Hot Air Balloon Fiesta

Today, we went up to Clark Field (a former US military base, now an industrial park and private airport about 2 hours north of the house) to attend the 10th annual Philippines Hot Air Balloon Fiesta. It was 4 day activity, with the first balloons having a sunrise take off each day, and ending with a concert starting at 8PM. We ended up getting there about 10:30. Mariah was not with us as she was in Japan at the season ending tournament with the Brent basketball team

Activities included military vehicles and aircraft that you could climb up in and around, various food vendors, a mini bazaar, and a carnival. Throughout the day, there were events happening on the airstrip. These included power hang gliding and power parasailing. The power parasails had a large motor and propeller on the back of the pilots seat and could do some fantastic manuevers.

One of the most enjoyable events was a balloon popping contest. Pilots would approach the strip and signal for the release of a helium filled balloon, and then aim for it and try to hit and pop the balloon with their propeller(s). It took great flying to hit the balloon. One pilot had 3 hits out of 4 attempts.

There was radio controlled plane and helicopter show. The helicopter was able to fly backwards and upside down. The amount of control was incredible. The Philippine Army skydiving team made a grand entrance into the center of the field.

Throughout the day, kids and adults were flying kites in the open area next to the airstrip. There were kites of every imagiable shape and color, from 18" bird kites to 10' wide delta kites with multiple streamers. Some precision kite fliers were flying 3 kites together and played chase and tag, but somehow kept them from getting tangled.

The highlight, was of course the hot air balloons. About a half dozen launched about a mile away, drifted over the airstrip, and tried to throw a waited streamer into a target in the middle of the field. One came within about 5 feet of the target, and another within 2 feet. A couple of balloons were so far off, they couldn't even take a shot. Not bad for guessing what the wind would do.

After the landing, another half dozen balloons were inflated for the night glow. They remained inflated for about a half hour after sunset and would light up the interior of the balloons with their burners. They were really spectacular. Most of the balloons were standard round ones, but one was rectangular (a box of Whiskas cat food) and another was shaped like a rolled up newspaper.