Have you visited the 2026 Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta yet? If so, which balloon caught your eye? The annual event always delivers breathtaking sights. This year, one participant has captured the attention of both festivalgoers and online viewers. If you’re a fan of the Disney-Pixar animated film “Up,” you’ll surely enjoy this special creation.
Pilot Jonathan Trappe took to the skies Saturday morning in a one-time flight with 94 helium balloons, no burner, and no fixed destination.
The Balloon Fiesta kicked off before sunrise with a drone show at around 5:45 a.m. By 6:30 a.m. organizers gave the crowd the go-ahead to begin the festivities.
Just before 7 a.m., the New Mexico Chile Flight soared overhead during the national anthem, signaling the start of the first mass ascension of Fiesta 2026.
As hundreds of colorful balloons filled the sky, Trappe and his crew waited on the ground to launch their 94-balloon cluster, modeled after Up.
“So since we last spoke, we got the helium off those trucks and got it staged on the field. We were here at 1:30 this morning, Saturday morning, first day at fiesta, doing the inflation. and the inflation went very well. It was great. you can see all 94 cells are already inflated,” he said in an interview.
The crew completed the first stage ahead of schedule, inflating all 94 cells in just an hour and a half.
However, winds blowing down from Santa Fe put the second stage on hold. The team prepared to join all the inflated balloons into one cluster.
Trappe said zero wind is ideal, but the crew can still operate with light winds of up to three knots.
“We usually love that wind. As you probably know, that is the Albuquerque box, that drainage wind on the surface and then coming out of the north, sending you south, and then a wind out of the south, sending you back north. That is the Albuquerque box,” he said.
According to Trappe, the crew still had sufficient time to assemble and take off once conditions improved. He launched just before 9:00 a.m. Saturday.
Trappe eventually made his way into Arizona, where his tracker showed him traveling at 0 mph early Sunday morning.
