November 2000

22

minute weather holds and then a 15 minute
weatherhold. At 8:15 a.m.it wasan-
nounced that the competition was can-
celed, but you could fly at pilots discre-
tion. Clouds loweredduring theflight
period. Again, gas balloons are canceled
in the evening.
Tuesday didn’t improve. No flying.
Althoughthe gas balloons did inflate and
takeoff during the evening. Two actually
launched with the hot air balloons during
the mass accession Wednesday morning.
Wednesday morning at 5:00 a.m. it
was pouring rain outside. At 6:15 a.m.
pilotbriefingthe skywasclearingandthe
flightwas on. The first competitive flight
of the week. There was a weak box and
withanovercastsky,thewindskeptchang-
ing. Around 60 pilots were able to reach
the target area and score.
Thursday, more rain and no flying.
Friday,actuallyaprettygoodweather
dayif youdon’twanttogoanywhere. The
special shapes finally got to inflateon
field for the crowd. That meant the restof
the regular shape balloonswent off field.
Where to take off from was the big ques-
tion. It was one ofthe thoselight and
variable days without a good upper level
wind to bring you to thescoring area.
Only seven pilotswere able navigate into
the field and score. From 3,000 feet AGL
it is very strange to see the large scoring
area withNO balloons any where near it.
Friday night the shapes held a suc-
cessfulglow. Weather seemed tobe look-
ing better.
On Saturday morning the sky was
clear, but the winds were starting tocome
up. Late in thelaunch the field was closed
due to high winds.
Saturday night’s regular shape glow
went off without a hitch to the delight of
thelarge audience that was starving tosee
the balloons.
The final Sundaylooked likeitmight
be a picture perfect day. While the sky
remained blue, the winds did come up.
Therideandcorporateballoons along
with some sport pilots filled the skies for
the farewell mass accession.
Everyone comes to Albuquerque in
early October to fly or watch balloons. If
badweatherdampenstheairactivitythere
isstillplenty to do. Side tripsto Santa Fe,
Carlsbad Caverns, Grand Canyon or In-
dian Pueblo. Day hikes like theLaLuz
Trail, to orfromthe Sandiapeak,or

The second Saturday
finally provided bal-
loonists and crowds
alike to enjoy the magic
of a night glow.

WellsFargo Bank con-
tinues the tradition of
sponsoring the Special
Shapes Rodeo. This
year the bank added its
own stage coach to the
parade of shapes.

Rain may have damp-
ened ballooning activi-
ties, but the clouds pro-
vided for spectacular
sunse ts on Sandia
Mountains.

George Stokes brought
a couple of his recent
creations to Balloon
Fiesta. These wear-
able, portable, blower
inflated, shapes were a
hit.

Balloon Life,November 2000

24

hiking in the Fourth of July canyon with
reds, oranges, and yellows of autumn fo-
liage.
There isalways plentyto do on field.
The Explorium for kids, large and small,
balloonmanufacturer tentsto visitfor the
latest innovations,andendless tailgate
parties to attend.
Forthose looking for the perfect bal-
loon related gift Albuquerque is the spot
to shop. Trips up and down concession
roworto OldTownAlbuquerqueare
guaranteedto discoverballoon objects
that you never though about or can’t live
without.
How didthe merchantsfeel aboutthe
bad weather. Turns out the smart ones
stayed open all day, no matter what the
weather. While they might not have sold
as much with better weather, they still
cameoutokay.How?Thetour buses
don’t operate on a balloonist’s schedule.
Hordes of spectators were brought to the
field throughout the day. And, they spent
money at the booths that remained open.
Next year is the 30 anniversary. Ex-
pectmore improvementstofieldbutfewer
balloonsregistered. Hopefully, the sunny
skies that Fiesta has become famous for
will be back to help celebrate.

Fiesta ground crews had to work over-
time to keep the launch field in shape as
mother nature rained on the Fiesta pa-
rade.

Right:Gas balloons finally made it into
the air Tuesday evening.
Above: America’s Challenge gas pilots
contemplate where they are going to go.
Below: Hydrogen was used for several
of the gas balloons. A first for a modern
gas balloon event in the United States.

Fiesta Facts:

Total number of registered balloons: 1019
Total number of registered regular shape balloons: 902
Total number of registered special shape balloons: 90
Total number of registered gas balloons: 27
Total number of estimated spectator visits:801,444
Total number of media organizations: 286
Total number of media representatives: 1,261
Total number of states represented: 40
Total numbers of countries represented: 22
Balloon Competition Winners: First prize in the hot air pilots’ competition
was awarded to Mike G. Bauwens, from Park, City, Utah.The winner in the
5th America’s Challenge Gas Balloon Race was David Levin from Boulder,
Colorado.

KAIBF Winners

America’s Challenge

1. Mike Bauwens - New Ford Truck
2. William Walker - New Subaru
Outback
3. Owen Keown - New Harley
Davidson Motorcylce

1. David & Alan Levin - 1998.09 miles
Gorham, ME
2. Richard Abruzzao & Carol Rymer-
Davis - 1710.49 Springville, PA
3. Troy Bradley & Earl Miller - 1236.69
Nolaw, Ontario