Rising Above Wildcat Park Grounds with Sky Sail Balloons
Ludlow Days was held at Wildcat Park with much entertainment, including a hot air balloon rides this past Saturday and Sunday evenings and was presented by Sky Sail Balloons Inc.
The pilot of the hot air balloon, Geoff Turner, explained that the particular hot air balloon that they had with them at Wildcat Park for Ludlow Days has been in their stable for about 15 years.
“I’ve been flying commercially since about 1989,” Geoff said.
He explained that they attended Ludlow Days in 2021 with the balloon tether for one day. The demand was so high that they were invited to attend the event this past weekend.
Geoff said that the balloon is tethered to go up 150 feet.
“That is a fifteenstory building and we are looking for as many as a hundred people to tether in the balloon tonight (Saturday),” he said. “The view is pretty up and down the valley from here.”
Four people can fit in the balloon at a time with Geoff, who rides with every group of passengers.
Geoff stated that he did most of his training in 1989 in an FAA (Federal Air Administration) approved flight training center in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
“We are a registered aircraft, no different than others flying the skies,” he said.
Jenny Turner, Geoff’s wife, said she is part of the Balloon Chase Crew, which can be found at www.skysail.org. Jenny said it is a family sport and is so much fun for people of all ages.
“We have raised two kids while doing this,” she said.
Jenny’s favorite place she has flown was Niagara Falls, flying from Canada to the United States.
“Obviously we wouldn’t be able to do that these days,” Jenny said.
Geoff explained that the flight over the falls was prior to 9/11 and said, “The regulations on the Canadian side and the American side are such that you cannot even fly near the falls anymore.”
Jenny shared that her favorite height is tree top level looking over the forest.
Geoff said his most favorite flight was a Long Jump Competition out of Dansville, New York where the competitors flew over 50miles to Cuba, New York.
“That was done decades ago. We won the Long Jump Competition at the event, flying the farthest of any balloon that was flying that morning,” he said.
Most of Sky Sail Balloons flight sites are over Chautauqua Lake.
Geoff explained why “Sail” was included in the name of their business.
“The reason we reference sailing is that I started out as a competitive sailboat sailor. Boat racing is not for the faint of heart and this is user-friendly.”