On a chilly September morning, Eileen Jones and her crew inflated a hot air balloon printed with vibrant patterns of blue, yellow and green. A big fan was placed underneath to start inflating, followed by igniting propane to lift the balloon upright.
After some last adjustments, Jones climbed into the basket of the balloon she calls “Wind Waker”, not to be confused with “Wind Maker” or “Wind Walker”, she says. Jones has been flying balloons for 34 years, and she traveled all the way from Mississippi to participate in the annual Great Reno Balloon Race.
Wind Waker was one of over 70 balloons featured in this year’s race. The name and color scheme are inspired by the “Legend of Zelda” game with the same name.
In the basket of the balloon, there’s barely enough room for three people amidst the propane tanks and equipment to keep the balloon in the air.
7 a.m. Take-Off
Once off the ground, the people below became gradually smaller. Jones says getting to show off her sport for the crowds is exhilarating.
“That’s the best part,” Jones said. “We enjoy letting other people see what we do and if we don’t get to fly, it’s more disappointing for us than it is for the crowd.”
Jones is now retired, but her passion for the sport is as strong as ever. She explained that it began when a coworker bought a balloon, much to her surprise, and soon joined the crew. From that moment, it became something she wanted to do for eternity.
“I crewed for him for probably close to a year before I decided I gotta do this too,” Jones said. “As it turned out, my buddy only stayed in the sport for about five years and then it just took on me.”
7:30 a.m. Above Reno
Soaring over neighborhoods in northwest Reno, the sun was rising on the horizon. Cars were honking and people waved. Children at a nearby elementary school swarmed the playground to get a good look at “Wind Waker”.
“Wind Waker” is a fairly new balloon at the race, as Jones previously brought another balloon called “Gravity’s Rainbow”. Jones said this was the first balloon she got to play a role in designing herself.
“My husband created the patterns and I got to choose the colors,” Jones said. “So this balloon is very special to me.”
This year, the Great Reno Balloon Race celebrated women in aviation. Jones was among several flying in the race.
“I was very excited to hear they were doing that,” Jones said. “It’s very special to me. There’s not a lot of us in the sport.”
While initially chilly, it soon got quite warm as the sun rose in the sky. Jones removed layers but explained how the heat in Mississippi is much worse with the humidity, where Reno heat is more tolerable with how dry it is.
8 a.m. Descending
After being in the air for about an hour, Jones was scouting for a place to land. It was a challenge with obstacles such as street lights and power lines. She says this is the hardest part of ballooning.
“Right now we’re super busy because we’re with so many balloons,” Jones said. “There’s also not many fields where we are.”
Jones and “Wind Waker” ended up descending on a residential street, much to the delight of residents living there. Landing was tricky, as Jones was attempting to avoid cars parked and other obstacles. She pointed out some really nice pottery in someone’s front yard she didn’t want to crush.
Once the basket landed in the middle of the street, Jones was welcomed with gifts. One neighbor gave her a bottle of champagne, and another gave her banana bread. They thanked her for landing on their street.
8:30 a.m. Packing Up
The next step? Deflating the balloon. A van with a crew followed Jones around as they flew across town. Jones and her team pulled out a device they call a “forward air removal tool”, or f.a.r.t.
The balloon was first allowed to be partially deflated, where neighbors assisted the crew laying the balloon down so that the balloon could then be stretched through the f.a.r.t. to quickly remove air from the balloon so it could then be rolled up and put in the van.
After rolling up the balloon, it was tightly fit into a bag that was then transported by road back to the launch site. To get the balloon to fit in the bag, Jones, her crew and some neighbors all had to sit on the balloon to flatten it.
9 a.m. Chasing Balloons
Jones pointed out her friend Dana Thornton who was flying his balloon “Free Spirit” overhead. Thornton was seeking a place to land and ended up choosing the parking lot of a shopping center in northwest Reno. Jones and her crew packed up the balloon and jumped in the van to go assist him.
In the parking lot, the rainbow balloon descended overhead. Jones and her crew assisted Thornton’s crew in deflating their balloon and packing it up.
Both crews did the best they could pushing broken glass away from where the balloon would lay in order to not damage it.
Like with Wind Waker, the crews used the “forward air removal tool” to deflate the balloon, and then fit the balloon into a bag by sitting on it.
10 a.m. Back to Launch
After helping Thornton and his team, both crews went back to the launch site at Rancho San Rafael Park. Thornton was flying with some first time passengers, and there was to be a “first flight” ceremony.
At the ceremony, the first time fliers were christened and given champagne to celebrate and told the story of the first balloon flights. Jones and Thornton sipped on champagne and chatted for a while.
After the first flight ceremony, Jones and her crew went out for Italian food, where they would start getting ready for another day of flying.
