The threat of severe storms scrubbed the Saturday morning flights, and high winds forced the flights that evening to be called off. But even though the balloons couldn’t fly, that didn’t mean they couldn’t entertain by inflating them and lighting them for a glow, Mort said.
Because of weather conditions, only one of the three scheduled competitive flights could take off.
The winner of this year’s balloon competition was Louisville, Ky.-based pilot David Troutman, flying the Celtic Cross. Second was Henry Rosenbaum from Mechanicsville, Va., flying American Football. Third was Mike Emick from Akron, flying Second Wind — he also placed third in the 2009 MidFirst Ohio Challenge.
The highest-ranking pilot from the Middletown area was Sean Askren in the Atrium Medical Center balloon. He was fifth.
At the awards brunch Sunday, longtime Middletown hot air balloonist James Wannemacher received the first Spirit of the Challenge award. He participated in the U.S. National Hot Air Balloon Championships held in Middletown in 1992-94, and the first seven years of the MidFirst Ohio Challenge as a committee member and 2006 champion.
The 2011 Ohio Challenge will be July 15, 16 and 17. Details will be posted at www.MidFirstOhioChallenge.com.
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