The Thundeerbird Hot Air Balloon Classic will be celebrating it's 25 year this year with about 130 hot air balloons in attendance. The classic was initiated as a fund raiser for raising money for foreign students attending "Thunderbird", the American Graduate School of International Management, which is a private school that is located in Glendale, Arizona. After several moves it is now held at WestWorld of Scottsdale.The pictures here were taken at last years event, where there were about 90 balloons present. The enthusiam and friendliness of the balloonist and the event workers makes this colorful event a great experience.
There will be several pages in this group to provide several aspects of a hot air balloon show. There are usually 3 periods of activity the early morning, late afternoon and after dark. The timing of the daytime activities has to do with air currents and how they affect the balloons. During the after dark activity, the "glow", the balloons are inflated but remain tethered to the ground. They are then lit up by the heaters that are used to inflate them causing them to "glow", which is a very beautiful sight. The current pictures were taken during the early morning activity.
