Winter hasn't closed in yet. In fact, we had just the right weather for one last afternoon of ballooning on this Black Friday.
The Lingenfelter family took their regular position as crew and chasers. The launch was beautiful and in the cool 42 degree air, the hot air took the balloon (with Kathy, Deb and Brianna) to great heights. Like 4700+ ft.
Then the winds began to spin them like a top. I, for one, was glad to be tucked safely in the Jeep.
Now, balloon pilots have some control over their cra
ft, but mostly up and down. Really good pilots somehow manage to put the balloon down where they want. Kathy is really good. After about 30 minutes at great altitudes and many miles, she landed the balloon at our church, Northwoods. The fabulous crew of Clydescope (humble group) even managed to arrive ahead of the balloon and assist in a most gentle landing.
Much to the surprise and joy of Josh and Erin, they were chosen for what was most likely to be the last flight of 2009. Larry was adde
d as the co-pilot and off they went, expecting to land somewhere near the village of Dunlap before the sun set.
ft, but mostly up and down. Really good pilots somehow manage to put the balloon down where they want. Kathy is really good. After about 30 minutes at great altitudes and many miles, she landed the balloon at our church, Northwoods. The fabulous crew of Clydescope (humble group) even managed to arrive ahead of the balloon and assist in a most gentle landing.
Much to the surprise and joy of Josh and Erin, they were chosen for what was most likely to be the last flight of 2009. Larry was adde
d as the co-pilot and off they went, expecting to land somewhere near the village of Dunlap before the sun set.
Josh brought a camera along to capture the sights from high above the earth. Here is his first shot looking north. Allen Road is running to the horizon.
In the photo to the right you can just make out two of the Chillicothe water towers (center of the pic all the way to the left). Thats the IL river on the horizon.
Hickory Grove Road intersects with Allen Road in the bottom of the picture to the left. The little black dot in the center of the pic is Pam and me in the Jeep.
In the pic to the right the kids are over Green View Nursery and looking NE.
Pam and I parked along Cedar Hills Drive as the kids flew over. They took a pic of us stopped at the intersection pretty close to the time we took this pic.
It was a race against the sun (and moon) to find a suitable place to land.
Sometimes we as chasers can get ahead of the balloon and assist the landing. Sometimes we can't. This time we couldn't. With power lines looming beyond a tree line, Kathy and Larry dropped the balloon suddenly. We chasers lost the chase.
A small tree, sent by God himself, reached out and grabbed one of the ropes. It tied the rope tightly around one of it's branches and stopped the balloon from getting tangled in a much larger tree. It tied the knot so tightly that Larry had to climb the tree to free the balloon. The landing was exciting and fast, a total plus for a 13 and 9 year old.
What a great afternoon.
We even stopped traffic for a little while as we packed up the balloon.
A great day with great friends.
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