Van Wert Hot Air Balloon Festival

Years ago, I used to crew for a couple of hot air balloon pilots.  I was a crew chief for one pilot.  Being a crew chief meant that I was in charge of everything on the ground.  A few days ago, I saw an ad about the Van Wert Hot Air Balloon Festival.  So Saturday afternoon, I loaded myself up in the MINI Cooper and headed south.  It is about an hour's drive.  

I figgered it would be a great time to use my new camera, a Nikon D3200.  I took my telescopic lens because I didn't think they would let "civilians" on the field.  That was the trend back when I was crewing at festivals.  At this festival, they were announcing that the public could mingle with the balloons, crew and pilots while they were setting up and launching.  That meant I was gonna get some GREAT shots.  It didn't take long to discover that I needed my wide angle lens for close-ups.  I left it at home.  Oh well, another lesson learned the hard way.  There is always next year . . . at the festivals in Ashland, Marysville, Findlay and, of course, Van Wert. 

Didn't get the type of shots I wanted, but here are a few of the ones I did get.  




A wind shear hit the pink & balloon while the pilot was heating the envelope and he thinks he scorched a panel.  He did not launch.  A burned or scorched panel is greatly weakened and needs to be replaced.  The pilot was not happy!!















I think there were 21 ballons.  The weather was 'iffy' with rain cells to the east and west moving to the south.  That caused the winds to be on the gusty side.  Since it was the pilot's choice to fly, only about half the balloons inflated and flew.  Two balloons inflated, but did not take off.  

There were two shapes, Sugar Bear and the POW/MIA balloons. The letters and the barb wire on the POW balloon were raised.  That was the first time I've seen that feature.  





There was a neat story about the Sat. AM flight of the POW balloon.  They were having a difficult time finding a suitable landing area and it was getting late in the morning.  Winds tend to become inconsistent and the morning passes.  They pilot finally saw a yard with power lines directly in his path.  He told his crew chief that he was probably going to have to drag in the bean field to slow his landing speed.  Those power lines were still directly ahead of him.  The crew chief was to tell the landowner that he would be paid for damaged crops.  As fate would have it, the farmer's son had just returned from deployment the previous week.  It got pretty emotional while packing up.