3 balloonists bring colorful passenger-capable sky ships

By Murray Bishoff Special to the Monett Monthly

The Monett Regional Airport hosted its first Balloon Glow on July 10 at sunset, attracting a large crowd and three balloons. 

Airport manager Steve Burnett invited friends from the aviation community to share their ballooning skills and equipment. Kiman Kingsley, who runs the Airport Kafé in Miller, veteran aviator Jim Ballard from Neosho, who has been flying for 30 years, and Ballard’s younger colleague Bill Lynch, also from Neosho, brought their balloons. As the sun set, they fired up propane torches to warm the air inside their balloons to ready them for flight. 

Lynch said his balloon, Katnip, was 77,000 cubic feet in width, or would hold 77,000 basketballs. The amount of propane needed to raise a balloon, he observed, depends on air temperature. Typically, on a summer evening, he would burn between 20-25 gallons of propane to heat the air inside his balloon to 220 degrees to lift off the ground. 

Kingsley, set up between his two colleagues, invited some of the crowd to climb into his balloon’s gondola for a photo. 

Ballard unfortunately burned a hole in the side of his balloon, a first for him, suspending his hopes for a more extended show. He said he would take it to Albuquerque, N.M., for repairs. He and Lynch frequently attend the Balloon Fiesta in Albuquerque. 

Monett Fire Chief Brandon Pennington estimated around 2,000 people turned out to see the event. Vehicles lined the inner taxiway west of the airport’s southernmost hangar, as well as the grounds east to Hwy. 97 and along the highway.