| It's a warm November Friday
afternoon. We decide
to launch from Kasson, MN just west of Rochester. The wind was about 7-8 mph on
takeoff and it was expected to pick up slightly. We launched at about 3:45pm
for a short flight since sunset was now at 4:45pm. The wind picked up a
little right as we inflated but the crew kept everything stable and we had a
nice smooth inflation. We took off.
Three of us on board. Chuck who was piloting, Steve one of our crew and
myself (Keith). We had a nice take off, climbed to about 1,000 ft and
leveled off, sort of. We actually flew between 900 ft and 1,100 ft
as we drifted North about 12 mph. The wind was steady, but our speed increased
just a little bit according to the GPS. It was very warm for November in
Minnesota with
the temperature about 64 degrees!
After about 25 minutes of flight we decided
to land due to the early sunset time, so Chuck started scouting out a landing
site. We decided that we would do what is called a 'rip out' landing
because of the wind speed. A 'rip out' landing is where the pilot
descends to just above the surface (10-15ft) then pulls hard on the 'Red Line'
in the
balloon. This actually opens the top to let the very hot air out. The
balloon descends to the surface quickly, the basket usually tips forward,
the wind grabs the envelope like a sail and it quickly deflates since the top
is open. The basket usually drags across the landing field between 20-60 ft
depending on the wind. It's a standard practice for landing when it is quite
windy.
So on our flight today the wind is now about 15mph, pretty brisk for
ballooning. We crossed a road and Chuck had his sights
on the targeted landing spot. It appeared to be just an open field with no
crops or anything but some tall grass. Chuck flared out, he pulled the red
line, opened the top and we touched down as we started to lightly drag
across the field waiting for the wind to get all the hot air out of the
envelope. We had
gone maybe 50 ft or so and were just starting to stop when all of a sudden
we all three saw a large dark spot, about 1 foot in diameter, in the grass.
As we got closer we all suddenly realized what the spot was.......it
was an immense, brand spanking new, fragrant as ever, 'cow pie'!
This was not your ordinary 5 day old, hard-as-a-rock cow pie.....it was a very fresh, brand new, enormous cow
pie! ....and we were heading right for it! There was nothing we could do but
watch, as we slowly went directly over it with the basket, instantly smelling the
results of our ominous contact! It was B A D! We all quickly tumbled out of the basket, laughing
hysterically! Of all the spots Chuck had picked to land in, this apparent
tranquil, cow-free
pasture with acres and acres of grass, he hit the 'big one'!
We took some pictures of the 'damage' as you
can see below. It took Chuck and I about 3 hours to clean
and get the smell out of the basket, the balloon, the trailer (inside and
out), the truck and even our shoes! We power washed everything from top to
bottom. Especially the wicker basket, which seemed more suited now as a cow pie
strainer than a balloon basket! All in all it was a very memorable experience for
all involved. Special thanks to our crew, Tim & Deb & family and Steve for
their assistance that afternoon. It will go down in RBC history as one of
our most memorable flights!
Special flights like this can be
scheduled with Chuck for your special event, however there is an extra fee
involved. If anyone would like to book a Cow Pie Flight with Chuck, just let
Doug or I know and we'll make the arrangements! You'll never forget it!
|
Last Updated
02/28/2008
