July1999
tween 275 and 300 days, he said.
A unique aspect of flying in the re-
gion is that there’s usually always some
cut field to land in regardless of the time
of year. Practically every vegetable and
fruit isgrown in California, known asthe
Salad Bowl of America.
“The farmers are so efficient here,
there are alwaysfieldsthat are inbetween
crops,”Stockwell said. “If they don’tget
seven cuttings of alfalfa a year, they go
bankrupt.”
Stockwellhosts several informal ral-
lies every year. Many aren’t advertised,
well attended or open to the public.
He says holidays are good reasons to
fly together, so on Easter, Halloween and
New Year’s, there are events scheduled.
Awards can be given for the best picnic
lunch or dessert inthe tailgate party, with
silver-lookingawardspurchased from flea
markets andgaragesales,atechnique
stolen from Don Piccard.
“Wedon’tplanthem that much. With
an event that small, we can wait untilthe
last minute,” Stockwell said.
Onlypilotswhose skilllevelheknows
personallyor who attend hissafety semi-
nars in November and March are invited
to his festivals.
“Wedon’twanta lot of balloons,”he
said. “Some of our events have been run-
ning 20 years and we have a waiting list.
Most of the time, we just want to have
fun.”
About a dozen of his friends fly in
Newman on Labor Day Weekend during
theCaliforniaHot AirChampionship, not
tobe confusedwiththe California HotAir
Balloon Championship held elsewhere.
“Sometimes its 30 miles to the tar-
get,” Stockwell said. “The target is usu-
ally so far away, no one can reach it.”
Another event had pilots flying over
a 3,800-foot mountain to an airport 37
miles away.
“One contest went without a winner
for three years,” he said.
A more traditional rally is held the
thirdweekendinSeptember, whenup toa
dozen balloonsflyin Alturas, in northern
California’s high desert. The community
sells rides forthe event to payfor the
balloons to visit.
Sonnichsen’sWHAMOBASSrally-
short for Whiskey Hill/Antherton/Menlo
Oaks Ballooning and Sporting Society -
claimsto be the oldestcontinuingballoon
Suffolk Spring Spectacular and
BalloonFest, 60 balloons, first week-
end in May; five flights,withkey grab,
$5,000 in prizemoney. Other events
include an air show, tractor pullandcar
show. Contact: Rene Meier 804-694-
5800.
Lake Gaston HotAirBalloon
Classic, 35 balloons fly inGasburg, on
theNorthCarolina border, theweekend
before MemorialDay;fourflights,BFA
sanctionedand$15,000 inprize money.
Contact: RoborJettaSchantz,P.O.
Box 51591,Jacksonville Beach,FL
32240. 904-247-1241.
Chautauqua Festival,30bal-
loons, Father’s Day Weekend in June;
balloon glow Friday, with three flights
SaturdayandSundayneartheBlue
RidgeMountainsinsouthwestV irginia.
Part of a 10-day cultural festival, with
artsandcrafts,entertainment, playsand
symphonies; passenger rides. Contact:
FredBrown, P.O.Box693Wythesville,
VA 24382. 540-686-4660.
One Valley Balloon Rally, Lex-
ington,20balloons,FourthofJulyweek-
end at theVirginia Military Institute
parade grounds; six flights scheduled,
tethers. Contact: Don Miller, P.O. Box
Lexington,VA24450.540-261-
5056.
Flying Circus Balloon Festival,
20 balloons, held in Bealeton the third
fullweekend inAugust. Inconjunction
withfixed-wingandparachuteairshow.
Informal competitions, flights Satur-
dayandSundaymornings andeve-
nings.Contact:JohnKing, 6555Stoney
Road, Midland, VA 22728. 540-439-
8611. www.flyingcircusair.com
Claytor LakeStateParkBalloon
Rally,15 balloon invitational, Labor
Dayweekend;oneglow,threefun
flights. Contact: William Harr, 15415
BriarwoodLane, Abingdon,VA24210.
540-676-4464.
Rural Retreat Lake Regatta, 10
balloons fly the first weekend in Octo-
ber;informalrallywiththree funflights,
picnicandcamping.Contact:Fred
Brown, P.O. Box693 Wythesville, VA
24382. 540-686-4660.
