Peter and Colleen Procopio of Gallup, N.M., love each other as much as they love flying hot air balloons – which is saying a lot.
The pair, who have been flying together since 1993 and met through their passion for hot air balloons, launched the Koshare Gallup – the balloon piloted by Peter – at the Animas Valley Balloon Rally on Friday. The sky was filled with dozens of balloons, including one piloted by Colleen’s daughter Marissa Myers and son-in-law Cody Myers.
The Koshare Gallup, built in 2003 with help from the city of Gallup and the Red Rock Balloon Rally Association, was fashioned to look like a Koshare – a sacred ceremonial clown of Native American Pueblo and Hopi origin.
Colleen and Peter store all the pieces of the Koshare – the basket, the poles, the burner system and the balloon itself, called the envelope – separately in a small trailer, then put the pieces together at each flying location.
The process of assembling and disassembling the Koshare Gallup for each flight could be compared to the process of putting together and breaking down a tent – if the tent was 105,000 cubic feet, weighed roughly 275 pounds, and the poles were being attached to a fire-breathing propane burner system and a basket strong enough to carry several people thousands of feet into the air.
Once all the pieces are assembled, the basket is laid on its side, and the envelope is attached to the basket and inflated. This step takes an industrial fan, some muscle and propane power, and a little patience.
Though Colleen is also a pilot and the director of flight operations for the Koshare balloon, she – along with two other crew members – acted as ground crew for Peter during the Koshare’s first flight at the rally. The ground crew is responsible for following the balloon in a car while staying connected via walkie-talkies during the flight, so the balloon and its passengers can be collected after landing.
Colleen made sure a kiss from Peter was on the preflight checklist before he took to the sky.
To control the balloon’s rate of ascent, Peter lets out heat by using a line connected to the parachute valve at the top of the envelope. To control its rate of descent, Peter does the opposite – lets heat in by releasing propane from the burners.
Though Peter is trained in how to control the balloon, he isn’t doing any of the steering, he said – that’s all up to the wind.
“It’s a balance – a feel that you develop,” Peter said.
A hot-air balloon pilot’s most important instruments – along with a practiced handle on the envelope line and the propane release – are good focus and a well-oiled spit-ometer (Peter’s nickname for when a balloon pilot spits off the side of the basket to test wind direction and flow).
Colleen wears yet another hat: the Diplomat. She’s the one who appeals to property owners when the wind causes the balloon to land in unintended locations – like it did on the first day of the rally.
After being moved in several different directions by the wind and descending peacefully just over the tops of the trees, Peter brought the Koshare down in a smooth and controlled landing on private land east of U.S. Highway 550. Luckily, the homeowner was in good spirits about his property being used as a hot-air balloon landing pad.
Colleen and the crew met back up with Peter and the Koshare Gallup to help break the balloon back down until it is assembled once again to fly on days 2 and 3 of the rally.
Peter said his favorite part about flying hot air balloons is the connections that naturally arise.
“We meet new people at almost every rally we go to,” he said. “We’ve made lifelong friends from all over the world.”
For Colleen and Peter, their lifelong friendship was one of those made in the sky.
epond@durangoherald.com
Balloon Rally info
Balloons will be flying at the rally through Sunday, with Glow Night events set for Friday and Saturday evening.
