KRCG's Chester Lampkin went on a balloon ride in anticipation of the Columbia Balloon Invitational
We were on our way to another 100 degree day, but it began as a relatively cool morning. I met up with the George Thomas and his team at a parking lot in south Columbia. George was the pilot for my first hot air balloon ride, and he also happens to own the Tiger Paw Express, the balloon we were going to ride in. After making a few observations of which way the winds were blowing, we were off to the launch site on the north side of town.
It was amazing how quickly everything was put together...mere minutes from pulling the basket and materials out of the trailer to being airborne. After snapping a few photos of the process I was told to hop in and we were off.
| Little known fact: I'm afraid of heights. However I was too busy taking pictures to notice our gradual ascent into the atmosphere. In fact at no point during the flight did the elevation bother me. By now it was an hour after sunrise and you could see for several miles around.
Off to the east, the sun was bright; to the north you could see patches of fog in nearby trees. The view south and west was more fog, this time lining the Missouri River. Below were patches of trees and neighborhoods. On occasion we could see people getting into their cars, likely on their way to work, and every once and a while we'd catch someone enjoying a morning cup of coffee on their deck. It was another gorgeous central Missouri morning. Our journey took us across Interstate 70 just above Providence Road. We were several hundred feet in the air. As the light northeast wind pushed us along I asked George what types of weather conditions were best for balloon flights. "We'd like to have high pressure." George told me. "Typically associated with stable air conditions and we'd like for the winds to be under 10, preferably under five [miles per hour]. It just makes the inflation so much easier." This happened to be one of these mornings. The conditions nearly matched the ideal situation, though it was starting to get a bit warm, still a great day for a ride. We continued southwest past downtown and the MU campus, flying nearly directly over the Daniel Boone Library, and finally ending up over neighborhoods near Chapel Hill Road. We chatted about his flying history and experiences while I took in the sights of Columbia from the air. Before I knew it, almost an hour had passed. At this point George was looking for a place to land, which means we were flying much lower than before. The time was approaching 8 o’clock, the wind was dying down, and the air was heating up, so it was time to come down. At that height, the sound of the burner startled several dogs in the neighborhoods below and a few people were surprised as we began our decent. We were greeted by a small crowd as we finally made our landing in the middle of a street near a cul-de-sac. Not a traditional place to touch down but a smooth landing none the less. It was a once in a life time opportunity that I truly enjoyed and hopefully will experience again. Something I would highly recommend to everyone. I thanked George and his team and then they were off to their next flight out in Kansas. You can see the Tiger Paw Express along with 30 other balloons at the Columbia Balloon Invitational Aug. 23-26. |
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