October 18, 2013 Passengers: Brian & Angela Lee We had to pull yesterday’s flight due to fog but this morning it’s not near as heavy so I call for the Keizer site to start out. The pi-ball shows us a bit more wind above 600 feet so I move us to the Brooks site for today. We get the equipment out and ready for the inflation, when the balloon is full and standing I call for the passenger to join me in the basket. We are off the ground and we see that the fog is as forecasted.. patchy. I get a bit of altitude to see where the “shear” is (between the low speeds lower light and faster speeds higher…faster). Up high there is too much push to the west so I drop back down and we get the “double rainbow” shadow (eclipse) off the fog over the hop poles. I find the right track at about 6/700 feet and will hold this altitude to get us the track toward Keizer. We pass over the gravel operation at Knife River, orchards and more harvested hop fields. We slip over the “edge” of the “Bottoms” up toward Wheatland road and I drop some altitude and find the due south track. We are in the Meadows area and the kids have a good friend living here and we get lucky and fly over their house. We have found a shove to the west again and this will carry us over the golf course, then Mc Nary high which are both good LZ’s. Getting a bit higher I find the track south again and it gives me the shot for some open fields that are owned by a balloon friendly business. I drop for the shot and the wind at tree top is very light. The “gang” is at the field as we work our way to the field. It takes a bit of time and I finally get a line to the gang and we are caught and back on the ground again. We are “short” crewed today so Molly gets the “short straw” and is the throat “dummy” (talk about your BLOW DRY) for the pump out with the fan. The passengers do the “sit”, we load up and head back to Finney Lake for the picnic. I get the story started, the toast is done and the certificates are presented. PASSENGER COMMENTS: Angela: “We had a wonderful time flying for our 5th Anniversary. The day was perfect and we got to see so much. Jim was very knowledgeable and full of fun facts. We felt safe and comfortable on our ride! Thank you so much for an unforgettable experience!!” Brian: “Very personable, memorable and enjoyable. Thanks for offering such a great experience.” A BIG thank you to today’s Crew (I can’t get in the air or back on the ground without’um) Molly, Beth, Ed TRACK Average Speed: 4.0 MPH Distance Flown: 5.8 Miles Websystem hosting provided by WolfPk. | Site Map Copyright © 2003-2017 Balloon Flying Service of Oregon, Inc. Legal Information All Rights Reserved.