October1999
but it’struethatthe state hasone of the
largestballoonpopulationsinthecoun-
try, with hundreds of active pilots.
And it’s the cheapest place to go gas
ballooning,too.That’sbecause90per-
cent of the world’s supply of heliumcomes
fromAmarillo.
Amarillo, known as the helium capi-
taloftheworld,hasanestimated31
billion cubic feet - about 10-year supply -
storedunderground,beneathhugesalt
deposits.
The U.S. government bought the he-
lium-rich Cliffside Gas Field there in 1927
and the Bureau of Mines began operating
the Amarillo Helium Plant two years later
to ensure there was always enough gas for
observationblimpsamong other things.
Bu tthegovernmentrecentlyan-
nouncedplanstoprivatizethehelium
market and close operations in Amarillo.
“It’s a great source of concern forgas
balloonists because we don’tknow what
the free market valueof helium is going to
be,” said Rusty Elwell, who flies gas and
hot-air balloons in Amarillo.
Elwellsaysheliumcostsabout$60
perthousand cubic feet regardless of where
itissoldinthe world.Ina3,500-cubic
footballoon, that’sabout$210worthof
helium.
The big expense comesin the trans-
portation. Truckswithpressurized tanks
mustbeusedtodeliver thehelium,and
drivers paid. Companies that transport the
liftinggascharge$1.89permileround
trip to doso.
“Theadvantage hereinAmarillois
you don’t have to payfor transit,” Elwell
said. “It’s the cheapestplace tofly.”
Elwellflieshisheliumballoonat
leastonce a year,oftento train students.
Hecharges$2,750perpersonfora gas
tofly. Theflightsare usuallyenoughto
have the “airborne heater” restrictionre-
mov edfromhot-aircertificates.He’s
flownwith 20suchstudents, some from
as far awayasNew Jersey, since 1990.
Some students are ratingscollectors
whohavenointentionofpursuingbal-
looning, others contemplated circling the
globe, but most of his ridersjustwantto
fly gas.
Hot-airflyinginAmarilloisn’tas
special.Amarilloisflatandoftenhasa
breeze blowing. Elwell says he chalks up
about 35 flights a yearin Amarillo,mostly
inthe afternoons.
“It’seitherwindyorrealwindy,”
Elwellsaid.“The windblowssomuch,
thatwhenit’snice,wehavetomove
quick.Wedon’tscheduleanything.We
giveour passengersabout anhour’s no-
tice.”
About10pilotsflyfiveballoonsin
the area. The Amarillo Balloon Club once
existed, but“kindof deteriorated” inre-
centyears, he said.
Southof townis allagricultural fly-
ing, northis more ranches, normallyoff-
limits because there are noroads.
“Onceyou’d go out there, it would be
goingcross countrywhere the cattle is,”
Elwell said.
ElwellandotherAmarilloballoon-
ists have good relationships with control-
lersatthe Amarilloairport, which over-
seesClassCairspacethere.Balloonists
basically can do what they want as long as
they have contact with the tower.
“Insteadofthemsayingyes,they
say, `OhRusty,are yougoingtogoout
and fly?’ “
Butamajorredzoneexistsina
16,000-acre facility near the airport. The
Pantexp lant,America’sonlyn uclear
requires balloons to fly over at 1,500-feet.
Local balloonists get annuals done in
Oklahoma City, Dallas or Albuquerque.
“With only30 flights a year, there’s
notreallyaneedforarepairstation,”
Elwell said.
More balloonists— some 50 to120
active pilots, dependingonwho youask
—arefoundnear Dallas,Ft.Worthand
Plano.
“I’dsaythereare80inDallas-Ft.
Worth,” said Diane Karlsson, a pilot from
Plano. “I have twoat myhouse.”
In fact the Texas legislature declared
PlanotheBalloonCapitalofTexasin
1999.
That’sbadnewsfor Alpine, Texas.
Officialsthere,planningtoerectasign
welcomingtravelingballoonistsandof-
feringlocalcrew,wantedthatdesigna-
tion. Even though no balloon pilots live in
Alpine, the townhosts twoballoon festi-
vals eachyear.
There are plenty of balloon festivals
inTexas,includingmany offeringthou-
sandsofdollarsinkeygrabsandother
prizes. The rallies range from heated com-
petition to determine a state champion, to
scenicfunflightstoscatter wildflower
seeds.
