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The annual White Sands Hot Air Balloon Invitational always takes place on
a Saturday and Sunday in September.
The next White Sands Hot Air Balloon
Invitational
will take place September 19 -
20, 2009.
Last years' admission fee for the general public per head was $3.00 over
the age of 17. Under 17 was free.
The event begins right at sunrise and
lasts until the balloons come down, usually 3 hours. There is a Balloon
Glow at our local High School, Alamogordo High School, that takes place
30 minutes after sundown, usually 7:30 pm. Admission for the Balloon
Glow was FREE.
The morning lift-offs you can reach best by going to White Sands National
Monument. You have to take your own vehicle. White Sands Blvd., in
Alamogordo, head South and follow the road when it turns to Hwy 70. This
will lead you to White Sands National Monument.
The Hot Air Balloon Invitational grows
more and more popular each year. Approx. 200 to 400 spectators are
enjoying it each day. This is a rough guess, however.
See more under
Where
is White Sands located and
How to get there.
The Beginning of
White Sands Hot Air Balloon Invitational
It all started in 1992, when Ed Brabson, who is now director of the annual
balloon festival, and others managed to get all necessary permissions and
launched 18 balloons.
And here is a recap of the 2007 Hot Air Balloon Fiesta:
16TH WHITE SANDS HOT AIR BALLOON INVITATIONAL
SEPTEMBER 15 AND 16, 2007
Photo: Tory Davis
It was announced that around 50 hot air
balloons would be launched each day at sunrise. But Saturday was a no-go
due to unfavorable wind conditions.
The wind would have pushed the balloons
right over the restricted military territory of
White Sands Missile Range.
Approx. 440 long faces watched how
34 balloons didn't take off. At least the ones not launching from White
Sands.
Saturday evening at sundown the
balloon glow was scheduled at the AHS football field, synchronized with the AHS
Band. But it was still very windy.
Everyone tried to make the best
of it, the school marching band accompanied the torches and we accompanied
a good bottle of whiskey. A pretty nice day after all.
BALLOON GLOW MINUS THE BALLOONS
SATURDAY, SEPT 15, 2007
Photo: Tory Davis
On Sunday people were ready for action,
and rightly so. The audience arrived before the balloons did. Approx.
350 spectators cheered on the 30 balloons that finally took off.
The balloon launches that were
scheduled from Alamogordo took off as planned.
Check out our
Hot Air Balloon
Slideshow.
And here are some short video clips
from the event:
Here goes the meteorologists' test
balloon (aka pie ball).
Click to play video.
Bob Flotte is hoping to get the balloons up.
Click to play video.
Dave Chelgren says it's all depending on the
weather people, when the convoy arrived.
Click to play video.
Dave Chelgren is the Balloon Meister in
charge. He manages the pilots' registrations and has an eye on health and
safety issues.
More photos from the Balloon Fiesta in our Photo
Gallery.
It was understood that everybody had to immediately put their balloons back on the ground if the wind pushed
it towards the army restricted territory of White Sands Missile Rage. The
wind did exactly that and everyone went back down, except the REMAX
balloon. One pilot and three passengers were on the roll and later in big
trouble. Here she sails ....
REMAX BALLOON OVER WHITE
SANDS MISSILE RANGE
What happened on Friday at the
Sgt. Willie Estrada Memorial Civic Center in Alamogordo?
A private reception
for the 64 balloon pilots was held. The pilots were briefed on safety
issues and they combined the occasion with a little celebration together
with their sponsors, crew members, and friends, all in all around 400
people.
The Remax pilot (photo above) didn't
attend the safety instructions sessions. What do we learn from this?
To the best of our knowledge all information is current. If you should discover any errors, however, please
let us know via mail[at]white-sands-new-mexico.com. Thanks!
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