The Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta started in 1972. Since then it has become the world's biggest hot air balloon festival.

Over a nine-day period, 550 hot air balloons were in the sky, almost one million people were on hand, and 650 pilots from around the world showed up for this event. During these nine-days pilots of the hot air, balloons compete in competitions with the balloon.

Competitions:

  • Fly-In Task- Pilot must drop a marker from their balloon and get it as close to the target as possible.
  • Judge Declared Goal- Pilots must navigate their balloons to about one-mile in the air, then drop a marker as close to the target as possible.
  • Multiple Judge Declared Goal- Pilots reach about one mile in the air and try to drop markers on several targets in the ground. Closets to the target win.
  • Minimum Distance Double Drop- Pilots must drop two markers and get them as close together as possible.
  • Gordon Bennet Memorial- Pilots must drop a marker close to one area but at the same time have to get it as close as possible to another area without leaving the first area.

The University of Wyoming was in the sky this morning letting Albuquerque and the rest of the world know that "The World Needs More Cowboys."

Bruce Pivic was the man that manned the UW hot air balloon. Check out his landing.

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