CELEBRATING 50 YEARS WELCOME LETTERS From the AIBF President ............................. 12 From ExxonMobil ......................................... 14 From the Governor of New Mexico ............16 From the Mayor of Albuquerque ................18 OF INTEREST Schedule of Events ......................................20 Survival Guide Map......................................26 2022 Sponsors ............................................28 AIBF Timeline ...............................................48 How A Hot Air Balloon Works ...................134 Music Fiesta is Back! Poem: La Fiesta de Los Globos ................ 173 22Featuring Cole Swindell, Lainey Wilson and Restless Road. Public Safety .............................................. 208 Safety Tips ..................................................212 1972 Offi cials ....................................................... 213 34The Balloon Fiesta that tarted It all. Board of Directors .................................... 229 2022 Staff ...................................................231 Meet Sid Cutter Worlds of Fiesta ......................................... 246 36Founder of the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta. Balloon Museum ....................................... 250 Photo Tips ...................................................251 The Original 13 People Who Make It Happen ................... 262 52In 1972 Sid Cutter agreed to organize a southwestern-style Hare-and-Hound Heritage Award.......................................... 269 balloon race that he dubbed Roadrunner-Coyote balloon race. Today we know Stats/Fun Facts .........................................270 it as the fi rst Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta. In Memoriam ..............................................272 THE DECADES One Mile Up and Still On the Ground The 1970s .....................................................32 62What was it like to fl y in the very fi rst Balloon Fiesta? One of the “Original The 1980s ....................................................116 13” tells his story. The 1990s ...................................................154 The 2000s .................................................200 Lights in the Darkness The 2010s .................................................. 232 70 On a cold October day in 1978, in the pre-dawn darkness, two California The 2020s ................................................. 254 balloonists made history – and no doubt startled a few Albuquerque early risers – by ascending into the sunrise on the fi rst fl ight ever of the Dawn Patrol. DIRECTORIES 2022 Balloon Directory ...............................73 The Women of Balloon Fiesta Participating Pilots.....................................104 112 Since the beginning of Balloon Fiesta there have been hundreds of women, Additional Pilots .........................................106 mostly behind the scenes, who have helped ensure a successful and International Pilots .................................... 110 memorable event. Special Shape Directory ...........................145 Fields of Color 25TH AMERICA’S CHALLENGE 126 Each of the Balloon Fiesta’s launch sites had its own personality and each Gas Directory .............................................180 played a distinct role in the event’s history. Gas Offi cials & Records.............................182 The Making of the America’s Challenge .184 Ballooning: A Spectator Sport Epic Flights .................................................188 133 Flying a balloon may be easier than watching one. About Gas Ballooning ...............................190 How a Gas Balloon Works .........................194 Getting into Shapes: The Special Shape Rodeo Pilot Retrospectives...................................196 140 To realize the signifi cance that the Special Shape rodeo has had on the Balloon Fiesta, you need to go back to 1986. ® Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta 8