Dreampuff, Windswept and Kaleidoscope Too were earthbound Thursday evening along with 12 other hot air balloons at Oregon Ridge.
Gusty winds, unstable air and scattered thunderstorms kept the first flight of the three-day Preakness Balloon Fest on the ground.
“We are looking for winds 10 to 15 miles an hour and calm,” said balloon pilot Ron Broderick about the variables that go into a flight.
“Forthe last two weeks, we have had unstable air.”
The event was to include a Thursday evening flight, a balloon glow at Rash Field in the Inner Harbor on Friday night and balloon races Friday morning and this morning from Oregon Ridge.
Though nobody left the ground, the crews inflated their balloons for the enjoyment of several hundred spectators.
Broderick, owner of Friendship Hot Air Balloon Co. based in Howard County, estimated that the event was in its 22nd year.
“We have a few pilots who have not flown here for a number of years,” he said.
“They are all quick to say ‘Oh, I won that competition.’”
Broderick teamed up Mike and Matt Lidinsky, the father-son owners of Up Up Away Hot Air Balloon Co. in Baldwin, to organize the event. The son, Matt, is 20 years old and is currently the youngest pilot in Maryland.
“The direction of the wind is bad now, and there are storms out there,” said Matt Lidinsky, a student at Towson University.
“We needed wind blowing a good northerly direction.”
Friday morning’s race was canceled because of rain, though Matt Lidinsky did get off the ground for a short flight for television cameras.
If today’s balloon race takes off, the most noticeable balloon will be the Energizer Bunny “Hot Hare.” Based in Albuquerque, N.M., the giant pink rabbit is 166 feet tall. “Hot Hare” pilot, Glo Kehoe, said that with a balloon that size, everything is a little slower.
“The ears can be in one wind and the basket in another wind, so I don’t want to do anything too dramatically,” Kehoe said.
“This is a beautiful place to fly out of, hopefully we will get up Saturday morning.”
FULL OF HOT AIR
» Hot air balloons came from Indiana, Kentucky, New Mexico, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Tennessee and Virginia for the 2006 Preakness Balloon Fest.
» The balloons were scheduled to compete in a Hare in Hand race, where a lead balloon will take off, land and then place a giant “X” on the ground. The chase balloons will attempt to hit the center of the target with beanbags.
» Matt Lidinsky, currently the youngest pilot in Maryland, said the purse is $2,000 for the winner this year.
» “Hot Hare” is 15 feet taller than the Statue of Liberty. It takes about an hour to inflate, where a conventional balloon takes 15 to 30 minutes.
