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Business News
Jackson TWP, Ohio —
Early Saturday, dozes of hot air balloons dotted the skies over Jackson Township as the Balloon Classic Invitational got off the ground for its 26th year.
A perennial favorite and a kickoff event for the Pro Football Hall of Fame Festival, the event was held a week earlier this year due to a date conflict with the U.S. National Hot Air Balloon Championships held in Longview, Texas.
The event is hosted by the Canton Regional Chamber of Commerce and held in conjunction with the Jackson-Belden Food Fest & Fireworks at the Kent State University Stark campus in Jackson Township.
Thousands of people from around the area and the state turned this year to watch 58 balloons lift off, compete for award monies and for the Night Glow where the balloon pilots light up their balloons for the crowd while remaining on the ground.
Announcers said it was the most balloons ever to launch from the event at a single time.
The event was held July 20-22.
Balloons are traditionally scheduled for flights on Friday and Saturday mornings and evenings at 6:30 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. and Sunday morning at 6:30 a.m. Flight times are always a gamble with Ohio’s unpredictable weather.
This year, the balloons could not lift off on Friday.
Pilots were able to compete on Saturday morning, but cancelled the competition on Saturday evening because winds made it too difficult to guide the balloons. Instead, all balloons lifted off from the Kent State field together filling the sky with balloons and creating a spectacular photo opportunity.
Competition resumed on the Sunday morning flight.
Keely Nelson, wife of balloon pilot Mike Nelson, is part of one of the balloon chase teams that help direct the pilots during their flights was on watch during the Saturday morning competition. The couple is from Fortville, IN and their balloon was sponsored by EMP.
“My husband is the pilot and the balloon is a race balloon,” she explained. “We've been flying and competing for eight years and coming to the Canton event for the past five years. We love this event. We haven't won any money here but we have a lot of fun.”
Nelson said her husband competes with two other balloon pilots in the team competition. They were Team 6 this year with Jeff Sweet, Indian Trail, N.C., flying Two Sweet sponsored by Mercy Medical Center and Shanon Donnelly, Akron, flying Slow Dip sponsored by EMP.
Early Saturday, dozes of hot air balloons dotted the skies over Jackson Township as the Balloon Classic Invitational got off the ground for its 26th year.
A perennial favorite and a kickoff event for the Pro Football Hall of Fame Festival, the event was held a week earlier this year due to a date conflict with the U.S. National Hot Air Balloon Championships held in Longview, Texas.
The event is hosted by the Canton Regional Chamber of Commerce and held in conjunction with the Jackson-Belden Food Fest & Fireworks at the Kent State University Stark campus in Jackson Township.
Thousands of people from around the area and the state turned this year to watch 58 balloons lift off, compete for award monies and for the Night Glow where the balloon pilots light up their balloons for the crowd while remaining on the ground.
Announcers said it was the most balloons ever to launch from the event at a single time.
The event was held July 20-22.
Balloons are traditionally scheduled for flights on Friday and Saturday mornings and evenings at 6:30 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. and Sunday morning at 6:30 a.m. Flight times are always a gamble with Ohio’s unpredictable weather.
This year, the balloons could not lift off on Friday.
Pilots were able to compete on Saturday morning, but cancelled the competition on Saturday evening because winds made it too difficult to guide the balloons. Instead, all balloons lifted off from the Kent State field together filling the sky with balloons and creating a spectacular photo opportunity.
Competition resumed on the Sunday morning flight.
Keely Nelson, wife of balloon pilot Mike Nelson, is part of one of the balloon chase teams that help direct the pilots during their flights was on watch during the Saturday morning competition. The couple is from Fortville, IN and their balloon was sponsored by EMP.
“My husband is the pilot and the balloon is a race balloon,” she explained. “We've been flying and competing for eight years and coming to the Canton event for the past five years. We love this event. We haven't won any money here but we have a lot of fun.”
Nelson said her husband competes with two other balloon pilots in the team competition. They were Team 6 this year with Jeff Sweet, Indian Trail, N.C., flying Two Sweet sponsored by Mercy Medical Center and Shanon Donnelly, Akron, flying Slow Dip sponsored by EMP.
Teams were competing for a prize package valued at $19,000 and individuals participated in a Pole Grab for $3,000. Pilots maneuver their balloons over a pole erected on the launch field to try to grab the cash from the top of the pole.
As part of a balloon chase team, Nelson said she has a list of tasks to complete including going to targets to let the pilots know through a two-way radio what other balloonists are doing. She also updates her husband and team pilots about wind direction and if they are coming in left or right of the targets. When the balloon lands, she will be there with her van to help pack and load the balloon and gondola until the next flight.
“It's beautiful up there in the balloons,” Nelson said. “It’s very serene, quiet and peaceful. Riding in the balloon is unlike anything else because you are moving with the wind and floating on the clouds.”
Nelson said the balloonists have to go through flight school training just like pilots of a “hard winged aircraft.” They have to learn maps and do a certain amount of flight time with a trainer. Nelson herself had to complete ground school training to become a crew chief.
The balloon chase teams could be found all over Stark County over the weekend. Between flights, one of the tasks the pilots and crews perform is to refuel the on-board propane tanks. For the past four years, the balloons have been refueling in the parking lot of the Diebold facility on the corner of Whipple Avenue and Dressler Road.
“We used to refuel the balloons on the field but it got too congested and there was a dangerous element of someone throwing a cigarette too close,” said Curtis Tryee, Pro Football Hall of Fame and Balloon Classic volunteer.
Interesting facts about the Balloon Classic and Hot Air Balloons
- The Balloon Classic was started in 1986 with 25 balloons.
- A typical balloon system including the basket weighs around 500 pounds on the ground and deflated. In the air, the balloons can weigh about 2.5 tons.
- Hot air balloons use liquid propane to heat the balloons. It is carried in a stainless steel tank inside the gondola. Approximately 22 gallons of propane will be used during 1.5 hours of flight.
- While balloons vary in size, a typical size is 50 feet wide (diameter) and about 70 feet high.
- Most balloons have an air capacity of 70,000 cubic feet of air.
- Three to four people can safely be carried in most of the balloons.
- It takes a minimum of three crew members and a pilot up to 20 minutes to get a balloon inflated and in the air.
