Balloon Festival

Windless night not much for hot air balloon distance, but still memorable

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[August 29, 2015]  LINCOLN - On Thursday evening after the ribbon cutting at the Logan County Airport, a few members of the media had a chance to go on a balloon flight. With little wind, just five of the balloons lifted off.

Though a bit nervous about being airborne, I went up in the "Luck Is In The Air" balloon piloted by Ed Dowling of Lincoln. Dowling and his family gave it this name because the balloon has a rainbow descending from a pot of gold.

Lifting off from a spot near the runway, the balloon rose about 300 feet in the air, smoothly gliding over the cornfields and landing near the hangars several hundred feet away. It was a very calm experience floating along with the wind and seeing an aerial view of the world.

After a bit of a bumpy landing with some assistance from Pat Doolin, the crew, which included Joe Jones, Rick Zimmer, Hayden Zimmer and Eric Henrichsmeyer, got to work rolling up the "envelope," which looks a bit like rolling up a very large sleeping bag. The balloon was then put into a bag and loaded up in a trailer.
 


Once the balloon was put back in the trailer, Dowling gave the traditional champagne toast, reciting the balloonist's prayer, which states "The winds have welcomed you with softness. The sun has blessed you with its warms hands. You have flown high and so well that God has joined you in your laughter and set you gently back into the loving arms of Mother Earth." Dowling explained that this tradition started back in the 1780s when balloonists offered it to pacify the farmers whose field they landed in. The balloon website explains that "The champagne convinced the farmers that they were not in fact demons and acted as an apology for disturbing the land and animals grazing in the field." Now, it is a way to toast a good flight.

Dowling has piloted hundreds of flights. He has been involved in ballooning since 1974. He stated that after going to the national balloon races in Indianola, Iowa and seeing all the beautiful balloons, he decided he wanted to become a balloon pilot. He soon began training for his hot air ballooning license in a banker funded club. When Lincoln's balloon festival started in 1989, Dowling got a new balloon and helped train the first crews.

For Dowling, his wife, Marcia; and daughters Jennifer, Julie, and Kelly, ballooning has often been a family affair and they have even traveled to the festival in Albuquerque, which is the largest one in the world. He said that ballooning has been such a big part of their lives that when friends would say to his daughters, "Your dad has a balloon?" they would respond with "Doesn't everybody?"

Dowling has also had many memorable experiences during his years of ballooning. He says that at least a dozen couples have gotten engaged in his balloon. He has also taken newly married couples up in his balloon as they leave the church, since a balloon ride is more unique than the traditional limo ride. In addition, he has spread a man's ashes during a balloon flight.

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Another memorable moment Dowling shared is the "long jump" flight he did one February, flying 86 miles from Lincoln to Charleston (6th place in the United States). He called it a spur of the moment trip, stating that he got the balloon up to 10,000 feet and just kept going at about 80 mph until he ended up in Charleston. Dowling explained that balloonists can go up to 14,000 feet without oxygen, and he once went up to 16,000 feet, but his passenger started to feel ill at that altitude.

Other experiences are memorable for less exciting reasons. For instance, one time, Dowling's balloon was stolen from his trailer in Iowa. After articles in the newspapers there alerted residents to the theft, someone found the balloon along the Des Moines river. When Dowling got the balloon out of the river, he discovered that it was still airworthy. Another time, Dowling landed his balloon on top of the Walgreens in Centralia, Illinois, and the fire department had to assist in getting it down.

Dowling has also won some awards over the years. He says that one time, there was a contest at a Mattoon balloon festival where pilots had to complete various tasks such as landing on a sponsoring business, going up to a high altitude and hugging or kissing a passenger, flying the highest distance, throwing Irish Spring soap out the basket, and flying crepe paper between two balloons without breaking the paper. Dowling said that he and balloonist Cindy Wooge of St. Louis won the prize for flying the crepe paper between their balloons. Dowling also scored in the top eight at last weekend's balloon festival in Centralia, Illinois.



Dowling says that he has hundreds of other stories from his years of piloting a balloon. Having spent more than half his life piloting balloons, it is a major part of his life, one that appears to bring him great joy.

[Angela Reiners]

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