Up until 1999, The Van Wert Area Jaycees would sponsor their Hot Air Affair each August. .
. a three-day hot air balloon festival held at the Van Wert County Airport in Van Wert,
Ohio. From humble beginnings back in the 1980's when the field included a couple dozen
balloons, the Hot Air Affair drew over 40 pilots from all over the United States. The
estimated 25,000 visitors to the Hot Air Affair enjoyed several mass balloon ascensions,
races and skill tests; a Saturday evening "balloon glow" at dusk; plenty of live
entertainment; visits by life-flight helicopters from around the region; and lots of food!
Sadly, this annual event was abandoned several years ago and is no longer held.
SCANNER INFORMATION The Jaycees coordinated their efforts during balloon races via a local SMR. Here are the frequencies for this 800 MHz trunked system that were used back then: 856.1625 857.1625 858.1625 859.1625 860.1625 Most of the action was caught on 859.1625
Here are the confirmed pilot-to-chase crew frequencies (plus a couple of others) from "back in the day": FREQ PILOT BALLOON HOME ---- ------------------ -------------------------- ------------ 151.625 Sue Korosa The Stealth Balloon Akron, OH 151.625 Joe Sprangel Sunburst Jackson, MI 151.625 Dan O'Brien Hog Heaven (shaped balloon) Dublin, OH 151.625 Rick Cusick Arrythmia Lima, OH 151.625 Dave Emmert Cloud Nine Battle Creek, MI 151.625 John Click Blue Horizon Lima, OH 151.625 Unidentified Rainbow Delight 151.625 Unidentified Friend Ship 151.755 Unidentified ??? 151.865 Frank Conn Purple Twist Van Wert, OH 151.865 Mike Conn Greve Chrysler Pentastar Van Wert, OH 151.865 Steve Bailey Van Wert Nat. Bank Van Wert, OH 151.895 Allen Baird Pioneer Seeds Tipton, IN 151.925 Unidentified ??? 151.955 Ken Durkee ??? Bellevue, MI 151.955 Brian Couts Corkscrew Too Battle Creek, MI 151.955 Wes Dickerson Midnight Sun 154.570 Unidentified ??? 154.570 Ron Messenger Drifter Too Battle Creek, MI 154.600 Dick Frederick Elks "Say No To Drugs" Xenia, OH 464.500 Unidentified Diamond Days 464.550 Frank Prell Clown (shaped balloon) Kentucky 464.550 Frank Prell G-Wish (cake shaped) Kentucky
General Tips For Monitoring Balloon Events
1. Check with the locals for frequencies used by event organizers.
2. Frequency counters really ARE handy devices!
3. Most balloonists are found on the itinerant frequencies. Check them first.
4. VHF high band business frequencies (including the itinerants) are the best balloonist
haunts - the handheld radios are cheaper and more readily available than 400 MHz units.
5. Don't hope to find balloonists' frequencies in an FCC database. Most pilots' radios are
unlicensed. In fact, the list above features only two pilots
licensed to use their frequencies!
6. DON'T get in the way of the chase crews! They really DESPISE having spectators
creating mini traffic jams. Hey, if you were driving a full-sized van pulling a trailer
on a dead-end one-lane country road in an unfamiliar area, and discovered that
you had to turn around to recover your balloon, you'd get irate if your efforts were
thwarted by a line of spectator's vehicles!
Have updates? Questions? Comments? E-mail them to wbowery@bright.net.