Hot air balloons make unexpected landings at local festival
Balloons festivals are full of surprises and this year’s Labor Day Lift Off is no different.
Most of the action takes place above Memorial Park, but a few unexpected landings have been catching some of the attention.
“You’re floating. There’s no sensation of movement,” saidScott Appelman, a balloon pilot and Labor Day Lift Off president. “You’re at the mercy of the weather. You’re at the mercy of the direction of where the winds take you.”
Appelman said it’s common to see balloons landing in unexpected places.
“With a hot air balloon, we don’t have a steering wheel,” Appelman said. “We’re navigating the winds, which are blowing in different directions at different altitudes.”
There are more than 60 balloons flying in the skies this Labor Day weekend. Several of the balloons landed near houses and streets.
“You deal with what you’re given. These pilots out here, they’re trained to deal with that,”Appelman said.
When it comes to landing a balloon, pilots have to be ready for anything.
“I’ve landed on freeways, backyards, front yards and streets,” Appelman said. “That’s part of the charm, or the uniqueness, of having a hot air balloon event. You never know what’s going to be dropping in.”
