A different kind of “air force” will take to the skies over Shreveport and Bossier City July 14-20

Dr. Bill Bussey has been a hot air balloon pilot since 1977 and holds 15 world records. Bussey created the Great Texas Balloon Race in Longview, Texas, in 1978 and is also credited with producing the very first ever balloon glow in 1981. “These events draw so many people,” he said. “We’ve had people come from England and Japan to our event. It’s just good for everybody.”

According to the National Balloon Museum (www.nationalballoonmuseum. com), the first manned balloon flight occurred in Paris in 1783, in a hot air balloon made of paper and silk. Two men who stood on a circular platform attached to the bottom of the balloon and hand-fed fire through openings on either side of the balloon’s skirt.

“Those first balloons were hot air,” Bussey said. “They built the fire on the ground and used pitchforks with hay to get their lifts. We still have the mystique of those old balloons with the wicker baskets, the ‘sky chariots of fire,’ but we don’t use sandbags like they did then.”

The 1960s brought a balloon renaissance of sorts, when Paul E. Yost developed the modern hot air balloon and the propane gas burner which made sustained flight possible. “Yost was hired by the U.S. Air Force to create some way for a pilot who bailed out of an airplane to stay aloft in a little balloon until help arrived,” Bussey said. “The Air Force’s idea of snatching someone out of the sky didn’t work, but Ed Yost is considered to be the father of the modern hot air balloon.”

Maury Sullivan, a director with Balloon Federation of America’s Hot Air Competition Division, is the event director for the Red River Balloon Rally. “Shreveport-Bossier is an active area, with Barksdale, the downtown airport and the regional airport, and we met with all those folks to make sure they’d be on board,” he said. “Events like this are about the people and getting welcomed into a community that is excited about getting balloons back in the area is such a boost.”

“These pilots are the best of the best, but wind and weather play a huge part in the race,” Wells said. “Each morning, there will be a pilot briefing with a meteorologist, where they’ll be given four or five targets and have to show off their skills in a hot air balloon. If the weather conditions are not good, they’ll pull it and be done for the day. In a typical championship week, they’ll fly three out of five of the seven mornings.”

“Although many people refer to the competition as a balloon race, it’s not a race in the traditional sense of the word,” Sullivan explained. “It’s not about speed or duration. It’s about navigational skills. The skill set is knowing how to evaluate weather and how to evaluate wind at various layers and various altitudes.”

The best pilots combine training and practice with an innate sixth sense, or as Sullivan refers to it, multi-processing. “It’s one of the attributes that the very best competitors in the sport have,” he said.

“They can absorb what happens around them very quickly. They see other pilots and what’s happening to them, and they see tell-tales.”

Their response time to those tell-tales is in part attributed to balloon technology. “Balloons used to be round, but now they are more tear drop-shaped,” Sullivan said. “They’re called racers, and they are more long and narrow. They can go up and down much quicker. They get into those different layers of air more quickly and can make those last-minute adjustments going to a target.”

Bussey said the sport has become more exciting as it has evolved to include new technology. “Quite honestly, I call them the young guns,” he said, “because these kids are very, very gifted with GPS and iPads and computers. I carry them, too, so my crew always knows where I am. But when you get right down to it, flying is nothing but math. You have to understand angles and the rate of descent.”

“We have what we call a logger,” Bussey explained. “It’s a black box, and it knows everything you do. You have to fly through these ‘wedding cakes’ in the sky, from the first level to the third level, and you get points. It’s a three-dimensional place. You’ve got to try to stay in the wedding cake. It takes a lot of skill. The excitement builds as the week goes on, as your favorite pilot does well or doesn’t.”

That skill is demonstrated in the Controlled Navigational Trajectory Event, also known as the Ring Toss. Each pilot has only one chance in each race to steer their balloon toward a 12-inch ring atop a 20-foot pole. Sullivan offered one bit of intriguing advice for home spectators. “Starting the Monday before the event you’ll see balloons practicing,” he said. “If someone would like to see balloons land or take off on their own property, they should place a white sheet in their front yard. That is an international sign that pilots recognize as a friendly place to land. If you’re in an area where you have a reasonable amount of space and you wouldn’t mind a pilot or two driving onto your property, it’s a fun thing to do.”

Shreveport pilot Pat Harwell has been flying for 20 years and is a past competitor, and he’ll be offering tethered rides at LSUS. Harwell said he enjoys helping first-timers overcome their fear of heights as they ascend into the atmosphere. “Any fear is overcome when they get into the balloon,” Harwell said. “It’s a different sensation. There is no wind. You’re flying with the wind. You’re standing in a semi-enclosed area with a 360-degree view, and you can have a conversation.”

One of the things Harwell enjoys most about flying in a balloon is the wildlife sightings. “More often than not, you’ll see deer and wild hogs, sometimes alligators,” he said. “We’re going over places that people can’t get to, like little ponds and creeks. I have seen a mountain lion twice in south Shreveport. It’s just amazing. Both times he looked at me like I’m dinner.”

Harwell has trained and helped 24 students to get their licenses over the years, and he has also trained crew members. “We are holding some crew training classes for people who want to get a taste of it and so they can help out people coming to the competition. One will be held on Saturday, July 8 at 6 p.m. in the LSUS Science Building, Room 116.” More information can be found at Harwell’s Web site at www.shreveportballoon.com.

One of the most popular features by far is the Balloon Glow. Approximately 25 balloons will fire up right after sunset. “The Balloon Glow is just wonderful,” Bussey said. “I’ve seen it several hundred times, and I still get chills every time I see it. They’re huge and beautiful and colorful. People need to come out and see these balloons when they’re glowing.”

Friday and Saturday nights will also offer music and a fireworks show around 9:15 p.m. Friday concerts will include Christian music artists such as Citizen, Phil Wickham and Rend Collective. The Saturday night line-up will include country music artists Southern Roots and Thompson Square.

Other features will include a Special Shapes Spectacular with Tweetie Bird and Sylvestor the Cat balloons. Sci-Port has coordinated a Junior Hot Air Balloon Building Contest. There will be food vendors and a Kids’ Zone and a 5K run associated with the rally, as well.

“I’m always excited to go to a town that hasn’t done this,” Sullivan said. “It’s so family friendly. Bring a blanket and a lawn chair. You’ll have the time of your life.”

Tickets are available at Brookshire’s and Super One stores. More information and a detailed schedule of events is available on the Web site at www.shreveportbossiersports.com or www.redriverballoonrally.com.

More information on ballooning can be found at www.BFA.net and www. balloonpong.com.

– Susan Reeks

PRICING

In advance: $8 (ages 6 & over) at all area participating Super 1 Foods and Brookshire’s locations from June 15-July 16. Click here for a list of participating locations. Ticket is good for one-day admission to either Friday, July 15, or Saturday, July 16. Price includes admission, concerts and balloon glow.

At the door (cash only): $10 ages 18 and over; $8 ages 6-17; 5 and under free; $8 active military with ID. Ticket is good for one-day admission to either Friday, July 15, or Saturday, July 16. Price includes admission, concerts and balloon glow.

Tether Rides (cash only): Friday and Saturday as weather permits at LSUS festival site. Adults $20; $15 ages 5-12; under 5 are free with paid adult per child. Sponsored by CHRISTUS Health & Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals.

Kids’ Fun Zone (cash only): Friday and Saturday at LSUS festival site. Kids’ armbands for all you can ride $15. Sponsored by Pediatric Dental Partners: Drs. Crawford, Wallace, Backofen & Chidlow.