Plano has long been a center of Texas
ballooning. An annual rally has been held
inPlanosince1980.In1999, theevent
grew to 90 balloons and the rally moved to
OakPointParkinthecity.Halfofthe
balloons fly from the park, whilethe other
half fly in tokeep the crowds there.
TheGreatTexasBalloonRacehas
beenheldinLongview,betweenDallas
and Shreveport, since 1978. With 80 bal-
loons—abouta quarter of themspecial
shapes—and$32,000inprizemoney,
there’s always a waiting list to get in to fly
October 1999
nizer Bill Bussey.
Pilotsalsoreceive a gift at each pilot
briefing, which have included personal-
ized beer steins, medallions and folding
shovels.
Bussey said about 70,000 spectators
attend the event, which has a $225,000
annual budget.
CommercialridesinTexasare
roughly $125 to $150 per person, but no
paid passenger rides are usually offered
other than sponsor rides during rallies.
Although the hot Texas sun can ground
balloon flightsin the evenings, many ral-
lies at least attempt a glow to please the
crowds.
The largest rally in Texas is held in
August at the Johnson Space Center in
Houston. One hundred balloons partici-
pated in the 1999 event, compared to 25
when the rally began in 1993.
Organizer Steve Lombardi said the
rallybegantocommemoratethefirstaerial
voyage in America.
“They wanted to do it to commemo-
rate the first flight, in a balloon, to the
most sophisticated, the shuttle at NASA.
The community loved itand itgrew from
there,” he said.
A Ballunar Moon Glow is held the
first evening and a mass ascension, with
balloons launched all over the space cen-
ter,isheldSaturdaymorningwitha Shuttle
Rendezvous: grab the inflatable shuttle
on the pole, and win $5,000.
Saturday night’s flight ends with a
UFO Invasion, aglow ofmorethan a
dozen special shape balloons.
Pilotsenjoytakingoff andlandingon
thespacecentergroundsbecausebal-
loonsdon’tnormallyflyinthe area, which
is very close to Hobby Airport and its
Class B airspace.
“It’s not the kind of flying you’d go
outandfunflyonthe weekend,”Lombardi
said. “The flights aren’t that lengthy in
duration.We’re lucky ifweget a45-
minute flight in.”
The Space Center charges $3 admis-
sionfor the festival and proceeds gotothe
Manned Space Flight Foundation which
encourages children to become involved
inaviation and space. More than $25,000
has been raised in the past three years,
Lombardi said.
Even with itsvast size, balloonistsin
Texas are encountering the same prob-
ing: development. You have to go farther
out of town to find undeveloped property
for landing.
So meran cherspreviouslyinthe
middle of no where have felt civilization
encroaching, but overall there aren’t too
many landowner problems in Texas, pi-
lots say.
If there is a big difference in balloon
pilots in Texas, it is their gender.
“What’s neat about Texas is we have
ahuge number offemale pilots,” Karlsson
said.“InDallas,it’salmostasmany
women as men. We teach each other.”
Some of the most senior balloonists
inTexas beganflying inthe ‘70s. Sam
Edwards,ofHouston,beganflyingin
1975, when the Tejas club formed. Mem-
bersgot totrainandflythe club’stwo
balloons.A primaryinstructor wasBill
Murtorff.
“The club stopped around 1987 be-
cause everybody got their own balloon so
the need wasn’t there,” Edwards said.
Edwardsestimatesmaybe25bal-
loonistsliveinHouston,butthereare
rarely more than 10 balloons in the morn-
ing skies. Some pilots moved away, oth-
erswere occupied withother activities,
October 1999
beforesuffering afatal heartattackin
1998.
“They all got old,except forme,”
Edwards said.
Sanctionedracesarehardto find
around Houston.
“We have a tough time to get sanc-
tioned because we don’t have racers any
more,” he said.
About half of the Houston-area bal-
loonistsfly commercially, at least on the
weekends, and charge around $125 per
person, Edwards said.
Hesaid mostflightsoriginateon
Houston’s west side, near a flood control
reservoir,where there are deer, rabbits
and javalina to fly overas opposedto
homeowners.
“We’re flatter than a lotof places, we
don’thaveanyhills,”hesaid.You’dthink
that would make for unlimited views but
he said the view is“as far asthe pollution
will allow you to see,” maybe 10 miles
with haze on a good day. Humidity from
the Gulf of Mexico doesn’t help.
