Ottomwa Pro Balloon Race
Ottumwa, IA USA
2010
Preview
This weekend forty-six pilots will converge on Ottumwa, Iowa for the Ottumwa Pro Balloon Race. Located just 90 miles southeast of Des Moines, this years' event will mark the 33rd annual Pro Balloon Race. This should be a truly entertaining event as patrons will be able to enjoy food, contests, live entertainment, and "balloons galore". Don't forget about the Guitar Hero contest on Sunday which is back by popular demand.
Balloon Festivities get underway Friday night with a balloon glow and the first of three competition flights Saturday morning. This looks like it will turn out to be very competitive as the field of pilots features a vitural who's who of Iowa's competitive pilots and some top out of state talent as well. Expect some tough competition and excellent scores from this event in the days to come. For the latest updates follow us live at Twitter
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This weekend forty-six pilots will converge on Ottumwa, Iowa for the Ottumwa Pro Balloon Race. Located just 90 miles southeast of Des Moines, this years' event will mark the 33rd annual Pro Balloon Race. This should be a truly entertaining event as patrons will be able to enjoy food, contests, live entertainment, and "balloons galore". Don't forget about the Guitar Hero contest on Sunday which is back by popular demand.
Balloon Festivities get underway Friday night with a balloon glow and the first of three competition flights Saturday morning. This looks like it will turn out to be very competitive as the field of pilots features a vitural who's who of Iowa's competitive pilots and some top out of state talent as well. Expect some tough competition and excellent scores from this event in the days to come. For the latest updates follow us live at Twitter
.
Saturday Morning
Similar to Howelll the pilots in Ottumwa, IA were able to get a nice practice flight off Friday evening, but thunderstorms rolled through early Saturday morning forcing the cancellation of planned competition. They too will try again this afternoon. Stay tuned for updates.
Updated 6/26 1:55 pm
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Updated 6/26 1:55 pm
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Saturday Evening
Weather cooperated enough Saturday evening for a one part task, a Gordon Bennet Memorial. The GBM was made up of two different scoring areas. Area A was the main portion of the park. In the middle of the park was a $500 pole grab with a bow tie shape marked out around it. The fabric of the bow tie was out, and the baggie was measured to the pole, so the best possible score was 7'. Area B was a 3000' long by 300' wide section along a bike trail by the river. Scores in Area B were measured to an 'X' on the bike trail then 1800' was added to your measurement, which was the distance between areas A and B. The intention of area B was that it was a "safety net" in case you missed area A. Very steerable winds allowed almost all of the pilots who flew to get a score and only one pilot used area B. Both Benji Clemons and Preston Gebhart nearly got the pole grab but it was just outside of their reach.
The Sunday morning flight was cancelled so the Saturday night Gordon Bennet Memorial Task was the only comp from the weekend.
Saturday Evening
Weather cooperated enough Saturday evening for a one part task, a Gordon Bennet Memorial. The GBM was made up of two different scoring areas. Area A was the main portion of the park. In the middle of the park was a $500 pole grab with a bow tie shape marked out around it. The fabric of the bow tie was out, and the baggie was measured to the pole, so the best possible score was 7'. Area B was a 3000' long by 300' wide section along a bike trail by the river. Scores in Area B were measured to an 'X' on the bike trail then 1800' was added to your measurement, which was the distance between areas A and B. The intention of area B was that it was a "safety net" in case you missed area A. Very steerable winds allowed almost all of the pilots who flew to get a score and only one pilot used area B. Both Benji Clemons and Preston Gebhart nearly got the pole grab but it was just outside of their reach.
The Sunday morning flight was cancelled so the Saturday night Gordon Bennet Memorial Task was the only comp from the weekend.
| ottumwa_results.pdf |