Do hot air balloons actually race during rallys?
Well…not really. Most balloon fiesta’s or rally’s use various balloon ‘tasks’ to challenge the competing pilots. These tasks can be things like a Hare & Hound, Judge Declared Goal or various fly to target events. All of these events require the pilot to judge the winds at various altitudes to try and adjust the course of the balloon. Then the pilot will drop a bean bag and streamer marked with his name or number. The closest marker to the target wins. It’s quite amazing to see how close skilled pilots can come to targets after flying 4-5 miles. At some Rally’s they will takeoff 3 miles or more away from a the target site at a location of their choice outside the mandatory radius. They will fly towards a tall pole with a big ring attached. If they grab the ring they win a brand new car. It’s a great fun to watch them reach so far for that ring. And some of them do it!
