December 1999
be knownforitspeaches,
but it’s the dogwoodand cherry blossom
festivals that attractballoonists.
Eachyear, morethana half million
people attend the Atlanta Dogwood Festi-
valinApril.About25balloons,often
bearingcorporatelogos,participatefor
themedia exposure. After all,Atlanta is
home to CNN andthe Weather Channel.
Duringtheevent,balloonsascend
from Piedmont Park in the city if they can
fly 15 or 20 miles north or east of Atlanta.
“Ifit’scalm,you tether,” saidorga-
nizer Bob Tettman.
Flyingoverthecityitselfisrare.
Much of the area aroundAtlanta is either
built upor coveredwith trees.
“It’sprettytoughflyinghere,”said
StuartEnloe,presidentoftheGeorgia
Balloon Association. “Atlanta was truly a
city that was built in aforest.”Those trees,
along with plenty of crooked roads, make
crewing a chore, too.
RobertWillbanks,aballoonistfor
nearly 25years,agreesthatGeorgiacan
be a tough place tofly. He livesand flies
abouta halfhour eastof Atlanta, where
therearestillplentyoftreesbutafew
smallfarms to offer safe landings.
“It’smorechallengingthanmany
other places,” he said.“There’sverydi-
verse terrain. We have the foothills of the
AppalachianMountainsinHelentothe
coastalplains.”
Speakingofplains,balloonistNeal
Boortz,nowapopularradiotalkshow
host, flew Jimmy and RosalynnCarter in
theirhometownofPlainswhileCarter
waspresident.Thesecretservicewas
reportedly not pleased.
Anevenmore challengingplaceto
goballooningthanAtlantaisMacon,
whichhostsanannualballoonfestival
during its CherryBlossom Festival.
“Macon’snota goodplacetofly,”
balloonistsaid.“Whentheybuilta
house, they just cut some treesand stuck
it in the woods. But we always manage to
find a place toland.”
AtlantawaswhereMik eAdams
manufacturedAdamsBalloons.Hebuilt
nearly 180 of them before he died of cancer
in1986.Thecompanylastedonlyabout
two years after hisdeath, Willbanks said.
But Georgia is still home to a balloon
manufacturer.TarpHead,ownsHead
Balloons, has built nearly 300 balloons in
Helensince 1981.Hehelpedfoundand
worked with Adams Balloons from 1975
through 1980.
VisitorstoAtlantaor drivingalong
thecoastareinvitedtotour theballoon
factory, he said.“Anyoneiswelcome to
stop by,” Head said. “We’reonly about an
hour from Atlanta. It’s reallynot that far
out of the way.”
TheflyingisabiteasierinHelen,
population 324. Each year, the city on the
south side of the Smoky Mountains hosts
balloonists who attempt to fly to theocean,
more than 225milesaway. The Helento
Atlantic race began in 1974 andisone of
the oldestcontinuing rallies inthe coun-
try, said Head, who organizesthe race.
“Helenisanoldlumbertownthat
wasmade intoa Bavarianalpine village
built in the northeast Georgia mountains,”
Head said.
Thosewho fly to theAtlantic, by way
of either Georgia or South Carolina to the
east,begintheraceThursdaymorning
andusuallyflysolotoconservefuel.
Whoever is closestto the oceanbynoon
Saturday wins a custom-made prize, which
hasbeenpottery,quiltsorstainedglass
made with the winner’s balloondesign.
Pastwinnershavelandedonthe
beach. But the coast is becoming so built-
up, the rules have beenchangedtomake
the first one across I-95the winner.
“Thefastestit’sbeendoneisprob-
ably 10 hours,” Head said. But those were
thedayswhenpilotscouldflyalldayif
they wanted to and carry as much propane
as they could, sometimes with extra tanks
strappedto the outside of their baskets.
“Now, we allow a maximum 40 gal-
lonsonboardandnomid-dayflying,”
Head said. “We’ve been real fortunate we
haven’t had any badaccidentswithit.”
Still, there were some close calls.
Dan Stukas, who flewa balloon in the
shape of a peach, has won the event in the
past.It took him 16 hours to finish, includ-
ingsix landingstorefuel.
“Landingbyyourselfinthermals,
you’reswirlingaroundlikecrazy,”he
said. Another year, he said hail fell in his
basketduring a flight.
ThelaunchsiteinHelencanonly
accommodate about25balloons,sothe
rally is kept small, Head said. Only five or
sixballoonsattempttogettotheocean.
The restof the balloonists,their families
andcrews enjoy the weekendin Helen.
Theyoftenrelaxduringthedayby
takingfou r-ho urtuberidesdownthe
ChattahoochieRiver thatflowsthrough
town.“Wedon’tforceanybodytodo
anything,”Headsaid.“That’swhywe
have a waiting list of people who want to
come here.”
Thesmallcityisoverrunbyupto
15,000touristswho come to Helentosee
the balloons each year. “Everybody is ex-
tremely happy to see the balloons because
theyknow the publicity (and boost tothe
economy) it brings the area,” Headsaid.
HeadwillrepairandinspectHead
balloonsathisfactory.Other thanthat,
there’s a balloonist who operates a travel-
ingrepairstationinthestateandtwo
others who operate balloon repair stations
near Atlanta.
Headestimatesthereareabout50
December 1999
of them live in the Atlanta area.
In southeast Georgia, Andy Cayton
flies over downtown Savannah occasion-
ally for promotional purposes,but said
“it’snota good place to fly. Thereare a lot
of powerlines, twoairports and Savannah
is almost totally surrounded by marsh.”
