Bonnie Mehlhaff, Sheila Powell and Nick Smith went for the "ride of a lifetime" Monday afternoon.

Tuesday, November 30, 1999

Bonnie Mehlhaff, Sheila Powell and Nick Smith went for the "ride of a lifetime" Monday afternoon.

They took a hot air balloon ride over Austin.

Conditions were perfect for the ride: clear blue skies, sunshine and, most importantly, no wind.

It was a three-generational flight courtesy of the RE/MAX Hot Air Balloon Team.

Mehlhaff (Mrs. Lawrence "Rudy") is manager of Packers Engineering and Equipment Company, Inc.

Powell, Mehlhaff’s daughter is a realtor with the Austin RE/MAX office and Smith, 12, and a seventh grader at Ellis Middle School, is Powell’s son.

"I’ve always wanted to do this," said Powell.

"We’re going to have the ride of a lifetime," said Mehlhaff.

"Awesome," was Smith’s reaction.

Scott Ulland of the Austin RE/MAX office has been "up once," as he described his hot air balloon ride. "It’s beautiful up there," he said as the balloon was being prepared for launch. "It’s silent and just very peaceful."

On the ground, Larry Balvance and Sinnen, each a pilot with the RE/MAX Hot Air Balloon team, hustled to prepare the giant balloon for launching in Horace Austin Park near the Hormel Century Drive and 4th Street Northeast intersection. Cars stopped to watch the scene.

"It’s very unusual to be flying this late in the season, but the weather is ideal," Balvance said.

Balvance and Sinnen fly for Minnesota Valley Balloons of Shakopee and have been to the Santa Fe, New Mexico flights each October and flown among the hundreds that dot the skies over the desert.

The gondola holds three people, plus a pilot, at maximum capacity. The balloon is 80-feet tall and 70-feet in diameter.

How long it can stay afloat depends on the weather and the weight being carried. Usually, two hours is the maximum time for a flight, according to Sinnen. The balloon’s speed also depends on weather conditions, but Sinnen estimated Monday’s flight should reach a maximum of 10 knots.

The RE/MAX team travels the state of Minnesota, giving hot air balloon rides and has been a visitor to Austin’s SPAMTOWN USA Festival in July. This summer’s planned flight was canceled by inclement weather, when crosscurrents prevented its launching.

When the balloon was filled by twin fans and the hot air bursts and inflated to its full dimension, the trio of grandmother, mother and son climbed into the gondola with Balvance.

The balloon slowly lifted skyward and Sinnen cut loose the tether line to the ground and the trio and their pilot lifted over Horace Austin Park and downtown Austin.

At the peak, they would reach 1,000 feet or more.

Among those watching on the ground was Gregg "Bud" Johnson, a World War II fighter/bomber pilot.

"Isn’t it amazing how they do that? It’s a miracle. Gosh, I would really like to do that sometime," said Johnson, speaking obviously for everybody on the ground.