September 1999
it’s not hard to travel to another state. But
getting to New York by flying over Long
Island Sound in a balloon was the concept
for one eventin Connecticut.
Long Island Sound America,orLISA,
was held from 1978 to 1992. Taking offat
dawn from Norwalk, a couple dozen bal-
loonists each year attempted to scoot across
theSound—eightto25milestoNew
Yorkdependingontheroute—andfind
their wayback. Chase boats were puton
standby just in case, and were used a few
timeswhenthe winds puttered out.
“Mostofthetimewemadeit,a
coupleoftimeswehadboatlandings,”
saidPatAnderson,whoorganizedthe
event. “There were lots of propane tanks
transferredand passengers too.”
Balloonists usually had to find a vol-
unteerwithapickuptruckontheNew
Yorksidetohelpthemgettheirequip-
ment to shore so the chase boat could take
them back toConnecticut.
“We always recommended hitting the
shoreline because the biggestestates are
on the shoreline,” Anderson said.
With such achallengingtask, pilots
hadtoberesourceful.Theyfoundany
landingplacetheycould,rangingfrom
ripe tomatofields toa freshly duggrave.
One pilot landed next to a ferry dock
justas hiscrew wasgettingoff the boat.
Anotherballoonist attempting to land
ona smallspitof landwoundupwitha
sailboat mast piercing the balloon’s equa-
tor.Thesurprisedboater,whohadan-
choredthe 40-footyachtovernight, was
Geraldo Rivera.
“Hewasn’ttoopleased,”Anderson
said.
The Coast Guard was always helpful
andachaseplanemadesureeveryone
landedsafely eachyear.
Unfortunately,theeventceasedin
1992 due to lack of funding.
“We had wonderful ideas and a won-
derfulprogramtocelebratetheSound,
didn’t have sponsors,”Anderson
said.“Itwasanon-profit,basicallybe-
cause there was not profit.”
Eventhoughthe LISAeventhasn’t
con tinu ed,thereareo therballoo ning
eventsthestate’s65activepilotscan
attend.
About 20 balloons fly in Bristol each
Memorial Day weekend. The rally, which
datesbacktothemid-1970s,offersfun
flightsfor local pilots.
Ab o ut40b allo o nsatt endth e
PlainvilleFire Co. Hot-Air Balloon Festi-
valeachAugustasafund-raiser.Three
flightsandagloware scheduled,asare
fireworks, crafts and an antique car show.
Theevent,about12mileswestof
Hartford, started 15 years ago to celebrate
thefiredepartment’s100thanniversary,
said Pete Lennon, oneof theorganizers.
About 20,000 spectators attend the festi-
val, whichhasfreeadmissionandpark-
ing,butdonationsareappreciated.The
firedepartmentmakesitsmoneyfrom
foodconcessions.
Just like the Bristol rally, most of the
balloonists in thePlainville event arefrom
the area, sono accommodations are pro-
vided for pilots. Balloonists are treated to
a Friday night reception.
AttheNorthwestConnecticutBal-
loonFestivalinGoshen,pilotsreceive
two rooms, two bottles of champagne per
flightandanawardsbrunch.About25
balloons showup the last weekend in June
andcompetefora$750purse.Paying
rides are sold to the public for $180, with
thepilotsreceiving$150.Upto15,000
spectatorsattendtherally,whichalso
features fireworks and aglow on Saturday
evening,craftsandCivilWarreenact-
ments. About two dozen charities benefit
fromthe rally.
An dab o ut2 5b all oo nsflyi n
Willimantic at the Connecticut Festival of
Ballooning in August. Five fun flights are
scheduledandpaid rides available, earn-
ingpilots$150perpassenger.Flights
tight, so the number of balloons is limited
to25, organizers said.
AboutathirdofConnecticut’s3.2
million residents live aroundHartford. If
there’s a center for ballooning in the state,
it’sprobablyinFarmington,awestern
suburb of Hartford that offers valley fly-
ingover the Farmington River.
Many pilots flyfrom a balloon field
ownedbyKathyWadsworth.Thetown
imposedordinanceson aircraft flights in
Farmington stemming from neighborcom-
plaints over a helicopter, so those who fly
thereneeda permitif theyintendtofly
there more thanonce a year.
Propane is available on the field and
pilots chip in to get thegrass cut. On a nice
weekend, as many as adozen balloons can
fill the skiesthere.
“For Connecticut,it’sprettyopen,”
Wadsworth said. “The north and south of
usisquite flyableandlandable.Eastis
Hartford,soifyou wanttogothatway,
you’d better fly overit or just land short of
it.”Still, the area can be intimidating for
some.Wadsworth said a pilot moved there
fromTexas,tookoneflightandnever
flew again.
“Itwastootightfor him,”she said.