The ShenandoahValley Hot Air
Balloon FestivalatHistoricLong
Branch, 30 balloons, third weekend of
October;glowFridaynight;flightswith
paying passengers Saturday and Sun-
day mornings and afternoons froma
historical housemuseumand former
plantation.Contact:P.O.Box241,
Millwood, VA 22646. 540-837-1856.
http://www.historiclongbranch.com/
Virginia Beach •
Balloonistsdon’t receive accommo-
dations and typically are paid $25 to ap-
pear. Paid rides may or may not be avail-
able. The Flying Circus Balloon Festival
is strictly for fun, said King, of Midland.
“We try to provide a call to the public to
promote the Flying Circus. The airplane
pilotsbasically donate their planes for the
show. It’s a love of aviation.”
The contests that are held are purely
optional.
“Nobody is pressured,” King said.
“If you decide you are just too tired, fine.
If you don’t likethe conditions,fine. This
is a very low-key operation. There’s no
theydon’t havetoplease
anybody. Folks who come just feel like
part of the Flying Circus family.”
Drawingsare oftenheldforfree aero-
batic plane rides. One drawing per bal-
loon team,so eitherthepilot orcrew
member gets to fly.
Rene Meier, a native of Switzerland,
started a balloonride and repair business
in Gloucester, just east of Williamsburg.
“It’s a difficult area to fly, but it’s a
spectacular placeto fly,”he said. “It’sjust
overwhelming withthe coastand the riv-
ers and the bays. It’s just something very
special.”
July1999
as the only balloonistin 1965 and tries to
limitit to50 balloons each year. The rally
isheld each November atWestHillsCol-
lege in Coalinga, west of Fresno as close
toMontgolfier Day as possible. Balloons
aren’t sponsored andthere’s not much
competition.A trophy, usuallyintheform
ofa seismographina glasscase, isawarded
by a judge who reviews poems, stories,
essays or drawings done by the pilots.
InSouthernCalifornia,untethered
balloonsare rarelyseen inOrange County,
home to Disneyland.
“There are a million places to take
off, but noplace tolandpredictably,”said
Gary Eaton, of Placentia.
Instead,he often flies in the Perris
Valley desert to the south. Perris was the
former hot spot for Southern California
balloonists, with more than a dozen bal-
loonsfillingthe skiesweekendmornings.
Now there are onlyone or twoeachweek-
end, Eatonsaid. The area istotallyflatand
there’s not much trouble to get into.
“You don’thavelandownerprob-
lems. It’s agreat placeto give lessons
becauseit’sveryforgiving,witheasy
access for the chase crew.”
Many others preferto fly in more
scenic Temecula,about 25 miles to the
south.
Balloon clubs cater to pilots in the
southern and northern parts of the state.
About100 members belongto the Pacific
Coast Aeronauts, to the north. They hold
club flightsa couple times a year, as well
as parties.During a safety seminar last
November, eight balloonseasily inflated
insideanoldNavalblimphangar atMoffett
Field.
MikeCharles,presidentofthe South-
ern California Balloon Association, said
his clubformedmanyyearsagoasa
composite of several smaller clubs at the
time. They hold quarterly meetings and
schedule monthly flights of up to 20 bal-
loonsinvariouslocales, suchasTemecula,
Lake Perris, Indio, Lancaster and Apple
Valley.
California relies heavilyonitstourist
trade, and where there are tourists, there
are balloons. Big ones. The tourists keep
balloonistsbusy in Del Mar, justnorth of
SanDiego. Pilotsthroughoutthestate and
inDel Mar saycompetitionbetweencom-
mercialballoonistsisfiercethere. In1993,
more than two dozen ride operators ad-
vertised for a chunk of the market.
Recreationalpilotsgoelsewhere, such
asRiversideCounty,said Tiemo V on
Zweck.
Del Mar,on the Pacific coast, fea-
lowingafternoon flights, a rare commod-
ity in California.But, as is the case in
manypartsof thecountry, developmentis
slicing awaymuchoftheirtraditional
flying area, Von Zweck said.