Landing in a marsh would mean not
only a wet balloon, but probably one that
won’t be flyingsoon after. The saw grass
common in marshes there got its name
from its razor-like characteristics.
“Ifyou godowninoneofthose
marshes,you’velostyourballoon,”
Caytonsaid. “You’re not goingto be able
to go in to recover it.”
Cayton said most of his commercial
ballooning involves giving tourists rides
about 30 miles inland from the Atlantic.
About 5 millionof them flock to Savan-
nah each year, he said.
Caytondoesn’t schedule many flights
between the end of January through April.
Briskwindsandback-to-backcoldfronts
often keep him grounded then.“You’re lucky
if you get two flights in a month,” he said.
Fog is also common in the spring in
the mountain valleys. “When it breaks up,
the winds are up,” Cayton said.
In July andAugust, evening flights
areoftencanceledduetoheatorthe
possibility of thunderstorms, he said.
In Augusta, on the South Carolina bor-
der, corporate balloons sometimes fly priorto
the MastersTournament.Flightsover the
Savannah River into South Carolina arecom-
mon, said balloonist Richard Ret.
“Ourseasonisyear-round,butin
Julyand August, the sweat will run off
your back,” he said. Mornings may be in
the 70s, butthe humidity is often high,
making it hazy for flights.
“But our spring and fall is absolutely
spectacular,” Ret said.
In September, balloonists are invited
to fly at the Boshears Memorial Fly In in
Augusta. Numerous World War II planes
andevenattractionssuchastheBlue
Angels have attended the airshow.
Georgia is alsohome toone of the
oldest balloonclubs in the country. The
Georgia Balloon Association, formed in
1978, has about 70 members, Enloe said.
In the past, the club has raised money
for cancer researchin memoryof Mike
Adams. A memorial rally was held in his
memory for three years after his death.
Georgia BalloonAssociation,
about 70members, withmeetings and
informal flights every other month in
the Atlanta area. Duesare $20 a year
and include a bimonthlynewsletter.
Contact:P.O. Box 47747, Atlanta,
Georgia 30362. Internet
www.pamplin.net/gba/
Southern Ballooning Society,
just forming: Contact: David Bristol,
P.O. Box323, Sautee, GA 30571.
Conyers CherryBlossom
Balloon Festival, in March, 15
balloonsfly about 30mileseastof
Atlanta at Georgia International Horse
Park where the 1996 Olympic
equestrianevents were held. Tether
Friday evening, with Saturday and
Sundayafternoonfunflights. Contact:
BobTettman, P.O. Box 464246,
Lawrenceville, GA 30042. 770-963-
0149.
Macon CherryBlossom Festi-
val, lastweekendinMarch, 35
balloons, glow Fridaynightandfly in
fun competition Saturday morningand
afternoon. Brunchon Sunday. Heldin
connectionwitha large festival
featuring entertainment and crafts.
Cashprizes for topthree finishers.
Contact:JimmyParker, 24 Bellamy
Court, Suite B, Stockbridge, GA
30281. 770-506-6911.
www.cherryblossom.com
Atlanta Dogwood Festival, first
weekend inApril, 30 balloonseither
fly or tether from Piedmont Parkin
downtown Atlanta for friendly
competitionandmedia exposure.
Morningflights from Gwinnett
County suburbs. About 600,000
people attendthe festival, whichalso
includes live entertainment, food and
an art show. Contact: BobTettman,
P.O. Box464246, Lawrenceville, GA
30042. 770-963-0149.
www.dogwood.org
Helen tothe Atlantic, first
weekendinJune, 25balloons, a few
compete to race toI-95, 225miles
away over twodays. Others fly five
flightsfromThursdaymorning
through Saturday morning, with a
glow Saturday evening. Contact: Tarp
Head, P.O. Box 28, Helen, GA 30545.
706-865-3874.
Sky High Hot Air Balloon
Festival, in Pine Mountain,about 90
milessouthof Atlanta; 30balloons fly
Labor Day weekend witha glow
Friday evening, funcompetitions
SaturdayandSunday morning, with
mass ascension Saturday and Sunday
afternoons at Callaway Gardens. Cash
awards totop three finishers. Contact:
Linda Dawson, P.O. Box2000, Pine
Mountain,GA 31822. 706-663-5011.
www.callawaygardens.com
Boshears MemorialFly In, in
Augusta, third weekend inSeptember,
35 balloonsglow Fridaynight, fun fly
two flights eachon Saturday and
Sunday in conjunction with major air
show. Contact: Richard Ret, 4204
KnollcrestCircle, Augusta, GA
30907. 800-755-3632.
www.boshears.com
•
•
December 1999
Regularmeetingsareheldeveryother
month, but there’s talk about scheduling
meetings to follow scheduled flights, so
peoplecouldtalkabouttheirflights,Enloe
said. The club keeps a detailed web site
which features about 20 commercial bal-
loonists. Area pilots say rides are about
$175 to $200 per person.
Like many clubs, the GBA has had
fluctuationsin membership.Acurrent
controversy about whetheraconvicted
sex offendershould beallowed in the
membership has divided the club. While
noone was in favor of sex offenses, some
feltbarring anyonefromaclub could
spark legal trouble.
David Bristol, of Helen,and other
balloonists areplanning to start anew
balloon club,calledtheSouthern Bal-
looningSociety.He expectedtoannounce
their first organizational meeting soon,
with possible membership from balloon-
istsinGeorgia,SouthCarolinaandFlorida.
“Ourgoalisto promote safety and the
sport of ballooningin a family manner,”
Bristolsaid. To avoid the conflict experi-
enced by the GBA, Bristolsaidhe expects
the new club to be “byinvitationonly.”
