1999 Kodak Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta

BalloonLife,November1999

October in New Mexicobringsanarray
ofcolors,fromthechangingAspensto
floating balloons. The colorful sights and
sounds ofAlbuquerque take on a new face
asmorethan800balloonsdescendinto
the Rio Grande Valley for thegranddaddy
of balloonevents.
The BigOne,asitcallsitself,isan
ever changing,evolving Fiestathat is noth-
ingshortofonebigconventionforthe
sportofballooning. Thereissomething
here foreveryone, special shapes, compe-
tition,parties,balloonstufftobuy,old
friends to reacquaint with, new friends to
make,andoftensomeof the bestflying
aeronauts willenjoy allyear.
Theopeningweekendmassascen-
sionisnothingshortofspectacularas
wave after wave of balloons launch, catch
thefamousAlbuquerqueBox, andhead
off inalldirectionsof the compass. The
first two days of Fiesta this year had some
ofthe best conditions in years for flying to
the Rio Grande River, allowingballoons
tobecome sailboats and soak the wicker
baskets.
Gasballooninghasonceagainbe-
come atraditionatFiesta. Thisyear the
BalloonFederationof America, with the
helpoftheAlbuquerqueInternational
BalloonFiesta,wasabletosecurethe
right to host the Coupe de Gordon Bennett
gasballoonrace.Lastyear’seventwas
scrubbedwhenweathercondition sin
Francewere unfavorablethroughout the
entire launchperiod. Thisyear 20 teams
representing 12 countries flewin the com-
petitionwon bya team from Belgium.
A disappointment for the pilotsthis
yearwasthelessthanfavorableflying

Kodak Albuquerque
International
Balloon Fiesta

by Tom Hamilton
Photos by Cindy Petrehn

conditions during the week day competi-
tions. Monday only half the balloons were
abletolaunchbeforecompetitionwas
calledoff as surface windspickedupto
more than 10 knots. Tuesday was a com-
pletescrub do to high winds. Thursday the
pilotswereallowedtolaunchattheir
discretion, but nocompetition.
Wednesday’s competition was more
amatterof“luckofthelaunch”asto
whetherpilotswere able toscoreon the
targets.Windspeedsa few hundredfeet
abovethegroundwereinexcessof25
mph.Fortunately the balloonsheadedto
the wide open spaces of the West Mesa for
exciting landings.
Friday’s competition certainly looked
questionable as the pilots gathered for the
morningbriefing. Windscalmedonthe
surfacesoonaftersunriseandtheday
turnedintoa greatshow for thecrowd.
First,theSpecialShapes putonarodeo
for thelarge crowd, followed by hundreds
ofballoons flying into the field aiming for
threetargetsandfive poles.Eachof the
polesheldanenveloperedeemablefor
money. If the strobeon top of thepole was
flashingtheluckywinnerwouldwina
new Ford truck. Light and variable winds
onthesurfaceprovidedopportunityfor
the pilots to score well. Steve Lombardi,
Houston, Texas, caught a favorable wind
shiftandglidedintothepolewiththe
flashing strobe. Plucking the luckyprize
hebecameatwotimeFiestakeygrab
winner.
Mixed in with all thesport and corpo-
rate balloons aretheride balloons, 140,000
cubicfeetandlarger.Ascendingdaily
fromthemiddle ofBalloonFiestaState

