left the earth, and Deptford, New Jersey
claims rights to where the first U.S. bal-
loonistlanded. While those achievements
maybe hard to top in the world of balloon-
ing,
Nebraskapilots hopehistorywill
remember their state as home of the first
modern hot-air balloon flight.
It was October22,1960 whenEd
Yost tested the contraption he
madeforRavenIndustriesof
Sioux Falls, South Dakota. He
selected a deserted World War
IIbom bertrainingbasein
Bruning, Nebraska totry outhis
balloonwithitsnewfangledair-
borne heater.
“When we talk to kids in
schools, we tell them that bal-
loonswere notalways whatyou
see us flyingwith, withthe pro-
paneburner.The start of that
camefromNebraska,”said
PeggyHart,whowithother
Nebraskaballoonenthusiasts,
hopes to raise $4,500 to pay for
acommemorativemarkerin
Bruning. Balloonists and clubs
fromasfarawayasEngland
have contributed to the project.
The idea for themarker was
born in September, when mem-
bers of an informalballoonclub
talked about the possibility.
“I was looking in a book
anditmentionedEdYost’s
flight, then we noticed it was
goingtobe 40years,”Hartsaid.
The local historical society
wascontactedandagreedsuch a
marker was in order.
“There’s nottoo many things that go
on outhere, so when somethinghappens,
we have to let people know,” Hart said.
“He really did something neat. He basi-
callyis thestart ofwhat we’redoing
today.”
Once the money israised, the marker
will beerected along Highway 4,just
south of the Bruning Air Field. Yost se-
flight after flying over it in a plane several
years earlier.
The area isunused now and available
for anyone, including balloonists, to use
as they want, Hart said.
More than 40 years later, Nebraska
has about 20 active balloonists: about a
dozenbetween Blair,Omahaand Lin-
McCook,BrokenBowandCampbell.
Nearly half of the 20 balloonsin the state
arehomebuilt,manymadebyKen
Kennedy, of Broken Bow.
There are no designated examiners,
no repair stations, and just acouple of
rallies with fewer than 10 balloonists in
attendance.
No active balloonists are believed to
be flying in western Nebraska, although
there used to be balloonists and an annual
balloon rally in Scottsbluff.
The state’s largest city, Omaha, was
hometotheAirForce’s StrategicAir
Commandandremains acommunica-
tions center.During the cold war, tele-
communications lines were centered in
Omaha,aboutasfarfroman
international border as you can
find in the U.S.
But all that technology is a
non-issueforLouBillones, a
Omaha-area meteorologistwho
has flown balloons since 1979.
Perhaps best known for provid-
ingexpertweatheradviceto
numerous balloonists attempt-
ing tosetrecords or encircle the
globe, Billones is right at home
at his own command center in
his den.
“It doesn’t matter where I
am, I’m able to be mobile,” he
said. “I can be any place in the
world as long as I have a tele-
phone line, my laptop computer
and electricity. I turn this place
into a little weather station.”
BalloonistRonCordray, of
Omaha,says he doesn’t mind
flying over the city,althoughhe
doesn’t do it regularly.
“It’snotthatbigof a city, so
if you’ve got some wind, you’ll
make it over,”he said.
But most Omaha-area pi-
lotschoose toavoidthe conges-
tion,airportandOffuttAirForce
Base, so they fly 20 or 30 miles
out of town, or across the MissouriRiver
in Council Bluffs, Iowa.
Evenoutinthe country, landingspots
can be limited in the summer before the
crops are harvested.
“We try to land in newly-developed
subdivisions,”said Cathy Leunenburg, a
formerdesignatedexaminerwholives
near Omaha.
Pilots not near the population centers
in Omaha or Lincoln enjoy plenty of el-
bow room to fly in the center of the state.
“We can fly 20 or 30 miles and not
havetoo much of aproblemfinding a
place to land,” said Kennedy. “We have
wideopenspaces.Youdon’thaveto
worry about hittingany buildings.”
About a quarter of the state is Sand
Hills country, grassy and treeless. There
are rollingprairiesanda lushvalleyalong
the Platte River which slices through the
lower partof thestate from North Platteto
the Missouri River, south of Omaha.
Wind poses the biggest problem for
balloonists,along withmiles of cropsand
largerancheswith livestock.Kennedy
says responsible balloonists should stay
highabove them toavoidcreatinga stam-
pede.
“When your livelihood depends on
farming, as most of ours do in this state,
youareveryconsciousoffarming,”
Kennedy said. “The key is to see cattle
and avoid them. If you can’t get to 2,000
feet, stay on the ground.”
KevinLehmann,aballoonist and
farmer from Eustis, flies over vast pas-
NebraskaBalloonClub, about30members, 12 of them pilots,meetmonthlyin theOmaha area, monthlyclubflightsApril
through November, social parties and educational meetings every quarter. Dues are $20 per household and include an
infrequent newsletter. Contact: 1633 Lafayette St., Blair, NE 68008.
Anselmo Big Sky Days, northwest of Broken Bow, third weekend in June, 5 balloons fly four fun flights, Friday night
through Sunday morning, community meal, wagon races, parade, barbecue and a pancake breakfast in a community with
about 200 population. Contact: Ken Kennedy, Route 2, Box 73, Broken Bow, NE 68822. 308-872-6245.
Yorkfest, in York, the weekend after Labor Day, 8 balloons fly Saturday and Sunday morning with a Saturday evening
balloon glow; fun flights, some paying riders. Contact: Rich Condon, 2219 S. 88th St., Omaha, NE 68124.
He said Nebraska is known for its windy
days.
“We have maybe 60 flyable days out
of the year, and less than 20 percent are
standup landings,” he said.
“Thirtypercent ofthe time we sched-
uleit, itwillhappen,”said RichJaworski,
president of the Nebraska Balloon Club.
“And that doesn’t count the winter sea-
son.”
Jaworski, of Blair, on the Iowa bor-
der, hasnever attempteda splashanddash
ashe’sflownover theMissouriRiver into
Iowa.
“It’sgota good current toit,”he said.
“We don’t splash and dash many other
timeseitherbecausetherearen’tthatmany
lakes.”
Instead, roadside landings are com-
mon.
And in the winter, many Nebraska
balloonistspack it up until spring.
“Once we get snow, the fields stay
mushy,” Leunenburg said.
But other Nebraska pilots have en-
joyed winter flying. They’ve competed,
and won, long jump competitions, flying
MostNebraskapilotsaremembersof
the Nebraska Balloon Club, which meets
in Omaha. The club, about 25 years old,
schedules monthly events or parties and
tries to have club flights April through
November.
Many ofthe balloonists not living
nearOmahastartedtheirownballoon
club. The OuthausBalloonClubismostly
a tongue-in-cheek organization with no
dues, officers, newsletter or agenda.
While mostof itsmembers belong to
theNebraska BalloonClub, it’sa several-
hour drive toOmaha to attend club meet-
ings.The Outhaus groupwasfoundedone
year when a snowstorm prevented those
in the center of the state to make it to the
banquet.
“We’re basically a close-knit group
offriendswhogettogetherforkids’gradu-
ations.We’refamily,”saidHart,of
Campbell, who crews for her husband,
Chet. “Most of us in our group, we go to
a rally because we like to fly, to be to-
gether and to have fun.”
memorative marker in Bruning may
be sent to:Ed Yost Historical Marker,
P.O. Box 186, Campbell, NE 68932.
Putthe account reference #206-264on
the memo line.
Blair •
• CozadOmaha •
Lincoln•
O
