This year for the first time in Middletown, Cliver will compete alongside of his son Christopher, 23. Cliver placed first in the 1993 U.S. Nationals in Middletown and won a 1996 national championship in Columbia, Missouri. He continues to compete and has received a number of awards and accolades. He currently owns his sixth balloon, “Bubbaballoon.”
Q: Where are you from?
A: I am originally from Amarillo, Texas, where I was born and raised. I’ve lived in Texas my whole life. I am currently living in Lewisville, Texas, which is suburb of Dallas/Fort Worth.
Q: Why were you interested in participating in the Ohio Balloon Challenge in Middletown?
A: I started flying balloons in 1987. For me, it’s actually coming back to Middletown. I enjoy flying in competitions and the competitive side of the sport. In the early 1990’s, Middletown hosted the U.S. Nationals. I came to Middletown all three years. I really enjoy Middletown, Ohio. I won a U.S. Nationals competition there in 1993. The opportunity presented itself for me to come back, so I wanted to do that. My son, Christopher is also ballooning now. He is doing a summer internship in Chicago, so we are doing a lot of ballooning in the Midwest this summer.
Q: How many competitions have you been involved with in Middletown?
A: This one will actually be my fourth.
Q: If someone wanted to get started in ballooning, how much does a balloon cost? If you were to a buy a balloon new, how much do they cost and how much do the sell for used?
A: At today’s prices, you can buy a used balloon from $5,000 at the bottom end to a really nice used balloon is $15,000 or $16,000. For a brand new balloon, you can spend $25,000. I would say, on average, it’s probably $35,000, but you can spend more than that. It just depends on how you want it equipped and what kind of customization you want done to it.
Q: As far as being a competitor, what kinds of things are you judged on, and will you be a competitor this year in Middletown?
A: Yes. Balloon competitions are judged on how well you can get from “Point A” to “Point B.” That’s it in its simplest form and terms, and there’s a way of measuring how close we can get to “Point B.” The person that gets the closest to it, is going to receive 1,000 points. The competitor that is the farthest from it, is going to get something fairly close to zero. Each competition is divided up into segments. Each segment is called a task. Each task is worth a maximum of 1,000 points, so it’s like a track meet. At the end of the competition, the person with the highest aggregate score is going to be the winner.
Q: How do you develop or improve, when it comes to the skills of ballooning?
A: If you take an interest in it, someone can mentor you along the way to help you learn how to compete. The only way you’ll get better is to do it, or to practice it.
The sport of ballooning has evolved a lot in 30 years, but how I got better was it became my passion, even when I wasn’t competing in a competition. I would study this art of going from “A” to “B.” A lot of it has to do with wind patterns and what happens with the stages of the weather. I had to learn as I get close to “B,” “What do I want to do?” “Where do I need to be?” and developing hand-eye coordination to put the balloon where you want it, meaning at an altitude that you want it. Because, the only way you can change the direction of a balloon is to change altitude. You have to get good at that. You can’t see the wind. You’ve tested the wind, you’ve been riding in the wind, and you are hoping it that it stays stable. So, you learn these trends and develop philosophies of how things work, and you’re anticipating what is going to happen to you. I’ve studied it and practiced it.
Q: What are the biggest challenges in flying as far as things you might face?
A: Money. It will always be money. The biggest challenge of flying is money. You can’t own a balloon for free. You can’t travel to an event for free. You burn fuel, that’s not free. No matter how you look at it, operating a balloon, or any aircraft (a balloon is an aircraft) can be boiled down to “What does it cost per hour to fly that?” If you want to go do that somewhere, somehow, it has to be funded.
Q: Generally, how many competitors are in a competition at one particular time?
A: It varies from event to event. It can be as few competitors as 15, and as many as 50. Typically, the average is about 30 to 35. At Albuquerque in October, there are 300 competitors.
Q: For you as a competitor, what motivates you to do this? Why have you continued to do it, and why is it such a big deal to you?
A: First of all, it’s fun. That’s the number one reason to do it. It’s fun. There are people that do competitive ballooning, and you can equate them to a weekend golfer. They going out on the golf course, playing a round of golf. In the ballooning world, there are people that fit right into that. With ballooning, there are those that do competitive ballooning that you can compare to a weekend golfer, or to a hacker, they just enjoy being out on the golf course. There are also professional golfers and professional balloonists. They make it their business, and that’s all they do, and they want to win every time they go out. For me, it’s has always been the challenge of how to take a sport that in some ways, it can seem so simple, but it is so complex, and it is always changing. When you do it successfully, you still get an adrenaline rush, and a feeling of satisfaction from achieving a great accomplishment. Besides the fun, that’s been a driving force. Now, for me, I’m watching my son experience some of those same joys.
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