Jack Holland – Balloonist

Jack Holland has spent years in the air, piloting various types of aircraft, but a ride in a hot air balloon turned his attention in a new direction.

A new hobby was launched for the DeWitt County native after a launch in the hot air balloon with a friend and fellow aviation enthusiast from Streator.

“After the ride, I said: ‘where do I get one?’”

Holland, who logged 5,000 hours during almost 50 years of flying, bought a Cameron V-77 then later a Cameron O-77 and set his sights on the oldest form of air travel.

In 1999, Holland accepted an invitation from his friend Jim Herschend, of Ozark, Missouri, to serve as co-pilot of a helium-filled balloon for the RE/MAX Cup National Gas Balloon Race. The two set off in “Snowbird” at 10:30 p.m. on November 6 from Front Range Airport near Denver.

At the time, the race to see how many miles a balloon could travel non-stop was the first gas balloon in Denver since 1936.

Sixteen competitors joined the race across the landscape, traveling north and east, away from the Colorado mountains. A video captured portions of the three nights the pair spent in the gas-filled balloon.

Asked by Herschend for his thoughts on the second day of the journey, Holland said, “get as far as we can, as fast as we can, avoiding the water.”

The flight path took the balloon over Lake Superior – a ten-hour trip above frigid waters. Sunrises and sunsets were remarkable. With zero light pollution, the view of the Northern lights was unsurpassed.

“You are up there with the stars,” recalled Holland.
Holland and Herschend took turns napping and keeping watch as the trip stretched into its third night.

The team evaluated when and where to end the race, based on weather conditions monitored by a meteorologist who worked with a three-member ground crew.

“You’ve got to decide what layer of wind you want to be in, and your speed. You really are making decisions on the go,” said Holland.

As the balloon drifted into eastern Canada towards Quebec, Holland and the pilot found themselves 11,600 feet in the air, traveling 55 mph. The cloud cover did not ease until shortly before Snowbird’s final descent.

When the pair landed in a wooded area near Dolbeau, Quebec, they had traveled 62.17 hours over 1,671 miles, a finish that put them in third place for the race. Sixteen miles from the nearest town, the balloonists walked six miles to a road where they met two men who helped them transport the balloon to a nearby town where the ground crew was waiting.

The next morning, the Canadians and the chase crew recovered the balloon from the remote landing site to the nearest road for loading in the recovery vehicle for the drive back to Denver.

Herschend and Holland’s balloon landed in a forest near Dolbeau, Quebec.

The top team in the Denver race logged 1,783 miles in 65 hours, landing in Maine.

The third place finish qualified Holland and Herschend to compete in the Gordon Bennett Cup the following year in Belgium. The oldest gas balloon race, the Gordon Bennett Cup was sponsored by James Gordon Bennett Jr., owner of the New York Herald newspaper. Fall farming obligations kept Holland from joining Herschend for the overseas race.

Holland continued to participate in balloon events, though none took him as far as the trip across the United States and Canada.