Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta

The Start Of A New Journey

I have always been intrigued with hot air balloons. They look so beautiful floating in the sky. There’s something charming about ‘going where the wind takes you’. But my interest was always casual and I never expected that, in my 50’s, I would have such an amazing hot air balloon experience, and start my own hot air ballooning journey.

My first hot air balloon flight was in 1992, when I floated over farmland in central Pennsylvania. The scenery was beautiful and I loved watching the cows look up at us. Shortly after that, my (now) husband and I moved to Arizona. A few years ago our son, Logan, and I had a hot air balloon flight followed by breakfast in the desert. Both flights were beautiful and memorable, but they did not feel like an ‘experience’. Then came Albuquerque…

Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta Experience

We are only 6 1/2 hours from Albuquerque, home to the largest hot air balloon festival in the world, held the first weekend of October each year. Over the past 26 years of living in Arizona, Frank and I often talked about attending the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta. Finally, in 2019, I was online as RV Lot tickets went on sale, and I reserved an RV spot for four nights in the VIP North Lot for Balloon Fiesta 2020. Of course, the 2020 event was cancelled due to the pandemic, but fortunately, our reservation was rolled over to 2021.

Wanting to have a true hot air balloon ‘experience’, not just look at the balloons, I registered online in advance for us to crew with one of the balloon pilots. A couple days before we were leaving, we received a call from a Fiesta volunteer. She said that once we get to the Balloon Fiesta Park, to go to the south end of the field and find a ‘red cube’. That is where we would be assigned a pilot to crew with.

The Fiesta starts on a Saturday, and there are morning and evening sessions each day. In between sessions, there are some small events taking place, but for the most part the field is pretty quiet. We arrived late morning on Saturday, and decided to walk around the field, and find the red cube. There were a few groups of people hanging out on the field, but most of the vendor tents are closed during the day and things were pretty quiet.

We Found A Crew!

We walked all around the (massive) field, but could not find a red cube. There were a group of people on the field with a couple trucks nearby and some pop-up tents. One of the trucks was towing a red trailer, which was the closest thing we saw to a red cube. So, we walked up to one of the men there and said, “We’re looking for the place to register to crew for a pilot. They told us to go to the red cube, and this is the closest thing we’ve seen”.

“You can crew for me.” he said. “Do you want a beer?”.

And that is how we found pilot Bob and his Ski Patrol Balloon Team. We ended up hanging out with them the rest of the afternoon, enjoying champagne, beer and jungle juice, and had a great time! It was a fantastic group of 12 or 15 people, a few of which were also pilots. He told us where his location was on the field so we could meet him the next morning to crew.

Being a Hot Air Balloon Crew Member

Of course, we had never crewed for a hot air balloon team before, and really had no idea what we were getting in to. Each balloon has a pilot, and needs a minimum of 3-6 crew members. One person is the Crew Chief, who instructs the rest of the crew on their duties. Crew duties pre-flight can include opening the envelope (fabric portion of the balloon), positioning and operating the inflator fan, holding the mouth of the balloon open during cold inflation, holding the crown line so the balloon is stable during inflation, and holding down the balloon until the pilot signals he’s ready to take off.

After the pilot launches, the crew watches and ‘chases’ the balloon until it lands. Once landed, the crew is responsible for deflating the envelope, and packing up the envelope, basket, and all other equipment.

Generally, after everything is packed up, the pilot and crew spend some time hanging out, usually having a couple of drinks and discussing the flight. It can be hard work to be a crew member, but it’s very rewarding to be part of a balloon team.

Amazing Crew, Amazing Time

Early the next morning, we met Bob and his crew at their spot on the field at Balloon Fiesta Park. Gary, the Crew Chief, and Alice and Ralph, long time crew members, gave us an overview of what would be taking place. At 6:30am is Dawn Patrol, where a few hot air balloons inflate and ascend early so that all of the pilots can get an idea of what direction the wind will be blowing. After that is Mass Accession. The balloons on the field inflate and ascend as instructed by the ‘zebras’, or Launch Directors, starting at about 7am. Or, the pilot and crew take off in the balloon truck and chase vehicle to find a different location to launch from.

Each morning, when Bob returned from the pilot briefing, we got to work. Some days Bob inflated and lifted off from the field. Other days, which were competition days, we would drive offsite, a few miles away, and find a place to launch from. One morning it was a large vacant lot. The other morning it was from a resident’s field.

Our Crew Jobs

As crew, we help unload the basket and the envelope from the truck, and unfurl the envelope. I help to velcro the parachute (the very top of the balloon) to the rest of the envelope. Frank holds the crown line, which is the rope that attaches to the very top of the balloon. As the balloon inflates, first with cold air, then with hot air heated by propane, the crown line keeps the balloon stable. Once the envelope is inflated, we all assist with holding the basket down until the launch director or the pilot gives the okay to lift off.

