Mark Nelson of Newport News flies the friendly skies
Mark Nelson says he’s not an adrenaline junkie, but there’s evidence to the contrary.
The 54-year-old Newport News resident has been flying hot-air balloons safely for decades. It’s a sport that requires sharp skills, good judgment and the ability to embrace a certain degree of unpredictability.
“This is going to be fun,” he said with a sly grin just before launching one cool November morning in Smithfield. “We’re going to hop over those trees and go.”
It was around 7 a.m. and he hadn’t yet inflated his colorful flying machine. The wind was gusting enough to make him a little uncomfortable, but not enough to make him scrap the day’s adventure. After lighting large flame-thrower-like propane burners, he fearlessly blasted jets of fire into the belly of the balloon, even as wind bent the fabric uncomfortably close to the heat.
Seconds later, he barked orders to passengers and crew. “I need you in the basket, now!” he commanded, his voice resonating with urgency.
Bodies scrambled on board as Nelson, already inside, worked swiftly to make final preparations for takeoff.
Frantic moments ensued as a ground crew members worked to release the tether holding the balloon to the earth. Then, after a quick adjustment, the balloon floated silently over barns and treetops. Everyone on board was quiet as the craft glided skyward, opening pastoral vistas.
Asked later if he enjoys the thrills of this relatively low-tech form of aviation, Nelson said he sees it as more relaxing than exciting.
“It’s an aerial nature walk, a magic carpet ride,” he said.
Cruising over creeks and golf courses, woods and neighborhoods, Nelson started to look at ease. Gazing down at a pasture where a few horses sprinted nervously, Nelson called to calm them.
“It’s OK. It’s OK, girls,” he yelled. “I’m not going to land there.”
Later, Nelson explained that animal psychology is an often-overlooked facet of ballooning. “Horses hear the human voice and they calm down. Cows are smart. The only animal you can’t reason with is a pig. They don’t have a sense of humor.”
Nelson’s love affair with balloon flight dates back to 1977. After graduating from Bethel High School the previous year, he moved to Lynchburg to run a waterbed store. That’s when he caught the bug. “It was my flotation period,” he said smiling.
He saw an HBO special about ballooning and was intrigued. Soon, he was on the phone with a pilot arranging for his first ride. It didn’t take long for him to buy a balloon for himself.
Nelson spent the next 20 years living in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley. Working in the bedding and furniture industry, his flying was mostly a weekend activity. Over time, though, as Virginia’s textile and furniture industries began to wane, he began devoting more time to offering charter balloon adventures. He’s piloted them across the nation as well as in Israel and Mexico.
Reed Basley, a friend and fellow balloonist who lives in James City County, has flown alongside Nelson on many expeditions. The two pilots have known each other for 20 years.
“Mark’s in a league all his own,” Basley said. “He’s a very enthusiastic person. He’s always looking for another angle on doing flights.”
Basley said Nelson organized the Israel trip through contacts forged through decades of ballooning.
“Five or six of us from Virginia went over to Israel,” he said. “We toured the whole country, north and south. The last flight we made was on the outskirts of the Gaza Strip. I landed in a field. It took awhile for the trucks to find us, so we sat there in the field listening to the bombs go off in the distance.”
Nelson said he moved back to Newport News about two years ago to care for his aging parents. He began launching charter balloon flights from the Williamsburg KOA campground and has since secured a license to fly from parks in Smithfield.
Last year, a film crew hired by the Virginia Historical Society flew with Nelson so that they could capture dramatic aerial footage for a short movie that’s to be screened regularly at he society’s museum in Richmond.
Flying on and around the Peninsula has its challenges, Nelson said. Bodies of water can create sticky situations. So can military bases.
He remembers one ill-fated trip which ended in the restricted territory of the Camp Peary military reservation near Williamsburg.
“That was an interesting day,” Nelson said, smiling. When security forces arrived, Nelson noticed that they weren’t amused. “They asked me, ‘Can you tell me why a member of your crew member is in my sniper stand?’ I said, ‘I can’t answer that question.'”
Winds and weather can create an element of unpredictability to ballooning, but Nelson said his 36 years of experience give him an edge. By harnessing air currents at different altitudes, he can tack back and forth like a sailboat and move in a desired direction.
“There are two types of pilots,” Nelson said, “ones who ride and ones who fly where they want to go. I can fly 10 miles and land at a particular school yard.”
Nelson’s ground crew chief, Luke Mason, confirms that his boss can take the balloon exactly where he wants — weather permitting, of course.
“I’ve seen him set it down between a house and a garage and another house. Boom. Right in the middle,” Mason said.
As far as planning a balloon adventure goes, Nelson said first-timers need to understand that planning and flexibility are key. If conditions aren’t right, there can be no flight.
“I’ll say this about life. The better things require planning and time,” Nelson said. “You have to be patient and schedule your adventure and plan it. If it’s worth doing, take the time to plan it. That’s the big thing.
“The weather is either flyable or it isn’t. I don’t push it. I never have. I make the right decision … I always ask myself, ‘Would I fly my mother today?’ If I wouldn’t fly my mother, I’m not going to fly your mother. We carry precious cargo.”
via – dailypress.com.
