On several occasions, Heather and Adam have looked to the skies over Lynchburg and thought how fun it would be to take a hot air balloon ride. So today (July 26th), in celebration of their 3rd wedding anniversary, they took to the skies themselves. Although the forecast clearly painted a picture of partly cloudy skies and light winds, the actual weather conditions painted something a little different. With winds from the south, the Forest Winds Hot Air Balloon Team elected to take off from New London airport. At times during the inflation you could actually feel a few raindrops, but the sun peeked out every now and again. Joining Heather and Adam was David, who elected to finish up Byrd’s flight from last week (which got cut short because of an unfavorable flight path). So with everyone on board, The Pride of Forest took off and began to drift to the west. As we continued to ascend through 1500′ MSL, the balloon turned to the northeast and began to accelerate to about 25 mph. It appeared we were covering a lot of ground pretty quick! Using a zig-zag flight path, we continued to the north along Thomas Jefferson Road. For a moment it appeared as if we would land at Thomas Jefferson Elementary School, but a surface wind kick to the northeast placed us in a field just south of the school. With a quick descent from just over the treetops, The Pride of Forest ultimately landed right in the middle of the field….which provided a nice setting for a celebration! Forest Winds says congratulations to Heather and Adam on their anniversary and wishes them many more safe landings!
Ready for takeoff!
Airborne over New London
Drifting to the west…
Adam and Heather
David
The celebration begins!
For more pictures of Heather and Adam’s flight, go to:
http://picasaweb.google.com/forestwindsinc/Heather_and_Adam
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Byrd and Rod met the Forest Winds Hot Air Balloon Team early Sunday morning on July 20th for long planned balloon ride. The usual winds checks were conducted and the appropriate launch site selected. We all drove out to the launch site just off Rt. 460 near Owens Market and began to inflate the balloon. With the balloon hot and ready to go, Byrd and Rod climbed aboard. Byrd’s family took a little time out to pose for a family picture around The Peaks of Otter Trotter. At that point, it was time to take off. So Ken (the pilot) added a little more heat…and we were off. As the balloon climbed over the tree tops, our direction unexpectedly turned to the southeast. Since the weather forecast called from winds out of the southwest, we climbed a little higher hoping to catch that direction. But as luck would have it, we kept drifting more to the south towards New London airport. Since it appeared that we weren’t going to turn back to the north, we had to set The Peaks of Otter down early in order to avoid flying over less favorable terrain. Although the flight lasted only 30 minutes, Byrd and Rod had a great time. We’ll definitely return to the air under better wind conditions!
Rod & Byrd
Let’s fly!
We’re airborne!
The beauty of Virginia!
Dancing on the tree tops!
Fore more pictures of Byrd and Rod’s flight, go to:
http://picasaweb.google.com/forestwindsinc/Byrd_and_Rod
What better way to highlight an already perfect week than to take a ride across the skies of Central Virginia? For Christina’s birthday, her brother did some research on hot air balloon rides and determined that Forest Winds was definitely the best value. So he bought a gift certificate and let Christina choose the date. Although weather ended up postponing her first choice, today’s weather was perfect. So this morning Christina, her mother, her brother and boy friend Josh drove 45 minutes to Forest to take an incredible ride aboard The Peaks of Otter Trotter (Forest Winds’ 1st balloon). At 7:00 AM, Christina and Josh were lifted aloft from the O’Neil’s residence just off Rt. 460 near Owens Market. The balloon slowly drifted easterly towards Lynchburg at about 3-5 mph. At one point, The Peaks of Otter Trotter descended just low enough over the tree tops that Christina could reach out and grab a couple of leaves to save for a souvenir. Under favorable winds, The Peaks of Otter Trotter climbed to over 3000′ AGL for a better view of Lynchburg. Christina and Josh weren’t disappointed. The view was unbelievable! We continued to drift towards Forest, and after a while, had to begin looking for a landing spot. That spot became Foxmoor Place, just of Thomas Jefferson Road. The landing was perfect (thanks to the support from our ground crew). Afterwards, we all toasted to a great flight and a highlight to a perfect week for Christina. Happy Birthday Christina and congratulations on obtaining your teaching certification!
Ready to go!
The Adventure Begins!
Beautiful!
Josh & Christina
Approach to Landing
Cheers to a Great Flight!