When launched from the field, the chase vehicle watches which direction the balloon flies and ‘chases’ it to wherever it lands. The pilot and crew chief also have radios so they can keep in contact with each other during the flight. On competition days, the balloon starts from offsite, and flies to Balloon Fiesta Park. There are targets placed on the field. The pilots are given sand bags with long ribbons attached, and attempt to drop their sand bags as close as possible to the targets. Then the balloons land, either on the field or nearby.

Once the balloon is landed, the crew get to work to get it packed up. All of us help to collapse the envelope, and get all the air out of it. We pack it as tightly as possible and load it into a large canvas bag. We pack the envelope, basket, and all other supplies back into the truck. Then we crack a beer and congratulate everyone on what a great flight it was!

Our Hot Air Balloon Flight!

On Tuesday morning, Bob offered to take Frank and I up for a flight! We had not expected to have the opportunity to fly, but were very excited!

Tuesday was a competition day, so after the pilot briefing, we headed offsite to a vacant lot. There were a few balloons launching from the same site. We took care of our crew responsibilities and, once the balloon was inflated, Bob told up to hop in.

Bob has been a hot air balloon pilot for more than 30 years. He’s an excellent pilot, and, using only the wind, directed us up towards the field, alongside the field, then directly over the targets. Unfortunately, there was a balloon below us, so he could not go as low as he would have liked to drop his sand bags on the target, but he got them very close.

Since we were so high, we could not land on the field, but had to continue flying over it. Bob saw a vacant lot, where a couple of other balloons had already landed, and aimed to land there. We approached rather quickly, and other crews helped to pull us down. Since we came in quite fast, we ended up taking out a street sign, which ripped the envelope in two place. Fortunately, no one was hurt.

Pulling Stitches

With Bob’s years of experience, he knew right away to get on the phone and call a repair shop. He said instead of going back to hang out on the field, he was going to stay with the balloon and help ‘pull stitches’ so it could fly again the next day. He said he would meet us all back at the field later. We all said no, we wanted to pull stitches too! We are a team after all! So, the whole crew of us headed to the repair shop to help remove the two torn panels from the envelope.

Due to the winds, there were a number of balloons damaged that morning, and many coming in to the repair shop. We got the damaged panels removed, the repair shop replaced them, and sure enough, the balloon was ready to fly again the next morning!

When we were done pulling stitches, we all headed back to the field per usual to hang out, have a drink and talk about the day. But Bob had something else planned for us. There is a tradition in hot air ballooning that there is a champagne toast after each flight. And, for inaugural flights, like ours, Bob performs an initiation ceremony which includes the story of hot air ballooning, the Balloonists Prayer, and, of course, the champagne toast. He also presented us each with a balloon pin, which officially made us part of the Ski Patrol Balloon crew. It truly completed our hot air balloon experience!

Although I had flown twice before, this experience was different, and felt completely new and unique. So I fully embraced the ceremony, and greatly appreciate Bob, his crew, and the friendships that were created.

Our Last Day – For Now

Our RV reservations ended on Wednesday. We met the rest of the team early that morning and helped to get the balloon launched. I’m honest when I say I had tears in my eyes and we hugged everyone goodbye. I felt like I had known them for much longer than five days, and knew without a doubt, that we would see them again.

I also knew then that this was just the beginning of a new experience for me. My hot air ballooning journey is just beginning!

Have Your Own Hot Air Balloon Experience

Does any or all of our experience sound like something you would enjoy? Then you can get involved too! There are more than 500 balloons at the the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta each year. Many travel in from other states and countries. A lot of pilots are looking for crew members!

The most challenging part of attending Balloon Fiesta is finding a place to stay. We loved staying in the RV lot. There are a number of different lots, and they all are within close proximity to the field. If you don’t have an RV though, there are a lot of other options. There are many hotels and rental properties nearby. A number of the hotels offer free shuttles to the Park. The key is to book as far in advance as possible.

You Can Crew A Hot Air Balloon Too

If you’re interested in crewing at the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta, you can apply in advance on line. That’s what we did originally, although that’s not how we found a pilot to crew for. (If you ever find the red cube, please let me know!). But if you don’t apply in advance, or can’t find the red cube, just go up and start talking with some of the pilots and crew on the field. It can be intimidating, especially when everyone is working on getting the balloon inflated, etc., but everyone we met was extremely kind, friendly, and truly grateful for the help.

There is also a great Facebook group called Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta. They are not actually associated with the Fiesta, but the members share a lot of great information. There are a number of pilots and crew who are in the group who were looking for crew members prior to the event this year. If you crew, there is no guarantee you will get to go up in a balloon, but honestly, the crew experience is so much fun, you may not even want to leave the ground.

And if you have any questions or need more information, please feel free to contact me at afunlovinglife@gmail.com, or by leaving a comment below. I loved my hot air balloon experience at the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta and love talking about it! There is so much more I didn’t even cover, such as the night glow, the skydivers, the vendors, and more! And this was only my first balloon festival. Two months later we attended another one and had another amazing hot air balloon experience! That article is coming soon!