Word: balloonful
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...trend holds true nationwide in this $50 million industry, according to Rick Jones, president of the Balloon Federation of America. Baby boomers, having more discretionary income, can afford ballooning (the rides cost anywhere from $150 to $225 an hour per person). These seasoned travelers have already been to the world's great cities, and may be looking to try something different at this point in their lives, Jones notes. And the inspiration of Steve Fossett's recent round-the-world balloon flight at age 58 hasn't hurt. "Ballooning is a sport that takes time, patience and some money, which...
Some who have ventured to Albuquerque over the years have enjoyed the sport so much that they have become experienced pilots in their own right. But this is not an inexpensive pastime. Buying a used balloon to train on costs $6,000 to $8,000, and a new balloon averages about $25,000, says Carolyn Grantham, partner and vice president of finance for World Balloon, an Albuquerque ballooning company that also teaches the sport. Custom-designed, special-shaped balloons can run as high as $200,000. At Grantham's school, one of a handful in the nation that are certified...
...costs didn't deter ordained minister and balloon pilot Stephen Blucher, 60, who opened his own ballooning company, Rocky Mountain Hot Air Lines, 18 years ago in Colorado Springs, Colo. "The freedom that you feel up in a balloon, the majesty of the scenery below and the camaraderie you get from crewing can't be found in any other sport that I can think of," says Blucher, who has even performed weddings on his balloons...
John Lennon, 58, a cyberoptics technician in Manchester, N.H., caught balloon fever eight years ago. "It was everything and more that I thought it would be, and I knew I would eventually go on to become a pilot," he says. Now he not only has his license but also recently bought his first new balloon...
Besides Albuquerque's annual balloon blowout, 300 smaller festivals are held nationwide, says Jones of the Balloon Federation of America. In most four-season climates, these events take place between the beginning of April and the end of October. They range from the Quick Check New Jersey Festival in Readington (July 26-28) to the National Balloon Classic in Indianola, Iowa (Aug. 2-10), to the Colorado Springs Balloon Classic (Aug. 31 to Sept...