Location: Grand Island, NE
Avg. Ascent Rate: 917 ft/min
Avg. Descent Rate: 2059 ft/min
Flight Duration: 2 hrs, 15 min
Distance (Great Circle): 12 mi
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| Actual vs. Predicted flight paths |
Paul Verhage arrived from his home in Idaho Friday afternoon. Several of us met at
Valentino’s that evening for dinner and a pre-flight briefing. We agreed to
meet at 7:00 AM at Eagle Scout Park the next morning. When I arrived at the
launch site, Paul was already there and the southerly wind looked to be a
problem for filling the balloon. As the rest of the team arrived we decided to
find a different location for filling and launching. We had previously
discussed Walnut Middle
School’s parking lot, but while en-route to the middle school, Jack suggested Grand Island
Senior High School’s
parking lot which provided better cover from the wind. The payloads/capsules
were checked out, the balloon filled, and launched by 8:00 AM. We headed south
out of Grand Island on Highway 281 then east on
Highway 34, stopping in Aurora
at a convenience store to wait for the burst. Paul was the first to spot the
balloon at around 65,000 feet. We decided to head back west prior to balloon
burst based on the balloon’s actual track. It appeared that the landing was
going to be west of the predicted position. Jack and Gene had separated from us
prior to reaching Aurora
and were headed back to the west, as well. The balloon burst at around 87,576
feet. As the flight string descended we found that we had now gone too far to
the west and worked our way back to the east. We were in range to see the
parachute and payloads prior to them reaching the ground. They came to rest in
a cornfield approximately 100 yards from some very tall trees. After getting
permission from the landowner we all walked down the corn rows to the landing
spot. We stopped off at the local Walmart in Grand Island so Paul could get his photos
developed, then off to a local Mexican restaurant to look at the digital photos
and view portions of the video, while we had lunch. It was good flight and we
appreciate Paul driving such a long distance to share a flight and his
experience in the hobby with us.
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