One weekend morning, in the next few weeks, you may hear a loud roar coming from the lower ball park in West Easton. Have no fear. It’s a hot air balloon being filled for a launch. The filling of a balloon can be fairly loud with the burners running continuously to create the hot air needed to fill a balloon.
At the August 12th meeting a balloonist requested permission from Council to launch his hot air balloon from the ball field. It seems that the location of the field, set down in a depression that shelters it a bit from low winds makes an ideal location for a hot air balloon to be filled and launched.
The launch would begin about 2 hours after sunrise, according to the owner.
The owner of the balloon is insured for $1 million and upon our borough solicitor being provided proof of insurance the balloonist will be allowed one launch to see how it goes. If it goes well, there will likely be more launches during the pleasant weather months. The balloonist estimates 2 launches per month, at most, since he is seeking other areas to conduct launches.
The balloonist seems a pleasant fellow and has invited the public to watch the preparations of flight. We can get fairly close to the balloon, being required to clear the field only upon the time of the launch, for obvious safety reasons.
Once launched, his chase crew will follow the balloon from the truck that brought the unfilled balloon, crew, and equipment. When it eventually touches down the balloon is repacked in the truck and the paying passengers are transported back to the ball field where they are delivered to their private vehicles.
If you are interested in a ride, I believe he quoted a price of $225 with a reduced fare for a larger party of people willing to trust their lives to little thin threads of material woven together and then joined with similar little threads of material in a manner they call, “stitching.” Personally, I’ve had a number of pants give way during my lifetime when I’ve bent over. It always seemed to be at the area they called, “the stitching.” On top of that, I’m not totally convinced that being transported by a balloon is such a good idea. I’ve seen, The Wizard of Oz too many times. Who’s to say a wicked witch won’t fly by and I end up fighting an army of flying monkeys? I also remember seeing an old film of a balloon called, The Hindenburg. That one didn’t end so well. Helium, shmelium… It didn’t stay up.
It has nothing to do with my fear of heights, though I have no fear of falling. It’s the sudden stop that scares me.
When the actual date of launch is decided, the time and day will be announced. It should be fun to watch. Maybe I’ll eventually be able to cross something off my bucket list. How much could he possibly charge me to remain tethered 10 feet off the ground for 5 minutes?
Disclaimer: On January 4, 2016, the owner of WestEastonPA.com began serving on the West Easton Council following an election. Postings and all content found on this website are the opinions of Matthew A. Dees and may not necessarily represent the opinion of the governing body for The Borough of West Easton.
