Balloonist Makes a Comeback
KAREN CONVERSE AND HER CREW roll up to balloon events sporting matching pink-and-black apparel inspired by her 90,000-cubic-foot balloon, Penumbra, and its alternating vertical bands of color. A pink…
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Get to Know This Young Balloon Pilot
“I’M GONNA GO HOT!” Kierstynn Wehner shouts to her crew over the loud, droning noise of a nearby inflation fan. It’s just after sunrise in Rio Rancho as the 17-year-old triggers and steers a 15-foot…
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Meet This Legendary Balloon Pilot
JIM AHERN’S BALLOONING CAREER was peaking right as things were starting to take off. “I was in the airline business before ballooning,” recalls the 84-year-old. “Back in 1978, ballooning was just a…
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Balloon Fiesta Takes You Up, Up, and Away
AT 5 A.M., DARKNESS HANGS LIKE A CURTAIN over Albuquerque’s Balloon Fiesta Park, hiding the riot of colors, shapes, and sounds about to be unveiled in the morning light. For now, you and the thousands…
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