Rolling Hills 2003

It's flyable AGAIN!

Well another Rolling Hills Rally is in the books and what a fine event it was! Unparalleled weather and outstanding company made this a fantastic weekend. I myself arrived at Jacks on Thursday afternoon and left Saturday evening after the flight. I thought I would get a jump on the weekend and try and get some early flights under my belt. The weather for the weekend was none but perfect with light winds and cloudless skies all weekend long. Cool mornings and calm evenings made for perfect flying conditions.

Friday morning saw stellar weather and we tracked off to the north east until we reached Alderson Trail which is pretty much the only road for miles around in that direction. Both Bill and I flew solo with Ken and Shelagh chasing for Bill and Jack driving for myself. It was a wonderful morning and the view was outstanding as we stayed high for most of the flight. Friday evening we tracked off to the north west and landed just west of the irrigation channel. The retrieve was a little difficult as there are not a lot of gates in that particular fence. Both Bill and I kept the balloons inflated until or crews arrived. Bill flew with some local people and I had Ken in the basket with me.

Saturday was setting up to be a fun filled day as three other balloons had arrived throughout the day Friday. Connie and Andy with Double Diamond, Ralph and Colin with Happiness Is and Heather and Richard with Our Treat. The flight on Saturday morning was the highlight of the weekend for yours truly. We tracked almost straight north and were treated to some beautiful scenery and even flew over a wrecking yard complete with sheep security guards. The winds were fast up high and almost calm on the surface. PERFECT! I took Ken with me again and had Dennis, Heide and Sharon in the chase truck. This was by far the longest flight of the day with the balloon covering over 20 km in distance. We even kept the balloon off the cut canola and laid it out on the track going into the field. Saturday evening saw us tracking off to the north west again. This time cows in the vicinity of the irrigation canal prevented us from landing near the canal so we flew on to the next road west. I think we all landed within half a kilometer of each other. I flew solo for this flight and had Sharon, Ken and Michael in the chase truck. I think the guy in the Powered Parachute was having more fun buzzing around us than we were flying through the wide open prairie.

Down time for the weekend included helping Jack setup for the event, corn husking, tin can tab pulling, working on the fan and the traditional burner busting corn roast. As usual everyone had a great time and Jack and Shelagh were exceptional hosts. Thanks go out to Heather for once again bailing me out of a tight spot. Thanks to Ken for all his help crewing and keeping me company on a couple of flights. Oh, and thanks for the key to the trailer as mine magically disappeared on the way out to Rolling Hills. Thanks Sharon, Dennis and Heide for crewing and Bill for leading the way and helping with the fan. Bill welded a piece of pipe onto the bottom of the fan to prevent it from tipping. This was a chronic problem with the clubs fan. He also brazed the fan shroud as it was starting to fall apart. It was good to see Drew and Susan out again and I even had a chance to meet Andy and Connie's new puppy.

To Jack and Shelagh a big THANK YOU and I hope I get invited back next year!

Steve