by K.L. Thompson
New Mexico is unquestionably one of the premier ballooning states in the union with the famous box winds, the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta, and the Adams Family of Ballooning. The Adams what? All this time you thought it was that crazy family on television.
Now there is another Adams Family, the Adams Family of Ballooning. It's a group of balloonists that fly Adams brand balloons. At current count, there are fifteen balloons in the family. But they are always looking for more. Another common denominator is all of the balloons are named after angels or have angel as part of the name. And as it happens, all of the pilots are from New Mexico, with the majority living in or around Albuquerque. The Adams Family is also known for having some of the largest crews around. Get them all together and you could easily have over two hundred people.
It all started with Sam Baxter who is considered
the "Father" of the Adams Family. He purchased his first Adams
balloon, which he named Angel Wings, in 1979. He named the balloon Angel
Wings because as he put it, "I believe in angels and if you are going
to fly something and put your butt on the line, if you will, you want something
positive in the name." The tradition stuck throughout the group.
Not long after Sam purchased Angel Wings, he had his pilot's license and six months later, his commercial license. The flying bug hit many of those around him and Sam soon found himself with several students including Anita Moya, his first student. Shortly after, Jimmy Hill and Jeff Stocker, now Adams Family pilots, followed. Things just kind of snowballed from there. Sam says, "There is a certain amount of pride in being considered the "Father" of the group. It's kind of an honor. It really is."
Today the Adams Family is well known to the New Mexico ballooning community, not only for the number of balloons in the group and their prodigious number of crew members, but also for their volunteerism in promoting ballooning. The family is involved in an ongoing project to make flags and pennants to decorate the entire perimeter of the Balloon Fiesta Park. They also decorate the Adams Family pedestrian gate at Balloon Fiesta with colorful panels and banners at the south end of the flying field. Helping to defray the expense of these projects is the sale of the Adams Family Cookbook, a collection of favorite tailgate recipes. The Family is also contemplating volunteering for Habitat for Humanity to extend their service beyond the ballooning community.
There are no official rules regarding membership in the Adams Family other than pilots must have an Adams brand balloon. Nick Griffin, PR man and web site guru for the Family said, "The fact that all the Adams Family balloons are in New Mexico is just a simple fact and in no way restricts other Adams balloon pilots and their crew from being members. You should understand however, that a special camaraderie exists because of the flying and other interpersonal activities that result in such a close knit group."
Sam put it another way, "It's the people who make ballooning, the ones who make it happen. I've always believed that. The Adams Family has a reputation for having the largest crews in the world. Fine, the more the merrier is the way I look at it. If there's something to learn, let's do our best to teach it, and conversely let's do our best to learn what's being taught. With this kind of philosophy, things just kind of blossomed. I can't emphasize enough that people make it happen."
As you may have guessed, camaraderie is an important ingredient in this ballooning "family." And one of the more interesting ways they have fostered that feeling is with a road rally through New Mexico every second year. The inspiration for the rally came from Sam and his sisters, Robbin Busick and Marge Baxter. They wanted something that would bring the pilots and crews together in a non-ballooning setting. The next one is in November '98. Sam enthusiastically said, "It's a whole lot of fun. The last rally winner has to put on the next one. It involves about 40-50 couples and you take off from a particular spot with a goody bag of clues. You start following these clues which are equivalent to a New Mexico history lesson. You never know where you're going to be that night. In the process, we discover the beauty New Mexico has to offer." The Baxters are native New Mexicans and thought this would be an excellent way to introduce pilots and crew (many of whom are not natives) to the state.
There is no limit on the number of balloons in the Adams Family. It's an attitude of the more, the merrier. It's estimated though that only two hundred (Sam's estimate) Adams balloons were made during Michael Adams life, the designer and manufacturer from Peachtree, Georgia. Current repair stations include Scotty Rickett's, who worked for Michael, and Bob Willbanks' in Snellville, Georgia.
Sam has kicked around the idea of buying the design and building more Adams balloons with fellow balloonists but it all comes down to money. Sam wistfully acknowledged, "Do we want to, yes. Do we have the money, no." He estimates it would take at least $100,000 to get it started because he said, "We would have to build about three balloons in each category and then we'd have to go through the battery of tests for FAA certification. You're looking at least a year's worth of testing and building with no money coming in."
.What makes the Adams so unique
is its deflation system, often referred to as a "pop-top." The
fabric at the top of the balloon is gathered on a rope about 18" long,
with a loop at each end. The crown line is attached to both loops. One loop
is threaded through the eye of the other loop and then held secure by a
metal pin. The metal pin is attached to the gondola by wire cable (the red
line) which allows the pilot to pull the pin out of the loop. Then the pilot
releases the crown line which allows the fabric to slide down the crown
line, opening the whole top of the balloon (about 30 feet in diameter),
which immediately releases the hot air. Anywhere from 8-10 seconds later
the balloon is fully collapsed. Anyone who has been dragged along the ground
in a high wind landing in other makes can appreciate this fast deflation
method. Adams did manufacture some parachute top balloons, and two of the
current Adams Family, Angel Twist and Enchanted Angel are of that design.
Sam Baxter has a testimonial to the Adams pop-top feature on the Adams Family web site. He says one of his best moments in ballooning was when he landed in a 30 mph wind and walked away with zero damage to the balloon system or himself. He feels it's all because of the pop-top.
For more information about the Adams Family and their balloons, you can visit their web site at: http://www.geocities.com/Yosemite/Rapids/1111, designed and maintained by Al "Nick" Griffin, Crew Chief emeritus for Bob Woodall. Maybe you too will decide you'd like to "fly with the angels."
