Indiana Balloonist Wins Great Ballooning Race | Aero-News Network
Aero-News Network
RSS icon RSS feed
podcast icon MP3 podcast
Subscribe Aero-News e-mail Newsletter Subscribe

Airborne Unlimited -- Most Recent Daily Episodes

Episode Date

Airborne-Monday

Airborne-Tuesday

Airborne-Wednesday Airborne-Thursday

Airborne-Friday

Airborne On YouTube

Airborne-Unlimited-06.02.25

Airborne-NextGen-06.03.25

AirborneUnlimited-06.04.25

Airborne-AffordableFlyers-06.05.25

AirborneUnlimited-06.06.25

Tue, Apr 30, 2013

Indiana Balloonist Wins Great Ballooning Race

Pilot From French Lick, Indiana Takes Kentucky Derby Festival Race

An Indiana pilot took first place Saturday at the Kentucky Derby Festival's 41st annual U.S. Bank Great Balloon Race. Jerry Copas dropped his bag full of grass seed from his French Lick Resort Balloon closest to an "X" on the ground to claim the title.

The race is held each year in conjunction with the Kentucky Derby. French Lick is a resort and casino in south-central Indiana.

The Jeffersonville, IN, newspaper the News and Tribune reports that Copas has been a balloon pilot for 33 years, flying the aircraft for corporate advertising campaigns. He has been competing in the Derby balloon race for the past 27 years, and said that it was watching the race as a youngster that inspired his interest in ballooning. He earned is balloon pilot certificate at the age of 18.

Copas' grass seed "bomb" landed just 14 inches from the target. The next nearest pilot was more than two feet further away.

According to About.com, the Great Balloon Race has been part of the Kentucky Derby tradition since 1973. The first race had only seven aircraft participating, and it has grown steadily since that time, and has grown into an entire weekend of ballooning events.

FMI: http://kdf.org

Advertisement

More News

ANN's Daily Aero-Term (06.03.25): No Gyro Approach

No Gyro Approach A radar approach/vector provided in case of a malfunctioning gyro-compass or directional gyro. Instead of providing the pilot with headings to be flown, the contro>[...]

ANN's Daily Aero-Linx (06.03.25)

Aero Linx: European Hang Gliding and Paragliding Union (EHPU) The general aim of the EHPU is to promote and protect hang gliding and paragliding in Europe. In order to achieve this>[...]

ANN FAQ: Turn On Post Notifications

Make Sure You NEVER Miss A New Story From Aero-News Network Do you ever feel like you never see posts from a certain person or page on Facebook or Instagram? Here’s how you c>[...]

Airborne 05.30.25: Anti-Helicopter Bill, PW Strike Done, All-Electric Bristell

Also: Duffy Wants $$$, KS Airports, Morningside U’s Aviation School, New Airstrip In ID After 6 were killed in a helicopter crash over the Hudson River, several US Representa>[...]

Airborne 05.29.25: ATC Bonu$, VX4 eVTOL Flies, Starship 9 Test

Also: Hermeus Quarterhorse MK1, Seaplane Rating Guide, Vietjet A330neos, SFO Wacky Weed Bust As the air traffic controller shortage trudges on, the US Department of Transportation >[...]

blog comments powered by Disqus



Advertisement

Advertisement

Podcasts

Advertisement

© 2007 - 2025 Web Development & Design by Pauli Systems, LC