Passion for Flight

Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta 2011 It is 4:15 am. We — daughter Ingrid, friends Lynn and Philip, and I — drive into the Intel parking lot in Rio Rancho, a suburb of Albuquerque, NM. Two dozen school buses are lined up and waiting, as is happening at five other temporary bus stations in the Albuquerque area. Our tickets are scanned, we enter the first bus with other early risers. Twenty minutes later, the bus arrives at the makeshift bus terminal of Albuquerque’s 78-acre Balloon Fiesta field. This is the 40th year of the fiesta. It is dedicated to the “Father of Balloon Fiesta” Sid Cutter, who started it all in 1972. This year’s theme is “The Greatest Show Off Earth.” It is still dark. Some of the early comers line up for a breakfast purchase at the numerous vendor stands. But we don’t waste time and walk right onto the dewy grass, toward the small group of balloons being set up for takeoff in the dark. These are the balloons of the “Dawn Patrol.” They will assess wind c...

Mass Ascension, Balloon Fiesta 2011, Albuquerque, NM The story of aliens landing in Roswell, NM, created in 1947 by people with an overactive imagination, is just that: a story without real proof. And the above picture, taken during our visit of the 2011 Balloon Fiesta in Albuquerque, NM, is just a whimsical reference to aliens. But the flight in our Zenith 601HDS, N314LB, from Aero Country Airport of McKinney, TX, to Albuquerque, with a fuel stop in Plainview, TX, produced real evidence that aliens have come from a galaxy far, far away and are alive and well in Texas and New Mexico. Some of the evidence below is backed up by photos, while for others we just have the description of the event. For easy reference in subsequent discussions, we are numbering the evidence collected on the trip. There are five pieces. Collectively, they constitute incontrovertible proof that aliens are among us.   Evidence #1   We take off at 7:15 am CDT from Aero Count...

A huge easel holds a reproduction of van Gogh’s “ Three Sunflowers in a Vase,” painted by Cameron Cross in 1996. Huge easel with reproduction of van Gogh’s “Three Sunflowers in a Vase”    The 24 by 32 ft painting on the 80 ft tall steel easel, weighing 40,000 lbs, can be seen from Interstate 70 half a mile away. Near the easel and painting, the High Plains Museum displays a replica of America’s first patented helicopter, designed by William J. Purvis and Charles A. Wilson in 1909. It has two 7 hp gasoline engines driving two counter rotating blades. Replica of helicopter designed by Purvis and Williams in 1909 Where can you see all this? In Goodland, in the northwestern corner of Kansas. Why did we fly to Goodland? We will come to that in a moment. First, the stories of the painting and helicopter.   Cameron Cross originally intended to paint giant replicas of seven van Gogh sunflower paintings. Two paintings in Altona, Canada and Emerald, Australia have bee...