Travelling with the wind The mass ascension of more than 500 hot-air balloons at New Mexico’s Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta was our first experience with lighterthan-air flight. Our anticipation surged as the pilot and crew inflated the balloon with propane burners. Bold patterns and vivid splashes of nylon billowed out like butterflies emerging from cocoons. Crewmembers restrained the inflated balloon from ascending as we scrambled into the gondola with the pilot and other passengers. With a whoosh of the propane burner, we were up, up and away! We felt no motion. Below us, the landscape scrolled by, with houses and cars no larger than toys. Landings are as exciting as launches. On another flight over California’s Napa Valley vineyards, a wind gust forced our pilot to descend in an alternative location. Balloon descents always draw onlookers. A man wearing only running shoes and a baseball cap rushed out to greet us. “You’ve just landed in a private nudist camp,” he said. Our pilot grinned and fired the propane burners to propel us to another site. This time, we landed in a churchyard, just as the wedding party was leaving the church. The bride and groom joined us for the traditional after-flight champagne toast. Imagining that you’re the Red Baron After we booked a Fort Myers, Florida biplane ride, our pilot Doug offered us the choice of a sightseeing flight or a barnstorming option. We selected the sightseeing tour, with a sample aerobatic stunt. Donning dog-eared caps and goggles, we sat side by side in the open cockpit in front of Doug in his replica 1935WACO biplane. We expected ear-deafening noise, bugs in our teeth and wind in our faces as we became airborne, but it was surprisingly calm behind the windshield. We glided over Cape Coral’s canals, Matlacha’s mangroves and fruit plantations near Pine Island. “Look over the left-wing tip!” said Doug through the two-way intercom attached to our caps. Below us, dolphins jumpedmerrily in Captiva Pass. As we viewed Sanibel Island through the struts of our double-winged plane, people waved to us from crayon-coloured kayaks below. “Let’s wave back,” said Doug, as he rocked the wings up and down. We felt like barnstormers when Doug revved the engine for a steep climb. G-forces pushed us back into our seats. Exhilarated, we resolved to experience some rolls, figure eights and steep turns on our next biplane flight. 22 | www.snowbirds.org Travel
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MzMzNzMx