BALLOONS A BIG HIT AT AIR SHOW; FIRST DAY'S ATTENDANCE IS PUT AT 30,000

Like a modern-day Phileas Fogg, Bill Bussey created a stir when he unexpectedly dropped in on a Cape Girardeau neighborhood to take dozens of excited youngsters on a special trip.

It wasn't "Around the World in 80 Days," but brief rides in Bussey's "Old Milwaukee" hot-air balloon left the children with the heady thrill of having been up, up and away.

Bussey made his neighborhood visit Friday evening after lifting off with several other balloonists from Cape Girardeau County Park for an Aviation Days promotional flight.

"We tethered our balloon and took some of the youngsters up," said Bussey, a veteran pilot of balloon races. "They seemed to enjoy it."

Bussey, of Longview, Texas, is in Cape Girardeau for the hot-air balloon races during the Fly Cape Aviation Days Air Show and Balloon Races being held at Municipal Airport.

The air show, which concludes today, features performances by the Blue Angels Flight squadron based at Pensacola, Fla., at 2:30 p.m.; hot-air balloon races at 6:30 a.m. and 5 p.m.; aerobatics by the Peterson-Krier Airshow at 12:50 p.m., and parachute jumps at 2 p.m. and 3:50 p.m.

Crowds were estimated at 30,000 to 35,000 for Saturday's activities, with the majority of them at the airport during the Blue Angels performance in mid-afternoon.

The balloon races, however, also attracted a following.

"We conduct our races during the early morning and late afternoons," said Jetta Schantz, a promoter of the Cape Girardeau races. "The air at that time of day tends to be most desirable for balloon flying."

Schantz and her husband, Rob Schantz, own and operate Skysigns Unlimited Inc., a business of hot-air balloon sales, service, instruction and show promotions.

"Clear skies with light wind up to about eight knots are ideal for ballooning," said Rob Schantz. "We keep close watch on the weather. If a race has to be put on hold, it's because it is necessary for safety reasons."

Schantz said balloonists tend to be a patient, cheerful breed.

"Our philosophy is that it's better to be on the ground wishing you were in the air than in the air wishing you were on the ground," he said.

The weather was near perfect for Saturday morning's liftoff at the airport, and more than 20 of the giant, colorful balloons, representing 11 different states, ascended into the air.

"Actually, balloon racing is a misnomer," said Bussey, "It's really a test of the pilot's ability to maneuver the craft. The race is not one of speed but accuracy."

The races at Cape Girardeau are what is referred to as "Hare and the Hound" races.

Becky Petrehn, a veteran balloon pilot who has been a competition balloonist more than seven years, serves as the "hare" this weekend, lifting off prior to the "hounds" and placing a target on the ground. The hounds then take to the air and attempt to fly over the target throwing a marker toward it. The pilot whose marker lands closest to the center of the target wins.

"The marker is a small bag of sand about four ounces attached to a six-foot streamer" said Petrehn. "The idea for the pilot is to get as close to the target as possible.

"A race can be won by a marker thrown a hundred feet away or just a few inches," said Petrehn, who has been around the balloon-racing game for more than 20 years.

"My father was a balloon pilot, and he used the children for his crew," said Petrehn of Overland Park, Kan. "There were 11 children, so Dad had a built-in crew for a long time. It was only natural that some of us developed an interest in balloon racing."

Nine of the Petrehn family developed that interest.

"Four of us are licensed and four others are in the process of obtaining licenses," said Petrehn.

Bussey, a dentist at Longview, became interested in hot-air balloons 16 years ago.

"I saw one, and had to have it," he said.

Since then, he has owned a total of 41 of the crafts, including the six he currently owns.

Bussey, who holds two national ballooning records and hopes to add a world record to that list this fall, is now sponsored by Stroh Brewery. He flies balloons with the flags of Old Milwaukee and, or, Schlitz. At Cape Girardeau he is flying the Old Milwaukee balloon this week.

Bussey, who is ranked fourth in the U.S., takes in about 20 competitive meets a year.

"You receive points from each meet, according to your finishes," he said. "I have about 4,000 points this year."

Bussey's fastest ride was 82 mph, meaning he was in an 82-mile-an-hour wind.

"Your balloon goes only as fast as the wind," said Bussey. "The pilot of a hot-air balloon maneuvers it; he doesn't steer it."

The balloon ascends with blasts of heat from propane burners and descends when the burners are cut.

"There are some places, like mountain valleys, where `box' winds are common," said Bussey. "A pilot can then fly a box pattern up, down, across, back across, etc."

Bussey's records are in the "small" and "medium" class hot-air balloons.

"They are both distance records," he said. "I traveled 179 miles in the small balloon and 325 miles in the medium class. I'll be trying for the big balloon record in November."

Bussey's goal in the big craft is 1,500 miles.

"The present record is 907 miles," he said. "I want to establish a record that will stand for a while."

Bussey said a meteorologist is "very important" when planning a record flight.

Bussey, Petrehn and the Schantzes all agree that a balloon flight is "a wonderful feeling."

"Many people have some fear of flying in a hot-air balloon," said Bussey. "But usually within a minute into the flight their fears disappear. It's a great feeling. One minute you're sitting on the ground, and it seems that the Earth just drops away, leaving you there to watch it."

"It's like quiet time," said Petrehn.

Rob Schantz said: "I think you'll see a new hot-air balloon owner by the next balloon race in Cape Girardeau. Somebody out there will buy one. We hope this event will become an annual one. Next year we'd like to see 50 to 60 balloons here."

Balloon racing is a relatively modern sport. Although the first hot-air balloon made its initial flight more than 200 years ago in 1978 at Paris France modern-day racing didn't really start until the late 1960s. It started to grow in the early 1970s.

There are more than 5,000 licensed balloon pilots in the U.S. Pilots have to qualify for a private hot-air balloon license issued by the FAA. The license is not difficult to obtain. A person has to have 10 flight training hours and pass a 40-question FAA test.

Cost of the license usually runs from $1,500 to $2,000. The initial cost of owning a balloon ranges from $8,000 to $15,000, which includes the complete hot-air package carriage with flight instruments, tanks and burner.