“Youhave tobe weaned, I guess.”
Bill Costen, a balloonist for 25 years,
fliesprofession allyfromFarmington.
“Onedirectionisafewmillion-dollar
houses, a bird sanctuary anda couple of
smalltowns,” he said.
Large farms inConnecticut are rare.
Costenestimates40percent of hisland-
ingsareinyards,40percentareoffice
parks and every once in a while, balloon-
ists land next to a ruralroad.
“Flying in Connecticut is good prepa-
ration foranywhere,” said Harvey Hubbell
IV,of Newtown. “We have lotsof back
yardlandingsandtightspots.”Hubbell
recalledthe commentshe receivedfrom
otherpilotsafterlandingonceinAlbu-
querque. “I managed to land in a long field
September 1999
wasonly about 100feetwide,” he
said. “They thought if it wasn’t presented
tome lengthwise, I couldn’t have gotten
in. That’snormal for us.”
Hubbellsaidmostof Connecticut’s
65balloonpilotsflycommercially,but
fewmakealivingoutofit.“Thereare
very few balloon companies that do it full
time, about six in the state,” he said.
Balloonridesareamongthemost
expensive inthe nation. Commercialpi-
lotscharge$170to$250per personper
flight,withtheaveragebeing$200per
person.
“That’s where it shouldbe,” Costen
said.
Plentyofpassengerscometoflyin
ConnecticutfromNewYorkCityand
Boston, but most of Wadsworth’s passen-
gersare from Connecticut, she said.
About40pilotsand20crew mem-
bersbelongtotheConnecticutLighter
ThanAirSociety.Theclubholdsbi-
monthly business meetings and schedules
either socialor educationalmeetings the
other months.
The club keeps a record of red zones
inthe state andorganizesinformal com-
petition flights the third Thursday of each
month, typicallyinPlainville.
The clubalsoraisedmoneytohelp
payforatombstoneforConnecticut’s
first balloonist, Silas Brooks, whodied a
pauperin1906.Hewasburiedinan
unmarked grave in Terryville. His basket
hangs in the New England Air Museum in
Windsor Locks, near a bust of the Mont-
golfier Brothers and other lighter-than-air
memorabilia,includingthebasketfrom
theFirstAerial Voyage In Americarep-
licagasballoonwhichtheclubhelped
purchase.
Gerard Lefevre, who built the Statue
of Liberty balloon with his brother, Mark,
fliesinsoutheastConnecticut,about15
miles north of Long Island Sound. Being
so close to the water can sometimes result
inaseabreezeintheevenings,witha
steadybreeze flowinginland.
Still, the scenery is worth waiting for
calmevenings.
“We offer our passengers a four-state
view,”he said. “At 1,000 feet, you can see
fou rstatesaroun dyou :Connecticut,
Rhode Island, New York and the hillsin
Massachusetts.”
The Pachaug StateForest, separating
Connecticut and Rhode Island, keeps him
Connecticut, he said.
While the flying may sound tight for
some,localpilotswouldn’thaveitany
other way.
“We in Connecticut feel it’s probably
ConnecticutLighterThanAir
Society,monthlymeetingsandcom-
petition. Dues are $27, or $34 for fami-
liesandincludesinitiationfeeand
monthly newsletter. Contact: P.O. Box
53, Southbury, CT 06488.
BalloonsOverBristol,20bal-
loons on Memorial Day weekend, Fri-
dayglowandfourflightsscheduled;
pilotsreceiveagiftbasketandpro-
pane.Otheractivitiesincludeacraft
fair, carnivalridesandentertainment.
Free for the community. Contact.Vicki
Donaghy,202BrookSt.,Bristol,CT
06010. 860-583-3053.
Northwest Connecticut Balloon
Festival,inGoshen,25balloonsfly
five scheduled flights the last weekend
purse.Contact:BillColyer,120Flax
Road,Fairfield,CT06430.203-255-
1929.
www.ballooning.net/ncbf.htm
Connecticut Festival of Balloon-
ing,inWillimantic, thirdweekendin
August, 25 balloons flyfive scheduled
flights,payingridesandfunflights:
Contact: Lynn Duval, 1 Jillson Square,
MainStreet,Willimantic,CT06226.
860-456-4476. www.ctballoonfest.org
Plainville Fire Co. Hot-Air Bal-
loon Festival, last full weekend in Au-
gust, 40 balloons; glow and three flights,
no commercials rides orhousing; crafts,
car show,fireworks. Contact: Plainville
FireDepartment,77WestMainSt.,
Plainville,CT06062.860-747-0283
http://pages.cthome.net/hotairballoon/home.html
• Plainville
• Hartford
fly,” said Polly Lasher, of Southbury.
“But we do have to plan our flights, we
can’t just take off.”
