June 1999
flocktoHotSpringsNa-
tionalPark toenjoythe 143-degree water
thatflows from the ground. Butthey don’t
getanyhotairwiththeirwater. The flying
terrain forballoons around thepark is
pretty rugged.
“It’sverytouristy,but youcannotfly
around HotSprings,”saidBuelWortham,
a balloonist from Maumelle, a suburb of
Little Rock. “It’s surrounded by national
forest. There’s no place to land.Every
time you get over a road, there’s a power-
line. A couple of people have done it, but
they get down and say never again.”
Northern Arkansasprovides easier
flying,eventhoughthere’smountains
among the hills.
“I’m flyinginthe Ozark Mountains,”
saidMike Mills, a balloonistfrom Ponca,
ontheBuffaloRiverNationalPark.
“They’re only 2,400 feet high, but when
you land on the side of one and have to
MostballoonistsinArkansasfly
morningsandevenings, but Millsusually
sticks to mornings so he doesn’t get be-
calmed in the woods. “A lot of balloon
pilotscome here and say, `Where do you
land?’ “ he said.“The secret to landing
here is beingable toland ina fieldthe size
of a postage stamp.”
When he was director of tourism for
thestate in 1984, Millstookthe governor,
Bill Clinton, foraflight aroundLittle
Rock.
“Itwas a short ride and we had a state
patrolwithus.Itwastodoitto sayyou did
it,”Millssaid. He has retained hisfriend-
shipwithClintonandvisitedthe president
in the Oval Office a couple of years ago.
Arkansaspilots estimatethereare
about 25 active balloonists in the state.
About half of them are near the capital,
Little Rock, in the center of the state.
One isMike V aness, who said flying
over the city isn’t recommended. It’s too
close to the airport and its Class C air-
space.
“There’s not a whole lot of landing
areas either,” he said. He prefers flying
over the farm country of Conway, about
30 miles to the north.
Georgia-Pacific owns much of the
pineforestssouthof LittleRock.Thestate
has more than 17 million acres of forest.
AnotherLittleRockpilot, Wayne
Woods,whohas beenflyingballoons
since 1977, said pilots who like variety
and a challenge should fly in Arkansas, a
large rice-producing state.
“We’ve gotdeltacountrytothe south
and east, and mountains to the north and
west,and rolling hills in between,” he
said.
The flying season typically is mid-
April through December. While Arkan-
sasdoesn’tget muchsnow, winter usually
brings high winds and rain.
Most balloonists in Arkansas don’t
flyforhire- the largestballooninthe state
isbelievedtobe 105,000 cubicfeet.Those
who docharge$150-$200 perperson.
The rest prefer to fly together with other
balloonistsfor fun on the weekend.
Two balloonistsfly systems bearing
state mottoes. Vanness flies one withthe
Arkansas Balloonists Association:
Duesare$15,or$25forfamilies,
includesquarterlynewsletter, Hot Air.
Contact: P.O. Box 13096, Maumelle,
AR72113. www.aristotle.net/~mikev/
Ozark Balloon Fest in Bentonville,
May 7-9, 20balloons. Glow Friday
night;competition flights Saturday
morningandeveningandSunday
morning;tetheredridesfor charitySat-
urday.Contact:ChristineDoyle,
Bentonville Chamber of Commerce,
412SouthMain,Bentonville,AR
72712. 501-273-2841.
Arkansas State Balloon Champion-
shipinHarrison,30balloons,firstweek-
end in October. Scheduled events:Fri-
day nightglow; flights Saturday morn-
ing and evening and Sunday morning.
Keygrabforavehicle,competition
flightswithprizemoney.Contact:
Evelyn Mills, 3566 Highway 397 S,
Harrison, AR 72601. 870-741-9452.
Arkansas BalloonFest inMaumelle,
50 balloons, last weekend in October.
Scheduled events:BooloonGlowsFri-
dayandSaturdayevening,withcompe-
titionflightsscheduled Saturday morn-
ing, eveningandSundaymorning.Fire-
works and $5,000 prize money. Con-
tact: Lisa Crossland, P.O. Box 17288,
LittleRock, AR72222. 501-851-8941.
June 1999
the University of Arkansas sports teams.
About30membersbelong tothe
Arkansas BalloonistsAssociation. Meet-
ingsare heldoccasionallyattheMaumelle
Library, 10 miles north of Little Rock.
“We talk about FAA issues, preventing
red zones,pilot experiences and safety
topics,”said MikeWilson,the club’svice
president. “We have lots of meetings we
don’t talk about anything related to bal-
looning. We just get together for fellow-
ship.”
There’s no sanctioned flying and no
designated examiners for balloons in the
state. John Toombs, of North LittleRock,
operates a repair station part time.
Bentonville, a town of nearly 20,000
with lots ofopenspacesin northwest
Arkansas, planned itsfirstrally thisMay.
Therallywasanaturalformanycorporate
balloonsbecausehundredsof Fortune500
companies have offices in Bentonville,
where Wal-Mart is headquartered.
The state’s largest rally, the Arkan-
sas Balloon Fest, in Maumelle, features
about50balloonsaroundHalloween.
Three flightsare scheduled as well as two
“BooloonGlows.” Non-sanctioned com-
petitionis held,with $5,000inprize
money.
Balloonrallieshave been inHarrison,
about a half hour south of Branson, Mis-
souri, since 1992. The flights were typi-
cally tied inwith an existing air show. No
air show is planned in 1999, but organiz-
ers of the Arkansas Balloon Champion-
shipshave joinedthe Harvest Homecom-
ing festival in early October, said orga-
nizer Evelyn Mills.
About 30 balloons are expected this
year. Aglow isscheduledFriday evening,
with two flights scheduled Saturday and
oneSundaymorning.Non-sanctioned
competitions areheld to determine the
state champion.Even if an out-of-state
balloonist wins, they are dubbed the Ar-
kansas State Champion.
And plans are “upin the air”for this
year’sForrestCityHarvestFestivalRace,
heldthefirst weekofOctobernearly
every year since 1980. Previously, about
25 balloons were scheduled for a Friday
night glow, and three flights with infor-
mal competitions. Forrest City, a town of
13,000 about 50 miles west of Memphis,
also held a barbecue cook-off, rodeo and
rice tasting luncheon.
