Hundreds of balloons will soon take to the skies of Iowa for Indianola’s 2026 National Balloon Classic.
The nine-day event brings balloon pilots from all over the world to Indianola, Iowa, to compete for points, prizes and championship titles. The festival won’t just have hot air balloons. You can also see live music nightly, food vendors and more, according to the National Balloon Classic’s website.
As a preview of this year’s event, the National Balloon Classic held its 34th annual Flight Over Des Moines earlier in July, featuring a much smaller lineup of balloons than the Indianola showcase but arguably offering a better aerial view as colorful envelopes drifted over downtown Des Moines.
I know because the Des Moines Register sent me, trending reporter Cooper Worth (and someone with a slight fear of heights), up in a hot air balloon for the Flight Over Des Moines. Here’s how it went.
What it’s like flying in a hot‑air balloon for the first time
Joined by Des Moines Register photographer Kaiden J. Yu, we arrived at Water Works Park around 5:30 a.m. on Monday, July 13. We met our pilot, Al Appenzeller, 60, from Indianola, who gave us a tour of his hot-air balloon “Tied Together.”
Before takeoff, a volunteer herded all the pilots for a preflight briefing covering flight procedures and safety guidelines, including how much propane the classic would provide to each pilot (15 gallons) and a reminder to stay under 2,000 feet.
Once I stepped into the gondola, it was immediately clear these baskets do not have the luxury of space. With three people, the burner and the fuel tanks, it was a tight squeeze for a 6-foot, generously built gentleman like myself.
What also became clear was how stripped down everything in the basket seemed, safety-wise, and how exposed you were. There wasn’t an obvious sign marking which panel of the basket doubled as a door, so more than once midflight I caught myself worrying that if I leaned too hard on the wrong side, it might swing open and I’d be tumbling out (I later learned it’s locked from the outside and, as Appenzeller put it, “very secure”).
But any complaining and dread vanished at lift‑off as we climbed above the treeline, where a picture‑perfect sun hung low on the horizon, casting a golden beam across the canopy and downtown.
“Up here, it’s just peaceful, it’s serene,” Appenzeller said.
We flew for roughly 40 minutes over city landmarks like the Pappajohn Sculpture Park, 801 Grand and the Casey’s Center. We dipped to a few hundred feet above a busy Interstate 235 before touching down at Reno Memorial Dog Park on the eastside of Des Moines.
Upon landing at the park — and surely to the amazement and mild confusion of several dogs and their owners — we were met by Appenzeller’s crew, who were there to pick us up and dismantle the balloon.
What is the National Balloon Classic’s schedule?
If you want to check out a ride yourself, the classic is held at Memorial Balloon Field, 1136 150th Ave. in Indianola, Iowa, from July 31 to Aug. 8. Balloon rides are available every morning at 6:00 a.m. or evening at 6:00 p.m., according to organizers.
To purchase balloon rides and general admission tickets to the National Balloon Classic, visit nationalballoonclassic.com
Cooper Worth is a service/trending reporter for the Des Moines Register. Reach him at cworth@gannett.com or follow him on X @CooperAWorth.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: I flew in a hot air balloon over Des Moines. Here’s how it went.
Reporting by Cooper Worth, Des Moines Register / Des Moines Register
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Cooper Worth, Des Moines Register | USA TODAY Network
