East Texas

By BETTY WATERS
Staff Writer

LONGVIEW -- Young Bill Bussey often dreamed of soaring.

In early adulthood, the Longview native happened, on a trip to Aspen, Colo., to see two magnificent hot-air balloons tethered on the ground taking people up and down on ropes.

He watched awe-struck and ruminated.

"I was trying to figure out how I could possibly build one of those contraptions," he recalled in an interview, by maybe taking burners from several fish cookers to create heat and attaching laundry baskets underneath someway.

That was in 1977 and soon afterward Bussey learned he could buy one and wound up instead becoming a 25 percent partner in purchase of a new balloon. Then he bought his own balloon.

Bussey became hooked on ballooning and soaring ceased to be a dream and became his reality.

Thirty-two years later, Bussey -- who makes his living as a dentist -- has logged over 3,000 hours flying hot-air balloons in different places around the world: the U.S., Europe, Canada, Japan, Mexico, the Middle East, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Caribbean islands, etceteras.

Bussey is still enamored with hot-air balloons and has soared in real life to set 14 world hot-air balloon records, some of them still standing. He has won 35 national and world championships and has finished in the top three in more than 100 competitions.

Bussey has also received the highest international award in ballooning, called the Montgolfier Diploma, and the Shields-Trauger Award, the highest ballooning award in the U.S.

When Bussey started ballooning, the sticker price for a standard balloon was about $4,500, but has increased to approximately $42,000.

Bussey describes the hot-air balloon as "the most primitive aircraft there is -- a beautiful huge docile giant with a mind of its own."

A hot-air balloon can be as much as 80 feet high and 50 feet in diameter. When it goes up, it can be lifting up to 1,200 pounds, counting the weight of the fabric of the balloon, the gondola or basket, the cylinders, the burners, fuel system and instruments, propane gas for fuel, plus passengers.

The first hot-air balloon flew near Paris, France, 120 years before the Wright brothers flew the first airplane. Two men burned hay inside the balloon and when they ran out of hay, the balloon came down like a parachute and crashed in a farmer's field. "The farmers thought they were aliens and took their pitchforks and killed the balloon," Bussey said. "True story."

In 1978, Bussey founded the Great Texas Balloon Race, set for its 31st run today through Sunday at the East Texas Regional Airport near Longview.

When he heard about the scheduled grand opening of Longview Mall that first year, Bussey initially asked

the mall to sponsor his flights over the city to help foot the cost of ballooning in exchange for him displaying on his balloon advertising for the mall.

Mall officials were uninterested. He approached them again and they jumped at his next idea to bring in big-name celebrities to ride in 20 hot-air balloons to celebrate the opening.

Celebrities who came included Miss America Mary Ann Mobley, late night talk show personality Ed McMahon, bull rider Larry Mahan, Adam Clayton who portrayed The Lone Ranger, Benji the dog, boxer Joe Frazier and first brother Billy Carter.

It didn't have a name that first year. For the second race, Bussey thought of the title Great Texas Balloon Race. "It was catchy and that name stuck. The race has been a tremendous success since that time," he said.

One year, an Olympic torch bearer came through Longview on his way to the Olympics in Los Angeles and lit all the balloon burners. "The fire literally came from Greece that lit our flames," Bussey remembers.

Bussey has been president or a member of the board for the Great Texas Balloon Race since he started it.

He conceived for the 1980 race the first "balloon glow" -- an event at dusk when balloonists turn on their burners, causing the different colored balloons to glow like a big lantern.

The "balloon glow" came about this way Bussey said: A "little lady" came up to him as racing balloons flew off in the distance. She asked if they would be back and when he answered "no," she said with disappointment she was not going to see them and "you ought to bring them back."

Bussey started thinking, decided he should bring them back and the next night organized the first "balloon glow." The spectacular and picturesque "balloon glow" quickly became a hugely popular attraction not only at the Great Texas Balloon Race, but nowadays is copied at almost every other hot-air balloon race all over the world.

Bussey also organized and flew in the first underground balloon glow and competition in Marvel Cave, Bronson, Mo.

Ironically despite his national and world ballooning records, Bussey has never come close to winning the Great Texas Balloon Race he created.

Bussey says that's because he is more focused on making sure the race runs properly and taking care of everyone else. "I can honestly say I don't compete well at my own event," Bussey said. "I go to another event and I'm all about winning the event; this one, I'm not."

The race was located at the mall from 1978 to about 1983, when it moved to the Stroh's Brewery soccer field. In about 1989, it relocated to the Gregg County airport in order to have gates so that admission could be charged to defray cost of entertainment added as a side attraction for the race.

"Now our budget is a little over $300,000 and we are able to make ends meet barely each year. It's nonprofit -- anything we make in profit must go to charity," Bussey said. The race, which has grown into a festival with many attractions in addition to balloon racing, provides competitors with food, fuel, hotel rooms and insurance.

Sixty-five professional hot-air balloon pilots paid a $75 entry fee each for this year's race and will compete for $25,000 in total prize money in different events.

"It's run by a very strict rule book. We are known for very serious competition whereas a lot of events like the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta, the most famous one worldwide, are more for fun." Bussey said. Pilots competing at the Longview race gain points toward world championship competition.

The balloon racing starts at 6:30 a.m. today and Saturday, while gates open at the airport for musical entertainment, the balloon glow, vendors and other attractions at 5:30 p.m. today and 4 p.m. Saturday.

The term "race" is really a misnomer since it indicates speed and speed has nothing to do with balloon racing, Bussey said.

The balloons fly with the speed of the wind, which this time of year usually is 10 miles per hour.

"We're flying for accuracy. There are many targets placed by our balloon meister, who is the championship director who determines the competition tasks," Bussey said.

For example, the meister lays targets based on the weather and typography for balloonists to hit when dropping a bean bag that has their name and number and a streamer attached.

"Your goal is to come very low over the target, which is usually identified by a big white X, and to drop that bean bag in the middle of the X and fly on to the next one," Bussey said.

"The wind determines where it goes ... you can't go anywhere the wind won't take you," Bussey said.

Bussey, who was inducted into the Texas Aviation Hall of Fame in 2007, has flown as fast as 108 miles per hour in a hot-air balloon at 18,000 feet. The highest he has gone is 26,400 feet.

"It's not like an elevator, it's not like a ride at Six Flags. If you kept your eyes completely closed and didn't fudge, I could lift you off the ground, take you on a flight and put you back on the ground and you'll never know you left. It's that smooth and there's no vibration," Bussey said.

Hot-air balloon pilots in the U.S. are required to obtain a license from the Federal Aviation Authority, to be recertified every two years and have their balloon inspected every 100 hours or every year, whichever comes first.

Longview balloonist Bill Bussey fires up his craft for an early ride as a preview of the Great Texas Balloon Race this weekend. Balloons take to the sky early Thursday mornng as a preview of the race.
(Staff Photo By Jaime R. Carrero)