Balloon Rally chase crews help give pilots a lift
It’s said that you have to walk before you can run. Very few people learn to fly when they’re still learning to walk. But that’s how it was for longtime Red Rock Balloon Rally committee member Pam Held.
“I’ve been with the rally for 41 years. I’m only 44,” she said, explaining that her mother worked on balloon chase crews when she was a baby and brought her along. “When I started walking, I became involved in holding things. I’ve been around since I was very small.”
These days she spends most of her time on the ground, helping to coordinate the rally and especially the volunteer crew members who help pilots get their balloons off the ground.
Ballooning is a group project. Balloons generally fill up a trailer or truck bed for transport. On site they have to be unloaded, have their gondolas put together and their envelopes spread out and inflated (that’s balloonist speak for puffing up the pretty, floaty part). Four or five crew members are an essential part of this project.
“We don’t fill a balloon, we inflate it,” Held corrected. “It’s just a large envelope and we kind of blow air into it. Once the envelope has been filled to the pilot’s desired fill, we heat the air up and with hot air, it rises. It’s just kind of a contained bubble of hot air that rises.”
Setup generally takes 20 to 30 minutes, depending on how many people are helping.
“The envelope and the basket are quite heavy,” Held said. “More hands makes for light work. We all work as a team to take everything out of the trailer [and] spread out the envelope. We all help hold the throat open so the air can blow in.”
TAKING FLIGHT
How hot does the balloon air have to get? Rally founder Peter Procopio explained:
“Flight of a hot air balloon is achieved by heating the air in the envelope until the heated air in the balloon is lighter than the ambient temperature. The point at which this is achieved is called equilibrium and varies with the outside air temperature. The colder the ambient air, the lower the balloon temperature needs to be to achieve equilibrium,” he said.
The balloon is filled with cold air with the use of an inflation fan, which is placed at the throat of the balloon and operated by a crew member. Once the balloon envelope is fully packed with air, the pilot fires the burner to heat the air, causing the envelope to stand vertical.
That’s when the real fun begins.
“Once all that is set and done and the balloon is up, those who want to ride can go for a ride,” Held said. “Sometimes the pilots fly a little way and then set down and change out passengers. Those in the basket will get out and those in the chase car will get in.”
The chase crews follow the balloons until the pilots are ready to come down, then they help pack everything up and get it back into the trailer.
“We take volunteers all the way up until the morning of our flights. Even if they don’t call me in advance, they are invited to come out to the park and say they want to be in a chase crew,” Held said. “I will always have pilots that would like to have somebody help them.”
No special skills are required to be a part of a chase crew.
“Just being able to follow instructions is enough,” Held said.
The rally association only asks that volunteers who are under the age of 18 be with a legal guardian.
Of course, one of the perks of working a chase crew is the likelihood that you’ll get a balloon ride.
“I always let people know, it’s a good chance of getting a balloon ride,” Held said. “You get to meet people from different areas and you get to see your own backyard from a different perspective.”
What’s the view like from up there?
“It’s a unique way to go rock climbing,” Held said.
For information on the rally or to volunteer for a chase crew, see the rally association’s website at https://redrockballoonrally.com.
By Holly J. Wagner
Sun Correspondent
