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MtnDon
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# Posted: 22 Oct 2015 05:23pm
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The ABQ Balloon Fiesta was Oct 3 - 11 , so I am a little slow with posting this. My sister and BIL timed a road trip from Canada to join us. We all did the morning mass ascension of the Special Shapes. About 150 special shaped balloons this year with about 500 total, IIRC. Some examples.......
Fall is a great time to visit ABQ. The weather co-operated nicely this year.
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hattie
Member
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# Posted: 22 Oct 2015 05:44pm
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WOW - That looks like LOTS of fun!!! 
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LoonWhisperer
Member
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# Posted: 22 Oct 2015 05:46pm
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Haha Love it! Some very creative people there.
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MtnDon
Member
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# Posted: 22 Oct 2015 05:57pm
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Balloonists come from around the globe. It's cool that everyone can still mill around on the field and get up close to the balloons. Even bring your own food / drink although there are lots of vendors too.
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littlesalmon4
Member
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# Posted: 22 Oct 2015 06:39pm
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Seriously cool.......
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cabingal3
Member
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# Posted: 22 Oct 2015 07:36pm
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wow.what fun.thats wonderful.
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upndown
Member
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# Posted: 22 Oct 2015 07:46pm
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When my kids were younger we took them every year to something similar. They were alway mesmerized by the sights and colors, heck I still am. Not enough to get in one tho. haha
This time of year they are always floating over my house. The other day I was trimming some limbs when My bladder came a calling, thought this tree will do, then I heard the burner noise..Oops! Next time I better look up before looking down. 
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bldginsp
Member
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# Posted: 22 Oct 2015 11:07pm
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Don- did you get any sense of the cost of making one of these things, and the logistics of transporting them, etc.? In other words, what's involved with owning something like this, and what kind of people do this? It's a lot of fun, but my goodness, where do you keep one of these?
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MtnDon
Member
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# Posted: 22 Oct 2015 11:26pm - Edited by: MtnDon
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New small standard (NOT special shape) 1 or 2 person balloons start at about $16-18K. A 4 or 5 person standard shape runs $30-50K. Special shapes are considerably more. Some are very complex. Special shapes normally only fly in very calm conditions. They almost always have some commercial sponsor.
Cargo trailers are used by many to store everything out of the weather and safe. Some folks use large vans (E150 types) with a hitch mount platform for the basket. Others use pickup trucks and store the balloon in their garage as a neighbor does. Some of the special shapes like the Wells fargo (bank) Stagecoach team has a very deluxe truck based RV unit. There is a special LTA license issued by the FAA. And you need friends for the chase crew
Fall, winter and spring is the best time to fly around here, especially in the morning. Colder air = more lift. We're also at 5000 feet to begin with and that reduces lift.
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