Riding on nothing but air

by Jennifer Conlee, feature editor

 

Little children screamed for joy and clapped their hands as the first hot air balloon took to the air at the Third Annual South Plains Balloon Roundup in Wolfforth.

Spectators began to gather at 5 a.m. on September 9, long before the first streaks of sunrise came into the sky, in order to witness this event, which is one of several for the South West Regional Balloon Festival.

“I’ve come out all three years,” said Jim Shenck of Lubbock.  “I enjoy watching them (the crew) set up the balloons, and watching the ground crew in action.”

The Balloon Roundup, which is held in conjunction with Wolfforth’s Harvest Festival, has attracted many people since its inception.

“There are at least 10,000 people here,” said Charlie M. Brown, who serves as the media coordinator for the event, “and we have 22 balloons this year.”

There were many interesting balloons, including one called Mo 2, which has two vinyl buffalo heads sticking out from the sides.  Mo 2 is one of the two balloons belonging to Plains Capital Bank.  There was also a Hooter’s balloon, which caught the interest of many people.

As the people gathered, Pastor Ryan Shelley from Wolfforth Church of Christ led the spectators in prayer, and the National Anthem was sung.

The pilots, driving an array of SUVs, vans, and trucks, carted their balloons. Many of the pilots have been flying for years, and all share the same love of balloons.

“We have one pilot who is a Native American, and someone from as far as North Carolina,” said Brown, “and Mary Ann Slagle-Poteet has brought her balloon back out.”

Slagle-Poteet has been ballooning for many years, and has been at the Balloon Roundup all three years.

Helium balloons were then sent up to test the wind.

“The wind needs to be fairly low,” said Brown. “Today is a beautiful day for the launchings.”

Last year, because of the wind, many of the balloons did not get off the ground.  Though the day began as misty and cool, the sunrise was beautiful, the wind was low, and the sky was clear. 

“All of the balloons will be able to fly this year,” said Brown.

After the helium balloons disappeared, the balloon crews rolled out their balloons and began to inflate them, first blowing in cool air, and then filling the large balloons with propane.

“There are at least 40 gallons of propane on each balloon,” said Brown.  “It takes that much to inflate the balloons and get them off the ground.”

An event this expansive requires lots of funding, and the Balloon Club was lucky to get what they needed in order to make it free to the public.

“American State Bank and Hooters are providing food for the pilots and crew,” said Brown.  “Wylie Propane provided the propane for all the balloons, and we had several sponsors.”

In the space of 20 minutes, all the balloons were in the air, flying north in the clear blue sky, and the chase crews loaded up to follow and retrieve their balloons.

“The balloons could stay up for an hour,” said Brown, as he watched the colorful balloons growing smaller.