Attendees of this year’s Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta will be greeted by a new feature of the widely popular event: remote controlled balloons.
The Balloon Fiesta returns for its 49th year next month after the COVID-19 pandemic dashed last year’s event.
Matt McKay, Model Balloon Meister of Balloon Fiesta, could barely contain his excitement.
“It’s just like any hobby, you got your remote control planes, boats, cars and here we are with remote control balloons,” McKay told KRQE.
The station additionally reported that spectators are expected to see 30 registered remote control balloons engage in the mass ascension the first Sunday of the Fiesta, and then on Wednesday and Friday.
The remote control balloon is the fraction of the size of a hot air balloon, and will be tethered to the ground.
Twenty of the 30 entrants will be controlled by individuals from New Mexico, giving the Fiesta’s newest attraction a local flavor.
Caryn Welz with Enchanted Model Balloons in Albuquerque is among the New Mexicans who’ll operate a remote controlled balloon.
“We have a five-foot flame that we’re shooting up into a 3,000 cubic foot envelope, whereas the big balloon has a 12-foot flame that they’re shooting up into a 65,000 or even bigger envelope,” Welz told KRQE.
Balloon Fiesta is from Oct. 2-10 at Balloon Fiesta Park.