EdwardssaideveningflightsinHous-
ton aren’t common, but morning flights
are scheduled throughout the year. Even
insummer, morningsare rarelymorethan
80 degrees when you are ballooning, he
said.
Despite an annual tourist market of
more than 9 million people and abase
population of more than 1 million, San
Antoniohasrelatively few balloons. Only
five or sixcan be seen flying onanygiven
morning.
“There are only two of us who are
commercial,” said Steve Sprague.
Officials in the control tower at San
AntonioInternationalAirportdon’tmind
balloonsinvadingtheir airspace aslongas
they are notified 30 minutes prior to a
flight, Sprague said.
“We have a perfect relationshipwith
them,”he said. “They haven’tminded ita
bit.”
Balloonists from San Antonio have
numerous parks, golf courses and schools
for landing spots.
“And we have pretty good relation-
ships with all ofthem,” hesaid.He’s
workingtotradecommunityservice dem-
onstrations to land a permanent arrange-
ment to fly from those locations.
Balloon rides cost $150 per person
up to $300 per person fordawn patrol
David Smuck is oneof about two
dozenactiveballoonists intheAustin
area.Theterrain,ranging from600 to
1,200feetabovesea level,iswhere coastal
plains meet up with small hills.
“There’sgrassand alotof farmlands,
ranches, and quite a few parks,” he said.
Pilotsuse a Zilker Park in the center
of Austin as a regular launch spot, with
flightsover the cityand the Universityof
Texas.
“The parks work with us real well,”
Smuck said. “Once they realizedwe were
responsible, they enjoyed having us.”
In return, up to a dozen pilots gather
inthe park around Christmas time topar-
ticipate in a glow during their Trail of
Lights Festival. It’s pretty, even though
there’sno snow.Itsnowsaboutonce
every couple of years with temperatures
usually in the 40s and 50s that time of
year.
Longview•
Houston •
• San Antonio
Flyingover thecitydoesn’tposea
problemfor air traffic controllers either.
“Theyweregreataboutit,”Smuck
said. “They know most of us by name and
weknow most ofthe controllers by name.”
Austin’s main airport recently moved
tothedeactivatedBergstromAirForce
Base outside town, so balloons aren’t fly-
ingover their active runwaysanymore.
Hesaidnearlyallflightsare inthe
morningbecauseasteadywindblows
well after sunset.
“Ittends to die down about 3or 4in
the morning, just barely in time for you to
plan the flight,” Smuck said.
Moisture and humidity from the gulf
some 120 miles away, contributes to some
hazymornings.
“Wehavesomefog,butwhenit’s
clear, it’s really gorgeous,” Smucksaid.
October 1999
Alamo City Flyers: No dues, no officers, no meetings or newsletter, but frequent flights of local
balloons. Contact: P.O. Box691312, San Antonio, TX 78269.
Brazos Valley Ballooning Association: Meets the last Monday of each month, with club flights
the following weekend. Dues are $20 and include the monthly newsletter, The Scoop. Contact: 4444
Carter Creek Parkway Suite 110,Bryan, TX77802 409-775-5665. http://www.ipt.com/bvba/index.htm
Central Texas Ballooning Association: 70 members, 24 of them pilots. Monthly meetings held
the second Monday of the month with flights scheduled the following Saturday. The club also hosts
a “Fly Neighborly” seminar so pilots can improve their landowner relationships. Annual dues are $20
and includes a monthly newsletter. Subscriptions only are $14 a year. Contact: P.O. Box 2675, Austin,
TX 78767. www.main.org/ctba
Lone Star Balloon Association: 50+ members, meet third Wednesday of each month and holds
biweeklyflights.Duesare$15whichincludemonthlynewsletter.Contact:P.O.Box441322,
Houston, TX 77244-1322. http://www.special-events.com/lsballoon/lsba.htm
Plano Balloon Association: Meetings onthe second Wednesday of the month, glows. Dues are
$20 a year, whichincludesthe monthlynewsletter, HotAir. Contact:P.O. Box 861465,Plano,TX
75086-1465. 214-890-6939. http://www.flash.net/~pba1/
Tri-County Balloon Association:About 50members, mostlycrew, meet the first Saturday of
the month at New Braunfels Airport to fly, followed by a tailgate meeting or safety session. Dues are
$12 a year and include a quarterly newsletter. Contact: Tim Brady, 11 HerryCourt, New Braunfels,
TX 78130. 830-625-5631.
