KNOX COUNTY — Sometimes, the best-laid plans go awry.
Mount Vernon News reporters had high hopes for a hot-air balloon ride over Knox County on Thursday evening. It was to have been the perfect ending to the Knox County On High series, the ultimate view from on high.
Ken Cramer, a seasoned balloonist from Coshocton, was ready to provide that view but cautioned in advance that ballooning is always weather-dependent. Unfortunately, although the weather cooperated, the wind did not.
Cramer arrived with his wife, Patty Cramer, and their friend John Cotterman, both also seasoned balloonists. Patty and Cotterman were to serve as ground crew and teach the reporters some of their crewing skills.
The Cramers’ van held the big fan for filling the balloon with air, and the envelope (the rip-stop nylon balloon that holds 77,000 cubic feet of air) in its surprisingly small container. The heavy wicker basket with leather base and cushioned edges sat on a hydraulic lift on the back of the van. The double burner — capable of producing 16 million BTUs to heat the air — and 40 gallons of propane in tanks traveled inside the basket.
Ken sent up a pibal (that’s short for “pilot balloon”), a black helium test balloon, from Riverside Park, to get an idea of the wind currents. He watched it climb straight up, very slowly — not a good sign.
“Uh-oh,” he said. “You want it to rise at about a 45-degree angle. You don’t want it to go straight up like that. There’s no wind up there.”
At one point, the black balloon twisted, turned and climbed faster, showing Cramer that there was a bit of wind at that level, but it quickly resumed its slow climb upward.
Everyone piled back into the van and Cotterman drove to Foundation Park, then to the Mount Vernon High School soccer fields, looking for a launch site. Ken released another pibal and, once again, it went straight up, lazily.
“Driving to Mount Vernon,” said Patty, “the tree branches were moving and we thought there might be too much wind. But now there’s no wind.”
“This is pretty unusual,” said Ken. “It’s a perfect day for flying ... except there’s no wind.”
He had checked in advance with Flight Service and was told the winds were “light and variable,” a phrase balloonists don’t particularly like to hear.
“The wind that we were anticipating simply just went away,” said Ken. “After 50 feet, there’s no movement. The problem is not launching, but trying to get down. You could get becalmed over something that could be dangerous, such as power lines or trees.”
“Well,” he said. “We’re going to have to abandon our hopes for flying this evening.”
There was nothing to do but return to the newsroom.
On the weekend of June 6, 7 and 8, Coshocton will host the 27th annual Frontier Power Hot Air Balloon Festival. Ken is chairman of the committee that organizes the free event that promises balloon launches, live music, family fun and a “nightglow” at twilight, during which balloons are lit from within, their bright colors glowing against the darkening sky. The Coshocton County Convention and Visitors Bureau has more information at (800) 338-4724.
But the Cramers and Cotterman will come back to Knox County the week of June 9, to try again to take reporters aloft, if the weather and the wind cooperate. If they do, watch for the complete story and video of the experience on Monday, June 16.
