1997 Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta

Special Shapes Mass Ascension followed by Key Grab Competition

October 10, 1997

All images are Copyright 1997 by David and Paige Buehler.

Dawn Patrol

The fiesta begins with the "Dawn Patrol" well before the sun comes up. The balloons dangle avaition marker lights below them.
The leader of the Dawn Patrol. 6K
This year the Intel balloon was a member of the Dawn Patrol. 7K

Special Shapes Mass Ascension

As the sun begins to brighten things up, the special shapes begin inflating...
A bunch of carrots, inflating just before the sun rises. 20K
The space-shuttle balloon is cool! 12K
More cool shapes... That's one *big* Energizer Bunny! 21K
Smaug menaces the croud! 17K
Smaug and the Santa Maria sail side-by-side. 15K

Key Grab Competition

Now it's time for the key-grab competition. The pilots try to grab keys or cash off the tops of poles at the North end of the field. The poles are impossible to see in these icon-size pictures, grab one of the full-size images to see them.
Paige looks back as the balloons launch for the key grab! 24K
Look at *all* those balloons! 26K
It's a good thing they're all in the same airflow! 29K
Getting close to the ground. 28K
Leaning out of the basket... reach for that POLE! 30K

The Albuquerque Box

Believe it or not, the pilots can make multiple passes across the target area thanks to the "Albuquerque Box" which causes ground winds to flow north-to-south while upper winds flow south-to-north. Here's a cute graphic showing how the box works.
The south end of the box... The lower balloons are moving to the left while the upper balloons are moving to the right! I need a video for this! 11K
The north end of the box... The lower balloons have just dropped down and are moving toward us, the upper balloons are moving away and will start descending soon to make another pass at the target area. 19K
Just a nice overhead shot of some balloons. 17K