HOT SPRINGS — Lynette Howell’s childhood love of hot-air balloons has led her to chase them each year during the annual Legends Balloon Rally in Hot Springs.
“When they go up, they must come down,” Howell said. “I’ve volunteered on the chase crews for each of the past four years. When I first heard about [Legends], I showed up at the airport (where the rally is held) and said, ‘I’m as strong as a horse and want to help.’”
Howell, a Reno, Nev., native, has lived in Hot Springs for five years and been an Arkansas resident for 20. A senior at Henderson State University, Howell might not look like someone who helps assemble, chase and disassemble hot air balloons for fun. Petite and with spiky black hair, she attributed her hobby — and the physical strength that goes into it — to working on farms when she was younger.
“I grew up around horses, and I’ve worked on horse farms,” Howell said. “I’ve taken care of livestock, hacked firewood and lifted and stacked 50-pound sacks of grain. That’s my country side, but what I like about ballooning is the adventure side. You do need to be physically strong. I’d hate to categorize it as you have to be strong in order to crew, but I think that’s why my crew likes me and asks for me — I can get in there and do the work.”
Her fascination with hot-air balloons started when she was in elementary school.
“They always had balloon races in Nevada. That’s where you get your good races, in the desert. There are no obstacles, and it’s always spectacular to see them. I was hypnotized by them.”
The Legends Balloon Rally began in 2008 and is held annually at Hot Springs Memorial Field Airport. This year’s event was held Sept. 21 and 22. Named for the veteran balloon pilots who come from around the country to participate, Legends features 25 balloonists competing for a cash prize. One of Howell’s favorite parts of the rally is the nightly “glow,” during which the balloons are tethered to the ground, or to vehicles, and illuminated for public viewing.
“You can’t fly them at night,” Howell said. “It is a very dramatic and exciting display, and it happens right at sundown.”
No night-flying is just one federal regulation balloon pilots must follow.
“There are lots of rules pertaining to when they can and can’t fly,” Howell said. “Safety is a big issue. You can’t steer balloons; they are at the mercy of the wind.”
For the rally, pilots “are up at 3 a.m., watching the weather and making decisions based on the weather,” Howell said. “Winds change; they don’t stay consistent. [Pilots] have to be aware constantly of air space and obstacles like trees and power lines.”
Howell, who has also crewed in Longview, Texas, and Natchez, Miss., said her job “all starts with the inflation process. We’ll meet with the pilots at the crack of dawn. They are determining wind conditions. When you have a huge balloon, you can’t have high winds. There can’t be cloud cover, and you cannot be inside an airport’s airspace. Once it is announced that it’s safe to fly, we all gather and do the inflation.
“The pilot I trained with can do it by himself, but that’s rare — normally two men are needed, but four or five are best. We put the fuel tanks inside the basket, and we hook together the bars that attach the gas and all that. The balloon is heavy, and I don’t know how many stories [tall]. It’s pushed down into a bag like a tent, and it takes a couple of people to hold that envelope open when removing the balloon.”
The balloon “gets pulled out along the ground,” Howell said. “It’s squashed into a long tube.” An industrial fan is used to partially inflate the balloon. “As soon as it’s partially full, the pilot will then shoot the air in. It’s hot, and it makes a very loud noise. The basket at that point is on the ground, but all of a sudden, that lifts off.
“That’s when I get one of the biggest adrenaline rushes. Holding on to that balloon when it stands up is quite exciting. There’s also a sense of danger because you are within inches of that flame, but it’s all precise and safe. Once it stands up, there is another person on the end of the rope, making sure the balloon doesn’t flip over. I’ve been on that rope, and it can be challenging. By then, the pilot has control of the basket.”
The pilot’s job in a race is “a science,” she said.
“They’re studying the wind, and they have their target. It’s a contest to see who’s best,” Howell said. “The pilot begins lift off, and the chase crew loads up. Everything we took apart — the big bag, all of that — goes back into our van. Two-way communication is important. Each balloon has its own ground crew, and they are in constant contact. It’s exciting.”
Part of the crew’s responsibility is to make sure the pilot has a safe landing. The pilot must also keep the balloon “steady” until the crew arrives, Howell said. “Then it gets deflated. That’s the whole inflation process backward — pack everything up and refuel the gas tanks. Then it’s time to have a cocktail.”
Balloonists in Hot Springs are, for the most part, confined to the airport, but Howell said everybody was happy.
“Winds on Friday didn’t allow for a good flight, but we got in a good one Saturday,” she said “Even the short flights are exciting and spectacular.”
The balloon glow requires the same setup as a launch.
“It’s so much fun setting up for a glow; it’s more relaxed,” she said. “The balloons are tied down with 10 or so heavy ropes. Of course, when gas shoots into a balloon, you’re adding heat, so the balloon wants to rise. It’s a neat visual for the crowd.”
This year’s rally was won by a beginner pilot, she said.
“He actually flew very low and won the contest,” Howell said.
Pilots aim for a target that is usually “a big X,” and cash prizes are usually as much as $20,000.
“The races in an airport are localized around the airport, and it all just depends on where the winds are blowing. The pilots are trying to figure out how to get over the target. It was interesting this year because one balloon completely overshot the target. It gets pretty intense.”
She said she didn’t go for her first balloon flight until two years ago.
“I always wanted to ride in one, but I crewed for two years before that opportunity presented itself. My first ride was at the airport. We were going about getting ready, and I had to sign a paper for the safety crew. They surprised me by letting me go up. It is amazing. You get up above all the noise and the hustle and bustle. You see the trees from an angle you’ve never quite seen. You are right at the tip-top of the tree looking down, and it’s very calming and quiet.”
The burners can, however, make a “great big noise,” she said. “You have to adjust altitude to stay out of the power lines, and it keeps you very, very busy, and you have to pay close attention. My first ride was exciting. I knew that I loved it, but the landing was scary. The basket can turn over, and you have to adjust with it — you don’t want anybody shoving their arms out. If the wind comes up while you’re landing, it can take a couple of people to hold it still. You have to learn to flow with the balloon.”
She recalled one exciting landing in which the balloon came down in a golf course in Little Rock.
“We were trying to make it over the Arkansas River,” Howell said. “When we took off, we were looking down on War Memorial Stadium. The winds changed, and then we were looking down on a golf course and a vacant parking lot. It looked like a good place to go down. The people on the course were very helpful. Wind can make it quite a chore.”
She said she enjoys the camaraderie of balloon crews.
“When these people are all in town, it’s like having a family reunion,” she said. “It’s a tight-knit culture.”