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Up, up and away

August 1, 2002 By    



Drifting high above the treetops, pilot Travis Vencel released a five-second burst of propane-fueled flame, and the hot-air balloon gently lifted a little higher. As the red, green and black Jasper Engines & Transmissions balloon and its three passengers floated across a busy road, traffic crawled and drivers pointed.

The onlookers were captivated by the whimsical balloon – one of 68 in a Columbus, Ohio, festival sponsored in part by the Ohio Propane Education & Research Council. But most of the 97,500 people who attended the Big Bear Balloon Festival probably were unaware that the same propane that heats their homes and cooks their hot dogs also warms the air to make hot air balloons rise.

Balloon festivals like the one in Columbus, Ohio, mix technical expertise, advertising creativity and old-fashioned fun for participants and observers alike.
Balloon festivals like the one in Columbus, Ohio, mix technical expertise, advertising creativity and old-fashioned fun for participants and observers alike.

“It was an awakening for them,” says Anita Field, executive secretary of the Ohio Propane Education & Research Council and Ohio Propane Gas Association.

Propane has been used for hot-air ballooning since 1960, when the U.S. Navy, which uses balloons for military reconnaissance, experimented and found propane made a better alternative to hydrogen and helium, according to Larry Konash, the festival’s “balloonmeister.” The first pilots to attempt to ride beneath a balloon, in 1783, used paper “envelopes” – balloons – and lit a fire beneath, thinking the smoke made it rise. Soon after, pilots graduated to heavy cotton envelopes and began using hydrogen – a practice that continued nearly 200 years. Today, propane is universally the fuel of choice, paired with an envelope crafted of nylon with a non-flammable fabric nearest the flame.

Balloons of all colors, shapes and sizes all fueled by propane
Balloons of all colors, shapes and sizes all fueled by propane

“It’s easy to handle, it’s safe, it’s lightweight,” Konash says of propane. “We get 90,000 Btu, which is great.”

Pilots typically carry 40 gallons on board, enough for a standard one-hour flight and a 30-minute fuel reserve, he says.

The Ohio PERC sponsored the Columbus event, held in June, for the second year using $16,000 in state rebate dollars to pay for the fuel used by each pilot. Ohio is among a handful of states – including New Mexico, Indiana and New Jersey – that have sponsored balloon festivals as a means to promote propane.

 Five Suburban Propane employees from nearby Grove City, Ohio, were on hand to help the hot-air balloon pilots launch into the lazy summer sky.
Five Suburban Propane employees from nearby Grove City, Ohio, were on hand to help the hot-air balloon pilots launch into the lazy summer sky.

After the pilots complete their flight and load their equipment into their chase vehicles, they return to the fairgrounds to refuel. Seven pilots refuel at a time, with five Suburban Propane employees connecting the hoses to two cylinders inside each balloon basket.

As a sponsor, Ohio PERC staffed a booth where retailers took shifts to answer questions and distribute several thousand plastic bags bearing PERC’s “Exceptional Energy” literature. The organization sold $1,500 worth of raffle tickets, for a chance on a hot-air balloon ride for two; proceeds benefited a scholarship fund.

The real perk was the chance to display an enormous $650 white banner with the “Propane. Exceptional Energy” brand on the side of a royal blue hot-air balloon, says Jane Newton of Collett Propane in Xenia, Ohio. Newton is past president of the state association and state PERC.

“It’s not a very expensive endeavor for us, and it does get the name out there a lot,” she says.

The fuel was provided by a Suburban Propane location in nearby Grove City.

Roy E. Baker, who manages the location, says the event is labor intensive but an enjoyable community service that lets his employees show off their expertise behind the scenes. He says the propane – 4,395 gallons this year – is a tiny percentage of the 3.5 million gallons he sells annually.

“It may not be a large monetary value to our overall marketing scheme, but it has turned into an event,” Baker says. “Money’s not the reason that we do it.”

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