This is the story of a "long jump" flight that
was flown in The Jester a number of years ago.
Date: January 30, 1999
Launch site: south side of Battle Creek, MI
Weather:
(Terminal Aerodrome Forecast & Winds Aloft)
KAZO 300530Z 300606 24005KT P6SM SCT250
FM0800 VRB03KT 5SM BR SCT010
TEMPO 0814 2SM BR SCT005
FM1400 09009KT P6SM SCT250
VALID 301200Z FOR USE 0900-1800Z
FT 3000 6000 9000
FWA 0708 0209+03 3516-01
MKG 9900 3414+00 3325-03
Distance: 42 miles
Crew: Tammy, Tricia, Tom, Barb, Jerry
The morning began with a preflight
briefing from the Lansing flight service at 0700EST. The forecast looked good
so the Team took to the road and headed out to Donna Fox’s house – the planned
launch site on D Drive South. It was a cold morning in Southwest Michigan with
temperatures hovering in the mid 20’s, but temperatures were expected to rise
into the mid 40’s by late morning. Today was going to be a special flight. The
first order of business after arriving at Donna’s house was to plug in the fuel
tank heaters. In order to achieve the proper operating temperature on such a
cold morning the fuel tanks must be either heated or pressurized with an inert
gas. With sunrise at 7:57 the crew waited patiently for the tanks to heat and
dawn to appear. However, with the breaking of dawn came an increase in the
light morning fog. The launch would now be delayed until about 0900EST when the
fog was expected to dissipate. At about 0830 the crew began to prepare the
gentle giant for what would be a very easy morning inflation with a very light
breeze from the east. After stretching the 7 stories of fabric across the frost
covered ground the inflation fan was started and the balloon filled with cold
air. The cold air was then heated and the balloon began to slowly rise to a
vertical position. Before launching the crew was again reminded of the plans
for the morning flight. The Jester would remain airborne for as long a flight
as safety would allow.
As the balloon slowly
ascended into the morning sky a strong winter sun was beaming down upon the
balloon. This was a good sign, the warmth of the sun would help to conserve
fuel for this challenging flight. The pilot, alone in the quiet serenity of the
sky and the peace of a cold winter morning, began a gradual ascent of about 300
feet per minute. Directional and speed readings were taken at various altitudes
using a global positioning system in order to find the fastest winds possible.
As the balloon ascended through an altitude of 4000 feet AGL (above ground
level) a formation of four A-10 attack aircraft from the Airforce Reserve base
in Battle Creek flew past The Jester about a half mile to the east. As the
chase crew following on the ground below became smaller and smaller the winds
were also gradually increasing. At 4000 feet the balloon was now traveling at
about 25 miles per hour. The balloon was traveling south which was also good
because no major airports would be encountered in this direction. As the
balloon continued to ascend the winds began to decrease but the direction
remained fairly consistent and at 6000 feet The Jester was now traveling at only
13 mph. In search of better winds the ascent continued and by 6600 feet the
winds had increased again to 25 mph. When the balloon reached 7000 feet the
speed had increased to about 28 mph. After a small decrease through 7400 feet
the maximum sustained speed of 31 mph was achieved at 8000 feet AGL. This was
the predetermined maximum altitude for this “long jump” training flight. The
tranquility of flight was momentarily broken by the sound of 2 more A-10
aircraft giving The Jester a flyby at about 12000 feet. A few minutes later
another aircraft engine was heard. It is always good to keep an eye on any
aircraft that are in the area, but many times the balloon obstructs your view
above. I quickly panned the horizon and sky above searching for the plane and
then to my surprise I spotted the plane – flying below me! I watched for a
minute as the plane raced toward its destination and thought for a moment about
how much better it was to be in the open air than in that enclosed cockpit.
Now more than one
hour into the flight The Jester began a very gradual descent in order to observe
and record wind speed and directions. At the passing of the second hour of the
flight The Jester had traveled about 35 miles and was crossing the Michigan
State line into Indiana. After crossing the Indiana turnpike The Jester
descended through 1000 feet and began to look for the perfect landing spot.
With the two 15 gallon fuel tanks still 35% full there was no hurry and as the
day had progressed the ground winds had increased to about 8 to 12 mph.
Therefore the perfect landing spot would be a large yard or grass field. After
about 20 minutes of flying just above the treetops The Jester came upon a nice
field and gradually descended until ground contact was made. As one member of
the ground crew went to seek landowner permission another helped to stabilize
the position as we waited to deflate. After a couple of minutes the parachute
was pulled from the top of the balloon and the hot air made its escape into the
mid-day sky as the purple, green, and yellow fabric flattened out across the
grass. Without having permission to drive into the field to retrieve the
equipment the crew was relieved to see a Amish family walking through the field
to where we were. The inquisitive guests helped in packing the equipment and
carrying it to the roadside. After loading the equipment and thanking our new
friends, The Jester Hot Air Balloon Team headed for home, another successful and
exciting flight completed safely.
Four Jester Team
records were also shattered on this spectacular day. The previous distance
record of 19 miles was exceeded by 23 miles, the altitude record of 5400 feet
was exceeded by 2600 feet, the speed record of 19 mph was exceeded by 12 mph,
and the flight duration record of 1 hr 35 min was exceeded by 1 hr. The
experienced gained during this flight will be put to use in the 1999
Trans-Michigan Balloon Race which is scheduled for February 6th & 7th.
Keep
your eye on the sky and your heart in the wind,
-The Pilot
Altitude Endeavors, Inc.
