By TONY TAGLAVORE, Journal Services
As a child, Dr. Bill Bussey would lay head on pillow and dream. Not about being a policeman, a fireman, or a football player. Rather, an animal.
“I dreamt I was a bird, flying. At times, I would be soaring, and at other times, I felt like I was a baby bird which could barely get off the ground.”
In a way, Dr. Bussey’s dream came true. As a hot air balloon pilot for almost half a century, he gets a birds-eye view of the world.
“It actually feels like you are standing still as the earth moves by you. You’re not moving across the earth. That’s what it feels like. When you descend, the earth gets closer to you. When you ascend, it gets further away from you. Especially in the morning time, the wind changes direction as you climb. In the Northern Hemisphere, it normally turns to the right if you’re under a high pressure system. It turns to the left if you’re under a low pressure system. You don’t turn to the left too much because low pressure usually means unstable air. So, you need to now about high pressure and low pressure. One turns to the right and one turns to the left.”
The 81-year-old will get a good view of Shreveport-Bossier this weekend. He will compete in the Louisiana State Ballooning Championship Saturday and Sunday and have one of his nine balloons for you to see at the 2024 CenterPoint Energy Red River Balloon Rally. Gates to the rally Friday and Saturday at Louisiana Downs Racetrack and Casino open at 5pm each day.
Dr. Bussey, found his love for hot air balloons while focusing on another type of flying.
“I was taking hang gliding lessons in Aspen, Colorado. I just happened to see two balloons tethered in a rugby field. I had never even heard of a balloon. I went over there and sat down in awe. I love aviation and flew airplanes for years. I was just in awe of these balloons. I thought I could find some little lady who could sew one together. I had no concept of what a balloon was, or anything about it, or that they were manufactured. I was going to build one from scratch.”
Dr. Bussey quickly learned that wasn’t going to happen. In 1978, he and three partners bought a new balloon. His investment was a $300 downpayment, and a monthly payment of $120.
“It’s been a love affair ever since.”
Dr. Bussey is also an instrumented-rated airplane pilot. However, just because you’re good at flying an airplane doesn’t necessarily mean you will be a good hot air balloon pilot.
“I think it takes more skill to fly a balloon properly than it does an airplane . . . . The balloon has a mind of its own. It goes strictly with the wind – wherever the wind goes. You have to calculate and anticipate the wind ahead of time, and the wind direction. (The balloon) floats in the air mass. The air mass changes directions and temperatures. You have to anticipate all these things to guide the balloon where you want it to go.”
And you can’t put a hot air balloon on auto pilot.
“A fixed wing pilot like I am is used to introducing left rudder and left aileron, and the airplane immediately turns to the left. A hot air balloon, when you turn on the burner, you’re doing it about 20-30 seconds earlier. You anticipate that. You have to be thinking ahead on how to fly it. You’re floating in this magnificent machine, and to me, it takes a lot more skill to fly a balloon that it does an airplane.”
In history class, you were likely taught that Orville and Wilbur Wright were the first people to fly. That’s partly correct. They were the first to fly an airplane, but not the first to fly.
“The first people to fly did so (in a hot air balloon) 120 years prior to the Wright brothers – about 240 years ago, in 1783. The very first flight lasted about 25 minutes, and they flew about five miles, and went to an altitude of 1800 feet.”
Since then, a lot has changed. On a 2020 flight, Dr. Bussey recorded his 15th world record and 30th US National record, with a 21-hour, 13-minute trip from Okema, Oklahoma, to near Tyler, Texas.
“I can tell you I am just as excited about (flying a balloon) today as I was the first time I saw one, or the first time I took a flight. I love aviation of any type. These are sky chariots of fire. They’re colorful. They have fire. They have wicker. It’s just awe-inspiring. It’s the most primitive form of aviation there is, yet it’s the safest, and it’s the most exciting.”
And for Dr. Bussey, it’s the culmination of those little boy dreams.
Contact Tony at SBJTonyT@gmail.com.