For more pictures of Christina and Josh’s flight, go to:
http://picasaweb.google.com/forestwindsinc/Christina_and_Josh
On a perfect Tuesday evening, Dale and Staci climbed aboard The Pride of Forest for a ride across the skies of Lynchburg. With winds from the east, the Forest Winds Hot Air Balloon Team selected the New Covenant School (Fleetwood Dr.) for a launch point. As several interested bystanders watched with interest, the balloon lifted off and climbed skyward headed west. Slowly we drifted down Rt. 221 towards Lynchburg Nissan at an altitude of about 2300′ MSL. As we approached Lynchburg Nissan, we descended for a quick photo opportunity, but as luck would have it, the winds turned us to the north and we were forced to return to a higher altitude to continue our westward journey. As the sun began to set over the Peaks of Otter, The Pride of Forest found its landing spot in the Farmington subdivision off Perrowville Rd. Several of the folks in the neighborhood were out to greet us, and even helped out with the pack-up. Now that’s neighborly! There’s no doubt that Dale and Staci will remember this Tuesday evening stroll in the skies for a long time.
Ready for take-off.
Airborne!
The Pride of Forest
View of Lynchburg
Dale & Staci
AREVA NP Inc.
For more pictures of Dale & Staci’s flight, go to:
http://picasaweb.google.com/forestwindsinc/Dale_and_Staci
Last year Kendra won a balloon ride gift certificate from the Good Shepherd Baptist Church (Christiansburg, VA) for bringing the most guests to vacation bible school, so today (July 13th) Kendra and her father Alan took that ride. They were joined by Charles, who had received a gift ticket from his wife on their 40th wedding anniversary. Kendra and Alan left Christiansburg this morning at 4:00 AM (ouch!) to get to Forest by 6:00 AM. With everybody on board, The Pride of Forest took off from the O’Neal home off Rt. 460. It didn’t take long before we were on the move! First we went west, and then northeast climbing to 1000′ AGL. It didn’t seem like it, but the balloon was moving over the ground at a speed of just over 18 mph. In order to slow down a little bit, we came down over the tree tops and drifted back to the east. Using a series of short ascents and descents, we managed to fly back to the northeast and land just off Elkton Farm Rd. Pack-up was a breeze, thanks to all the helping hands. Kendra was already looking forward to her trip to Emerald Point Park, which she won this year at the Good Shepherd Baptist Church! That’s one lucky little girl “in pink.”
We’re good to go!
Airborne with smiles!
Headed west…fast..
Alan & Kendra
Charles
Off Elkton Farm Rd.
For more pictures of Kendra, Alan, and Charles’ flight, go to:
http://picasaweb.google.com/forestwindsinc/Kendra_Alan_Charles
Even the most avid golfers doesn’t get out on the golf course as early as Lacey, Ryan and Mary do. Early Saturday morning on July 12th, all three joined the Forest Winds Hot Air Balloon Team for a ride adventure across the skies of Bedford County. Flying in The Pride of Forest, we took off from the Ivy Hill Golf Course, along with our friends from Freedom Flights. Slowly we drifted to the south, and at times had to climb to over 5000′ MSL to find some favorable wind. Although Lacey wasn’t too comfortable with heights, she handled it like a real trooper! We continued to drift down Thomas Jefferson Rd. and began to look for our landing spot after about an hour in the air. As the winds became calm, we ultimately had to settle for landing in one of the Booth farm’s pastures. As you see from the picture below, we had quite the welcoming reception from some very curious cows. Everyone had a great time and afterwards celebrated a beautiful landing with a toast. The cows of course didn’t care much for the champagne and sparkling cider.
On the “Driving Range”
Ready to go!
Mary
Lacey & Ryan
Curious cows!
Cheers to a great flight!
For more pictures of Ryan, Lacey, and Mary’s flight, go to:
http://picasaweb.google.com/forestwindsinc/Ryan_Lacey_Mary
Grandma Helen wanted to surprise all her grandchildren with a hot air balloon ride, so very early on this Friday morning everyone got in the car to go on a “trip.” But nobody except grandma knew where this trip was going to take them. When the balloons showed up, everyone got excited. After a quick assessment of the winds, we headed over to the Heritage United Methodist Church (Leesville Rd.) to take off. With grandma, two god-parents (Joyce & Glen), their daughter (Ann), and five grandchildren, we had to split up into two balloons. Joyce, Glen, Alex, and Drew flew with Forest Winds. Grandma and the rest of the gang flew with our friends with Freedom Flights. Airborne at around 6:50 AM, “The Pride of Forest” flew southwesterly towards Thomas Jefferson Rd. The two balloons pretty much stayed together the entire flight (which is no easy task) and landed less than 100 yards from one another in The Meadows Subdivision off Rt. 811. Everyone had a great time, and the last I heard, the family was already planning another flight.
Grandma Helen (on the left)
Drew, Joyce, Alex, and Glen
The Pride of Forest
Early morning in Lynchburg
All smiles!
For more photos of the “Grand” surprise, go to:
http://picasaweb.google.com/forestwindsinc/AGrandSuprise