During the morning ascension on October 8, 2008 Pilot "Wild Bill" from Park City, Utah set the distance record for the week taking 10 passengers 20 miles south of Balloon Fiesta Park in Albuquerque, NM in a hot air balloon.
Following the initial descent into the vicinity of I-25 southbound near power lines, in an area without a westerly cross wind, Wild Bill charged the triple burner on the red tri-star Balloon known as Morning Star. The passengers were urged to "think" positive thoughts toward the west. By gaining a few hundred feet in altitude the hot air balloon and passengers descended safely onto a side road where the chase crew with Rainbow Ryders caught up and stored the gondola and deflated balloon and gear onto the trailer, while a short celebration took place; a flight and crew were toasted using mimosa's (champagne and orange juice)!
Passengers from Santa Fe, Illinois, North Carolina, Texas and other lower 48 destinations were thrilled to land safely after seeing one balloon land prematurely in a business area and one on the runway at a restricted military airport, (as the security vehicles rolled up on touchdown)! The crew and pilot did a fantastic job of catching the wind at sunrise! Pilot Bill said that he has been teaching ballooning for over 25 years. "Flying the balloon is easy, the hard part is getting it to go where you want it to go!"
