FLYING HIGH ABOVE HIGH RIVER
The view above High River was breathtaking during the Heritage Inn International Balloon Festival (Sept. 23-27). Due to being too breezy (above 10 knots and under), there were only a few opportunities including the last day where the winds held off in the early morning. More about ballooning and the Festival in the Oct. 16 edition.
Dale Lang has been a balloonist for 46 years, and he wouldn’t have missed a minute of it.
Lang, along with a dozen other hot air balloon enthusiasts from Calgary, High River, Rolling Hills and a few from Quebec, were in High River as part of the Heritage Inn Hot Air Balloon Festival.
While it was missing many of the fliers who come up from the United States and all fliers and ground crews wore mandatory face masks complying with pandemic rules due to social distancing considerations, there was still a lot of interest from the locals.
Lang who lives in Taber, drove up for the festival which was schedule to last for five days (Sept. 23-27) but due to high winds there were only a handful of opportunities to fly.
That is part of the drawback, you just never know when something gets canceled and while planning is essential, preparedness might be even more important. It is all the fun in the chase for calmness and no winds.
Lang then started Balloon Adventures in 1974 where not only did he train new pilots but he also fixed balloons and did public flights as well. This company officially last for a decade but he still does a lot of these kinds of flights. He does the High River festival and also flies down to the world famous Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta which happens every October but after 49 straight years is cancelled this year, due to COVID.
Lang knew he wanted to fly when he went to buy his first balloon from a man in Idaho. He got that first initial awestruck moment when he was getting a lesson from the man he was buying the balloon from and they took off from near a rest area near Coeur d’Alene.
“We rose and we cleared the top of the tree and saw the valley below,” explains Lang with a tone of still being awestruck. “That first time and the sensation of looking at it was amazing.”
He says that while it isn’t as intense when he goes out to fly now, Lang still sees that joy and thrill of watching the reaction of taking someone up who has never gone up before.
“It is very satisfying,” explains Lang. “I have taken up many people who are in different situations, like someone who is in a terminal situation etc.”
The biggest joy besides he experiences is the comradery he gets from those who share his passion for ballooning.
“The social aspect is the most important fun you take out of this,” he explains.
There is a lot of work involved in insuring tanks are properly functioning, the balloon is properly maintained with any tears etc and getting crews organized. It does take a few people to help, not only getting the basket out and ready, laying the balloon out, and then even holding the ropes to hold the balloon in place prior to take off as well as having someone to pick you up from where you have landed and be able to transport all the equipment and help lay the balloon out.
Lang says he does about 30-40 flights a year and when he was doing it full time years ago he would be in the air 100-150 times. Going to Albuquerque along he would due 8 or 9 flights.