Photograph Courtesy of: Wiggins Photography

During the RE/MAX^® Ballunar Liftoff Festival, the hot air balloon pilots will be competing in a number of flights hoping to take home the title of Event Champion along with cash prizes.

Balloon competition is sometimes mistaken as balloon racing where the balloons are racing against each other and the clock. In actuality, the pilots are competing against each other in being able to navigate the balloon to predetermined targets.

Since the wind direction varies at different altitudes, the skill of competition is being able to read the wind currents at different altitudes and being able to navigate the balloon in those wind currents to the targets set by the event organizers.

Prior to each competitive task, pilot is given a marker (beanbag), which weighs 4 oz. and has a four-foot tail attached to it. Once the pilot flies over the target, the pilot will then drop his marker as close to the center of the X as possible. During each flight, there may be one or more targets that each pilot must fly to. Each target is a large fabric cross where each leg is three feet wide and 25 feet long making it easily visible to the pilot.

There are several types of competitive flights that may be flown during the Ballunar Liftoff Festival, which may include one of the following:


During the fly in task, the pilot already knows the location of the target. It is the responsibility of the pilot to choose a launch site greater then the minimum distance set by the event organizers that will allow him to navigate the balloon to that target.


In the Hare-'N-Hound event one of the non-competing balloons is dedicated as the hare balloon. The remaining competitive balloons are the hound balloons. Once the hare balloon has launched, it is the objective of the hound balloons to chase the hare balloon into varying wind currents. After about a thirty-minute flight the hare balloon will land and layout the target for the hound balloons to fly over.


During this task the event organizers will have displayed more than one target in varying locations around the community. The objective here is for the pilot to select the target that will be most favorable for them to fly over. Even though there is more than one target, the results at each of the targets are scored as one.


Throughout the country one of the standard competitions is an event known as the key grab. During this event a pole is erected at the balloon field with either a ring or a set of keys placed on top of the pole. The objective here is to go out further than the minimum launch distance and fly back to the pole grabbing the ring off the pole for the prize attached to it.

At the RE/MAX^® Ballunar Liftoff Festival, a different approach has been taken for the key grab competition. Since this event is held at the home of the space program, each of the balloons will dock with the Space Shuttle. Instead of a pole being erected at the balloon field, a 20 ft. tall Space Shuttle cold air balloon will be inflated in its place. Each pilot will be provided a hula-hoop prior to the beginning of this task, the objective being to navigate his balloon close enough to place the hula-hoop over the Space Shuttle nose. 

Ballunar Liftoff Festival is sanctioned by:
The Balloon Federation of America