ROF= Ring of fire Odyssey MEF-H = Marine Expeditionary Force- Hargus
AK= Alaska journey
November 9, 2017
ABQ Balloon 1 . The Heat is ON
Uncle Hargus Breaking Bad over Albuquerque.
Okay, bucket list time.
I've been to the Alabama Jubilee hot air balloon festival in Decatur Alabama.
Then to the balloon festival in Statesville North Carolina with Dude. Was standing in a harvested field of cornstalks when the balloons came in on final approach for landing smack dab in LZ Hargus.
A past lifetime allowed some 500+ PIC Left seat hours of fixed wing, mostly Cessna Skyhawk, a few rotary wing flights. Have seen a few great balloon events, but now it's time to actually get up in one of these hot air balloons and fly. Bucket List; Check.
Albuquerque, New Mexico, has the biggest hot air balloon event Festival in the United States. … it’s hot air balloon USA HQ.
We're a month before that Festival so we are on a trial run before the festivities begin in a few weeks.
Up early, muster up about 6:15 at the balloon HQ.
Shuttle bus down to the ABQ balloon festival grounds.
Begin unloading, unfurl, and prepare for takeoff.
About 20 other balloons are getting ready, we are the first out of the box.
Pilot Dean and crew begin to inflate the balloon with fans.
Dean is ready and puts the Heat to the balloon for lift up pre-flight.
Already on the left, already on the right,. PreFlight is done. weather, wind's, Check. Good to go.
Fire up the heat to the balloon and take off.
Slow gentle rise, 20 ft above ground. wind 4 to 6 knots begin to move us, short blasts. West drift.
gentle Westward drift, add some power for Lift - The Heat IS ON! -, and we are underway.
Pilot Dean takes us up to about 2,000 feet, from experience reads the wind currents, and adjusts our flight route.
Albuquerque below with the Rio Grand River flowing through.
Sunrise over Sandia Peak is a phenomenal sight.
Pilot Dean takes us up to 8000 feet and the view of Albuquerque is beautiful, surreal .
A little more up to 10000 feet, visibility 50 miles.
ABQ is actually around 5,000’ ASL= Above Sea Level at the ground. So when we’re up at 10k’ - 10,000’ ASL,... we are actually about 5,000 elevation above the ground; a mile up. Pretty high.
You can see Sandia Peak to the east with sunrise coming over the peak, all of Albuquerque, even the Petroglyph fields to the West.
We begin to bleed off a little altitude back down to 8000 feet, reading the wind currents,.
We've been on station now some 45 minutes.
This is a really unique experience. It really is like riding on a magic carpet.
Balloon is quiet, drifting in still quiet air, just drifting through the air over Albuquerque.
We Begin descent for 30 minutes. Pilot Dean reads the winds. I am very impressed at how professional a hot air balloon pilot descends into a L Z Landing Zone, entirely different than a fixed-wing aircraft approach to a landing Zone.
We descend to 2000 feet, and Dean begins to slowly descend and scout out a landing Zone.
We are coming in at Treetop level over Albuquerque neighborhoods. We pass over the interstate and main roads 600 feet below.
Pilot Dean reads the winds and picks out a landing Zone of a vacant lot in a neighborhood. Phenomenal. I do not see how he knows how to do this except for his professional skill and experience.
This is entirely different flying from fixed-wing downwind, base leg, Final Approach of a fixed-wing aircraft plane.
Dean brings this balloon down into an empty lot, not a cul de sac neighborhood, but residential houses along the street.
We touch down. and pilot Dean holds the plume of the balloon up while the crew pushes the basket back 30 feet as to keep the balloon body from collapsing over a neighbor's wall, concrete block wall.
Pilot Dean landed the balloon Plumel down on to the empty lot without encroaching into a Neighborhood House backyard. Really some very skilled pilot ability. You did good Dean I'm very impressed with balloon Aviation.
The chase crew begins rolling up the blue moon 4 transport back to the shop.
We have a celebratory glass of champagne. The history of the 1st ballon flights in France was the pilot would offer a bottle of wine to the farmer's field he landed in and damages his crop.
Load back up into the van and head back to shop HQ and are back by 9:30 a.m. .
This was a fantastic experience. I recommend it highly.
You never drink twice from the same stream.
Just because you wander doesn't mean you're lost.
Uncle Hargus: Last of the Independents
Have Bear,
Will Travel
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