Bill Broker knows a thing or two about hot-air balloons. He’s a hot-air balloon pilot whose Wiley-based company, Uplifting Adventures, repairs, makes, and sells hot-air balloons. He's a veteran of the Plano Balloon Festival, which kicks off on Thursday and runs through the weekend.
More than 40 balloons will take to the sky this weekend, some shaped like ducks, bears, and raccoons, and all sporting unique names, including a crowd favorite--a pig-shaped balloon named Chris P. Bacon.
It’s the festival’s 47th year and Broker has been with it since the beginning.
“I got my license back in 1979,” Broker said. “That was 10 days after my 16th birthday and 10 days before the actual very first Plano Balloon Festival, so I was able to fly in the first balloon festival.”
Broker says the ‘80s were an exciting time for the sport, and the festival has grown ever since.
“The City of Plano just jumped on board and kind of embraced the whole idea of the sport for the balloon festival,” Broker said. We have 70,000 to 100,000 people show up in a weekend. We create a little city over here in East Plano every year, and it's just crazy.”
Broker has several balloons in this year's festival, including one he'll pilot that's shaped like a llama called No Prob Llama. Broker says naming a balloon is sort of like naming a boat, but he goes a step further and includes a little humor in the naming process.
“The Central Market balloon is called Whisked Away, as in whisking and baking,” Broker said. “And then I've got another one-man balloon that I built that I just call Waldo because it's red and white striped and I usually dress up as Waldo when I fly it.“
When Broker mentions “flying,” it can conjure up the scene in The Wizard of Oz where the balloon flies away, and Dorothy yells, "Stop!" "Don't leave without me!" And the wizard yells back, "I can't! I don't know how it works!"
Movie magic aside, we wanted to know: how do you steer a hot-air balloon?
As it turns out, there's a lot of science and paying attention to the weather involved in flying a balloon. You don't steer it like a car. The pilot changes altitude to catch winds moving in different directions. They use the propane burner to go up and then allow hot air to escape to go down.
It's important to note that those who fly hot-air balloons are trained and licensed pilots, just like pilots who fly airplanes, although they have different skills. Broker says the license he has in his pocket looks the same as a pilot who flies 747s; it just has different endorsements for what he can fly.
The festival doesn't offer rides, but you can get a taste of hot-air ballooning with a tethered ride that takes you up in the air about 30 feet.
If 30 feet is still too high for your taste, stay on the ground and take in an event called a “Glow.” That’s a nighttime display of inflated tethered balloons lit up like giant lanterns.
“It's just this sea of color and balloons,” said Jo Via, the festival's executive director. “Since no two are alike, with all of the different designs and the special-shaped balloons, it's this whole kaleidoscope of color.”
Speaking of heights, Broker says he’s not a fan, and in fact, can’t look down when he’s in a tall building.
But being in a balloon is a different experience.
"There are no wind sensations and there are no speed sensations, because you are flying along with the wind. You're floating," Broker said. "Also, you won’t hear an engine noise that makes you think, 'we're going fast now, or we're slow, or we're up high. You don't get that sensation of height as you do in a building or a tower."
Broker says if you can get past that in your brain, you will definitely enjoy the flight.
"I have taken up many people who fear heights, and they say, 'You know what? You're right, this isn't as bad as I thought it was gonna be!'"
DETAILS: Plano Balloon Festival Sept 17-20 at Oak Point Park. Balloon launches are Saturday and Sunday morning at 7 a.m. Balloon Glows are Thursday thru Saturday at 7:30 p.m. Admission tickets range from $5 to $10 and are free for kids under 36” tall and all branches of the military with a valid ID. Tethered balloon rides are cash only and are $30 for adults and $20 for kids ages 6-12.
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