October 1999
BluebonnetFestival, Ennis, 30 miles south of Dallas, 20 balloons, mid-April, Friday nightglow, three
flightsscheduledfrom Saturday morningthrough Sundaymorning, flower seeds thrown from balloonsduring
morning launches. Contact: Diane Karlsson, 2421 Brennan Dr. Plano, TX 75075. 972-867-5152.
International El Paso Balloon Festival, Memorial Day Weekend, 60 balloons fly fun competitionon
three morning flights, with a glow Sunday evening. Flights from a water park on the Texas-New Mexico
border; Monday morning is an international flight from Mexico across the Rio Grande into Texas. Contact:
Joni Superville, 4150 Pinnacle, Suite 120, El Paso, Texas 79902. 915-544-8864. www.klaq.com(click on
events).
AlpineInvitational, two festivals held in Alpine, 4hours east of ElPaso, Memorial Day and Labor Day
weekends,30 balloons,fun flights with crew competition. Contact: Tim Brady,11 Herry Court,New
Braunfels, TX 78130. 830-625-5631.
TexasBalloonClassicinKaty, 30mileswestof Houston, secondweekend inJune, 60balloons,sixflights
from Friday morning through Sunday evening, all sanctioned to determine either the Texas State Champion
or the Southwest Champion. Also a car key grab,crafts and entertainment. Contact: Phil Bryant, 5001
Woodway #302, Houston, TX 77056. 713-622-9074.
The Great T exas BalloonRace, 80 balloons fly in Longview in mid-July. Competitive flights Friday,
Saturday and Sunday mornings with fun flights and a Balloon Glow Friday and Saturday evening. Pilots
competefor$32,000purse and two $25,000 key grabs.Contact: ElaineReynolds, 410 N.CenterSt.,
Longview, TX 75601. 903-237-4000. www.longviewtx.com
Cleburne on the Rise, in Cleburne, south of Ft. Worth, last weekend of July, 50 balloons glow Friday
eveningand flySaturdaymorning andeveningandSunday morninginfun competition;$5,000 inprize money
plus key grabs for $1,000. Contact: Ron Layland, P.O. Box 3, Cleburne, TX 76033. 817-558-9979.
HighlandVillage Balloon Festival and Fair, 25 balloons fly north of Dallas-Ft. Worth on the third
weekend in August. Media flight scheduled Friday morning, with a flight or glow Friday evening and three
fun competitions Saturday morning through Sunday morning; proceeds to the Lyons Club. Contact: Deb
Whitesell, 1817 Morning Mist Trail, Flower Mound, TX 75028. 972-724-0532.
BallunarLiftoff Festival at JohnsonSpace Center, Houston, weekend prior to Labor Day weekend;
100 balloons;Ballunar Moon Glow Friday evening, with four flightsSaturday and Sunday, BFA sanctions,
$5,000 keygrab, special shape glow. Contact:Steve Lombardi, 56 Chapparal, MissouriCity, TX 77459. 713-
774-2359. www.ballunarfestival.com
Plano Balloon Festival, third weekend in September, 90 balloons, five scheduled flights and a media
flight Friday morning, with glows scheduled in the evenings after mass ascensions. Sanctioned races in the
mornings.Contact:Larry Long,1507YorkshireDrive, Richardson, TX75082. 972-234-2023. www.cinco.net./
balloon
Big Country Balloon Fest,last weekend in September, 35 balloons, four flights scheduled Friday
evening through Sunday morning; hare and hound race with $1,000 in prizes; also prizes for a glow, where
the audience votes for their favorite balloon. Contact: Susan Smart, 2302 Windsor Road, Abilene, TX 79605.
915-695-8935.
AutumnBalloonClassic, Halloweenweekendoutside TexasMotor Speedway, Dallas, 30balloonswith
four scheduled fun flights and a Balloon Illum Saturday evening. Children go trick-or-treating to each pilot
during theglow. Contact: Debby Pfauntsch, 5313E.Best Road, Larkspur, CO 80118.303-814-1266.
www.balloonevent.net
UT SA Alumni Association Balloonfest, Halloween weekend, 35 balloons, six flights Friday morning
through Sundayevening at the Universityof Texasin San Antonio, withBFAsanctioned competition, parties
and $10,000 in prize money.Contact: Dan Sherrill: P.O. Box 3, Manchaca, TX 78652. 512-280-2558.
www.balloonfest.net.