Jim Bilotta, of Encinitas, sometimes
launches aquarterofamile fromthe
Pacific in Del Mar. “We’re quickly run-
ning out of landing area in Northern San
Diego,” he said. “The landing is pretty
tight.”Buttheflyingisprettypredictable,
with consistent temperatures all year.
“We havemoreflyable days here
than maybe anywhere else in the world,”
Bilottasaid.
InPalmSprings,the bigballoons
operate for resorts and conventions, but
not in summer, when it is too hot. Peak
season, in the winter, is called “highsea-
son” not for the ballooning, but because
it’s so expensive to be there.
About six companies operate large
balloons over the wine country of Napa
Valley, northof SanFrancisco. On a good
weekend morning, asmany as 16 bal-
loonscan be seen in the air, said pilotJay
Kimball.
“In the‘80s, you might haveseen
20,” he said, but some operators now fly
withballoonsthat can hold up to 16 tour-
ists.
KimballsaidNapa Valley, aboutfive
miles wide and 25 miles long, may be the
largest commercial flight corridor any-
where. Each company likelycarriesthou-
sands ofpassengers a year, at $175 to
$200 per person, Kimball said.
Flightsare just in the mornings—up
to 250 days are flyable. The saturationof
balloons for more than 20 years over the
same landowners once caused the board
of supervisors to consider banning bal-
loons, which they said were flying in an
agriculturally-zoned area without a use
permit.
“This is probably one ofthe most
conservative, tightly-controlledvalleys,”
Kimball said. Onedamaged grape vine
can cost a pilot $1,300, he said.
Balloonistsconducteda door-to-door
survey and found 90 percent of Napa’s
residentssupportedtheballoonists,
Kimballsaid. Asa compromise, thepilots
agreed to form the Napa Valley Profes-
sional Balloon Pilot Association and es-
tablished a hotline to takecomplaints
from residents.
“Mostof them work with us. We’ve
established a professional industryhere,”
Kimball said. “We land in places we be-
long.”
AndNapa Valley balloonistsarealso
millions locally in hotels, food and other
purchases.
Robert Allen, a former Napa pilot,
found a way to skirt landowner problems
three years ago. He launches and lands
balloonsfromhispersonal,patented
$500,000 aircraft carrier in the middle of
Lake Tahoe.
The catamaran, 120 feet by 20 feet,
has fold-out arms making it60-feet wide
to accommodate the balloon. Passengers
meet in the marina then ride the boat out
in the water as the balloon is inflated.
“Thevesselmoves withthe windand
matches it,”hesaid. “It’seasierthanland-
ingon the ground because you don’t have
to navigate to a spot.It doesn’t matter
what direction you go.”
The entire operation had to be ap-
provedby theCoast Guard,whichre-
quiredhim todemonstratea water landing
and deflation. The launch boat can travel
20 mph, but he also has life jackets on
board and alistof availablepowerboatsin
case of an emergency.
Allen also hadto win overafew
residentswhowereprotective oftheir
lake. They initially objected to his pro-
posal, saying a balloonwas “visualpollu-
tion.”
Lake Tahoe, at6,200feet, is22 by 12
miles long. Its center isa border between
CaliforniaandNevada.Tourists flock
there for two seasons: water sports and
camping in the summer, and snow skiing
in the winter.
Thesurroundingmountainsoften
produce drainage winds over the lake in
the mornings, so the running launch is
needed. Allen never flies in the evenings,
butsometimes gets two or three flightsin
duringthe mornings.He says thermalsare
minimal because the cool water doesn’t
heat as quickly as land.
Severalballoonistsalsofly innearby
Carson Valley, oftenreferred to as one of
themostbeautifulvalleysinNorth
America.
Flightsareyeararoundandthe
weather cooperates about200 daysa year,
Allensaid,eventhoughtheSierra
Nevada’s can produce turbulent winds.
During his flights, he climbs about
4,000 feet above the water.
“We have seen as far as the coastal
foothills150 miles away,” Allen said.
And there’s notroublewith land-
owners.
“Here,weneverscareananimal,
never ruin a crop or hit a power line,” he
said.
