copyright the Chronicle October 18, 2017
by Brad Usatch
BRIGHTON — When Barbara Fricke and Peter Cuneo launched from Albuquerque, New Mexico, on October 7 in their gas balloon Foxtrot Charlie, they knew they were going to land somewhere.
By the time their personal best journey of over 60 hours and 1,900 miles was done, the winds had deposited them in our own backyard, specifically in one of the less inhabited neighborhoods of Brighton, north of McConnell Pond and not far from the Lewis town line.
How they got there is a fascinating story for the vast majority of people unfamiliar with the rarified world of gas balloon competition. It’s what happened after the team landed safely that left the pilots and their chase team forever indebted to the people of Island Pond for their resourcefulness and their hospitality.
Having departed at 6:45 p.m. Mountain Daylight Time (8:45 p.m. locally) on a Saturday, by the time Tuesday morning rolled around the married co-pilots and four-time winners of the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta America’s Challenge were just about out of ballast and out of options.
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