REWRITING THE RECORD BOOK: THE EPIC 2017 AMERICA’S CHALLENGE BY KIM VESELY he goal is simplicit itself lighterthanair gas such as hrogen‚ b the sheer scope‚ ­ith hunres of launch from Albuquer rather than hot air for lift€ †hese gas hotair balloons inflating for the eˆening que’s Balloon Fiesta Par balloons can sta aloft for seˆeral as Balloon ‹lo­ proˆiing a bacrop for an fl further than an of an traˆel as far an fast as the ­in the launch “‘e’ˆe neˆer e„perience Tour fello­ competitors€ If taes them€ ‘ith no pri–e mone at a taeoff of this magnitue‚ so man ou ­in‚ ou get a troph  stae‚ the teams’ re­ar is the e„peri balloons‚ it’s onl a fe­ hunre feet  an bragging rights – an‚ if ou’re e„ ence itself‚ an e„perience unlie an from the groun that ­e unerstan ceptionall sille an luc‚ ou might other in an sport€ †he see America that ­e are part of the ­orl’s biggest brea a recor or t­o€ In bet­een… in a ­a fe­ others haˆe before them aerostatic festiˆal€” †he ‡ourne is eˆerthing€ – suspene thousans of feet aloft †he pilots in the 201‰ America’s †he 201‰ America’s Šhallenge ‹as as mountains‚ plains‚ cities‚ farms‚ an  Šhallenge ­ere able to tae aˆan Balloon Œace ­as one of the greatest riˆers ˜an often clousš slo­l glie tage of a rare meteorological ­eather competitions in the histor of competi belo­ them€ setup ­hich gaˆe them a fast trac tiˆe ballooning€ Before it ­as oˆer‚ t­o †he teams come from ifferent northeast to­ars ’e­ Ÿnglan an teams annihilate the ol America’s bacgrouns an ifferent nations but eastern Šanaa€ A fast lo­leˆel ‡et Šhallenge istance recor of 1‚999  stream eˆelope bet­een a strong the share a transcening loˆe of fl miles‚ an also beste the longest ing‚ an aˆenturous spirit‚ an the ­ill lo­pressure sstem in the ­est istance eˆer flo­n in the other great to ­in€ American ’oah Foren‚ ­ho an the remnants of ¥urricane ’ate gas ballooning istance race‚ the Šoupe  is set to fl his thir America’s Šhal heae up through the eastern ž•‚  Aéronautique ‹oron Bennett€ ‘in lenge‚ sas‚ “I loˆe the aspect that ­ith allo­ing some of the teams to reach ners ’icolas †ièche an ”aurent •cibo– eˆer balloon launch‚ ou haˆe onl blistering ˜for a balloonš spees of of •­it–erlan lane near ”abraor a ruimentar iea of ­here ou are more than —¡ mph€ †ièche an •cibo– Šit in Šanaa‚ traˆeling 2‚2‰— miles going an no iea of ­ho ou might marˆele at the sight€ ”¦I remember§ ˜™‚—‰0€‰— mš€ Œunnersup ›r–s–tof meet ­hen ou lan‚ an I loˆe that  the sunrise oˆer ›ansas an its frag œapart of Polan an An Šaton of challenge of ealing ­ith ­hateˆer mente pu––lepiece broen roun  the ž€•€ mae a ˆaliant effort to oˆer comes up€” †­otime America’s Šhal plains‚” •cibo– ­rote€ “†he crossing of tae them‚ staing aloft more than —9 lenge champion Šheri ‘hite sas‚ “‘e ¨ississippi in ‘isconsin an of course hours‚ but ha to lan about 90 miles loˆe the aˆenture of being able to fl the crossing of the Šanaian borer short as the ran out of ballast an real across the žnite •tates …­e loˆe the in the mile of the upper lae ¦”ae estate€ Ÿight of the nine competing America’s Šhallenge because it is fun to •uperior§‚ floating in the mile of a teams fle­ more than 1‚000 miles€ fl ­ith other teams an the e„citement blue sphere‚ no longer istinguishing Pilots in the America’s Šhallenge  of oing it uring Fiesta€” ”aurent •ci the s from the groun€ At the en of fl 1‚000 cubic meter ˜appro„imatel bo–‚ ­ho ­as fling a gas balloon race the night crossing Šanaa’s north at an ™¡‚000 cubic ftš balloons ­hich use a in America for the first time‚ ­as a­e altitue of 1—‚000 feet‚ for Ÿuropeans Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta 2019 Official Program 102 ®

2019 AIBF Program - Page 104 2019 AIBF Program Page 103 Page 105

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