Something’s in the Air

The hare is a crafty critter. He studies the terrain, consults the FAA and taps into computerized weather reports when mapping out his route. The hounds, meanwhile, lick their chops, just waiting for the chance to high-tail it after the hare.

Roger Barker is a record-holding hot air balloon pilot and the designated “hare” in this weekend’s Prado Hot Air Balloon Festival, where the public can watch a balloon race from afar or even take a ride up, up and away. It’s up to Barker to lead the “hounds” (other balloonists) on a challenging chase, flying a course the other pilots will try to duplicate. The balloon pilots rack up points each day by getting closest to a target designated by the hare. The winners will share $8,000.

“Once you master the art of sailing,” said Barker, a former sailor, “it’s the joy of being out there. The technical part, you move past. In ballooning, it’s the same, you get into the joy of it all. You move up and down, it’s an intellectual challenge.”

Besides the skill it takes to maneuver a hot air balloon, it takes money--about $15,000 for just a basic balloon. And--it seems to balloonists, anyway--the crowd is probably the least informed of any spectator sport. Yet few can take their eyes off the “action.”

“You let a toy balloon go, and watch the people stop and look at it,” said Barker. So imagine a balloon that’s seven stories high--and multiply that by 40 or 50.

Thousands of heads will likely be tipped skyward on this Labor Day weekend, to gaze at the dozens of hot air balloons--of the seven-story variety--ascending from Prado Regional Park in Chino. Not only can the public watch the colorful balloons, they can actually climb aboard for a ride.

But beware: Once you’ve done it, it’s easy to get carried away--just ask Barker. He bought a balloon 20 years ago after his maiden voyage. He reasoned that it would be a nice tax write-off. Five years later, he retired from his psychology practice to pursue ballooning full time.

“It was a hobby that got clear out of hand,” Barker said, laughing. “It gets in your blood.”

Barker, 52, still smiles with glee as he pulls on the levers that send balls of flames up into his balloon, heating the cool air and causing it to rise. “Balloons are fun,” he said. “The idea of flying in one is just a logical extension.”

Barker took the sport so seriously that about a decade ago he helped found the Southern California Balloon Assn., an organization that has set the standards for safety and education for area balloonists. He’s also been racking up flying records, conducting air quality studies for Southern California Edison and even ventured to China with Malcolm Forbes. And for the icing on the cake, Barker met his wife, Julie, when she showed up one day for a balloon ride.

But there’s a lot more to ballooning than hopping into the basket and seeing where the wind takes you. Barker, who has since retired from the balloon ride business and now pilots a promotional balloon for a real estate company, has seen important changes affecting control and safety in just the past few years. A gauge in the basket, for instance, gives the altitude, the speed that the balloon is ascending or descending and the temperature at the top of the balloon.

“Before, we used a meat thermometer dangling on a string” to check the temperature, said Barker, laughing.

And until recently, the basket might have doubled nicely as a lightning rod, since steel rods were used to connect the basket to the envelope (the balloon). Now nonconductive Kevlar, the material used to make bulletproof vests, is used in place of steel.

Barker declines to discuss any personal close calls, preferring instead to focus on the highs he gets from ballooning. But he did say that micro-bursts are very dangerous to balloonists. The unpredictable gusts of wind can catch a balloon--or any aircraft--by surprise.

“A thousand things tell you” whether or not it’s safe to fly, Barker adds. “We have a saying in aviation, ‘I’d rather be down here wishing I was up there, than up there wishing I was down here.’ ”

Ballooning may not be for everybody, but its popularity is on the rise. And this weekend at the Prado festival, the public can experience “the high” in tethered or non-tethered rides. In the evenings, a “balloon glow” will provide a spectacular sight for all festival-goers, with balloons at lakeside illuminated by the fires within.

Live music is scheduled each day, and pancake breakfasts, dancing and a barbecue are planned.

“At balloon races, there are 300,000, 400,000 people who’ve suffered through the early morning, through traffic and parking,” Barker said. “It’s cold, it’s early, but they’re there with grins on their faces.”

BE THERE

Prado Hot Air Balloon Festival, Prado Regional Park, 16700 S. Euclid Ave., Chino. (909) 597-4260. Balloon liftoffs each morning at 7:30 a.m. Tethered balloon rides in the mornings are free; evenings 8-10 p.m., $8; children, $5. Non-tethered balloon rides, 8 a.m.-noon, Sat.-Sun., $125 all ages. Barbecue, Sat.-Sun., 6-10 p.m., $9. Country dance on Saturday, 6:30-10 p.m. On Sunday, a 1950s dance, 6:30-10 p.m. A ska band showcase on Monday begins at 9 a.m. Festival hours: Saturday, 7 a.m.-noon and 6-10 p.m.; Sunday, 7 a.m.-noon and 6-10 p.m.; Monday, 7 a.m.-noon. Free admission; parking $10 per car (good for morning and evening events); camping $25 per night.