After several hours of preparation, the hydrogen balloon carrying Sam Parks and his crew finally lifted off the ground around 8 a.m. Wednesday morning.
Parks' balloon was one of two hydrogen-filled balloons that launched from the field behind Parks' home en route to Virginia and into the history books.
Parks and his fellow balloonists believe their gas balloon flight on Wednesday was one of the first in the southeast since the Civil War.
“Hopefully, we are taking it to the next step with gas ballooning,” he said.
Parks and fellow balloonist Andy Cayton, from Savannah, Ga., said another reason for their flight was to illustrate it was practical to use hydrogen instead of helium to inflate gas balloons. Parks said the days of using helium to inflate these balloons are going away.
He and several other balloon pilots had worked late into Tuesday night and early Wednesday morning to get the two balloons inflated.
“We’ve always had the market on helium,” Cayton said.
However, with the price of helium increasing, balloonists need to find a way to start flying with hydrogen, he said.
Parks said it took them five hours to inflate both balloons with hydrogen.
The large Christmas ornament-shaped white balloons could be seen from Taylorsville Highway. They were strapped onto the baskets with nylon cords. Each balloon spent the night tethered to a tractor and was weighed down with sand bags.
In the other, smaller gas balloon was pilot Drew Barrett from Tampa, Fla. Barrett, who has a history of flying airplanes, said gas ballooning is the “most perfect and pure flying I’ve ever done.”
Gas balloonists can take off at night and fly long distances, he said.
“It’s pretty cool,” Barrett said. “This should be a beautiful flight, if it works the way we think it will.”
Among the crowd of well-wishers Wednesday morning were several hot-air balloon pilots who regularly participate in Statesville’s annual Carolina BalloonFest.
Two faces in particular stuck out — Balloon Ascensions Founder Bill Meadows and former Balloon Works Owner Tracy Barnes.
Barnes said the event was exciting. He said gas ballooning is a big part of ballooning history.
“Gas ballooning in the southeast is a rare, rare thing,” Meadows said. “This is very special.”
By 3:30 p.m. Wednesday, Barrett’s balloon had already landed. Parks' balloon was still flying near Lynchburg, Va.
“It’s been very nice,” Parks said of the flight at mid-day.
Parks said he hopes to make gas balloons a part of the 39th annual Carolina BalloonFest in October.
Parks and the crew ended up landing eight miles out of Appomattox around 5 p.m.
The crew agreed that the flight and its promotion of gas balllooning in North Carolina was successful.
"We had a student pilot that passed all of his requirements today," Parks said. "We want to do it again. Hopefully, we will be seeing more."
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