Park these giants takehundreds of tourists
intothe multi-colored sky. Before Fiesta
establishedanofficialconcessionaireto
handle paid rides it was not uncommon to
see pilotson the fieldhangout their ride
signs,lookingtomakeexpenses,and
maybe a profit, during the nine day event.
Today bookings are handled by a sophis-
ticated computer reservation system, large
companiesfromaroundthe countryare
contractedwith,andspectatorswanting
to makearrangements knowwhere to sign
up. Withagoodweatherweek,the ride
operators flew eight of the nine days, the
official ridebusiness“on field” is worth
an estimated $500,000 gross.On any given
morninglookacrosstheRioGrandeto
see the “off field” unofficial balloon ride
operators.Thisyearsomeofffieldbal-
loonsflewnine outof ninedays.Com-
bined total revenues could reach $750,000,
or more, for the week.
Fiestaismorethanjustflyingand
making money. It is party time. While the
wild toga parties of the past are gone there
isstillplentytocelebrate.Afterflying
chasevehicles circleonthelaunchfield
anda vast varietyof food, drink, games,
and other fun can be found. A great time
tovisitwitholdfriendsandmakenew
ones.
Want to spend money. From balloon
man ufactu rerrowthrou ghbreakfast
burritositisallhere.Page One,alarge
Albuquerque bookseller,had a booth with
atleasttennewcoffeetablebookson
ballooning published in the previous year.
Pins,patches,sweaters,jackets,Christ-
mas tree ornaments, and balloon gift ven-
dors all stand ready to accept cash, check,

BalloonLife,November1999

Fiesta Fluffn’ Puff

The following are the official numbers for
the 1999 Kodak Albuquerque International
Balloon Fiesta.

Registeredballoons:903
Registeredregular shape balloons:803
Registeredspecial shape balloons:80
Registeredgas balloons:20
Estimated spectatorvisits:1,090,621
Number of mediaorganizations:275
Media representatives:1,141
Number of states represented: 42
Numbers of countriesrepresented: 21
43rdCoupeGordonBennettRace:20
teams representing 12 countries flew in the
competition. The distance competition was
won by the Belgian team of Philippe DeCock
& Ronny Van Havere. They flew a distance
of910mileslanding20milesoutsideof
Tupelo, MS.
Hot air balloon competition:Missouri pilot
George Thomas was the overall winner in
thehot airballooning competitiveevents.
He wasawarded anew Subaru Outback.
Florida pilot James Lynch won the Special
Shapecompetitiveeventwinningairline
ticketstotheCaribbeanandaSpecial
Shape poster. Steve Lombardipiloted his
balloontograbthe keysintheFordKey
Grab andwin a 1999 F150 Ford Truck.
The 2000 Kodak Albuquerque International
BalloonFiesta isscheduledfor
October 7- 15, 2000.The theme forthis
millenium event is “Fiesta 2000”.

Fiesta Top 30
George Thomas
OlivierRoux DeVillas
Daryl McKee
Sacha Haim
Gael Cardon de Licht
Bob Romaneschi
TomHamilton
Wil LaPointe
GuyGauthier
Nick Meleski
James Cassell
Jim Holley Jr
Don Martindell
Philip Stickel
Paul Clinton
Richard Swanson
Mike Spice
Danielle Francoeur
James Lynch Jr
Harold Graves
Carol Davis
Sid Cutter
Steven Sprague
Mike Fleury
Dale Freeman
Bruce Skach
Steven Esser
Steven Lombardi
Stephen Tangney
Ina Takashi

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or credit card. Official Fiesta products are
hawked from several spacioustents.
Fiesta has changed considerably dur-
ing its 28 year run. One hold overfrom the
olddays is the ZooParty, held at the Rio
Grande Zoo.
If you want to do “all” of Fiesta mid-
day naps are a necessity. The gas balloon
launch,balloon glow,tworegular shape
andone special shape glow, are evening
events.Whiletheweatherwasalittle

Photos on first pages:
Background: Fireworks after night glow.
Bottom left: Mounted patrol helps with
crowd control.
Bottom center: Media dog.
Top right: Pat Fogue with the Pepsi bal-
loon signs autograph s.

trou blesomeinthemornings,these
eveningactivitieswere abletogoonas
planned.
The closing weekend again provided
excellentweather.Nextyear’seventis
scheduled from October7-15 and is billed
as“Fiesta2000.” Formore information
on the KodakAlbuquerque International
BalloonFiesta visit themonthe Internet
at www.aibf.org.