Weekend Update & Fw: Balloon Fiesta Park - Weekly Events for week: May 25 - 31, 2026
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President - DCEF
2:19 PM (8 hours ago) 2:19 PM
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Hi All,
Flight Awareness: Stand 25' back from the Runway to allow for a Safety Margin and so all Pilots have a clear visual perspective. All turns from the Runway shall be away from the Pits. (Always fly to the west of the Runway over D6) The prevailing wind directs the Flight Pattern. (North Wind effects a Left Pattern and South Wind effects a Right Pattern at BFP) Call out Take-Offs, Landings, and any Maneuvers that could affect another Flyer. Use common sense if performing an unusual Flight Plan or Maneuver. Communicate with others if flying large or fast aircraft. Try to stay north of Key Grab (E/W road) so as not to interfere with the gliders.
Weekend Update: The Balloon Fiesta Park is OPEN this Wednesday thru the weekend. The Wine Festival is finishing and tearing down on Monday/Tuesday, but they may be clear of the Runway for flights. Use caution and best to avoid it if they are en mass. Next weekend surprised me with no events scheduled. Go fly!
BFP Weekly Forecast: Weather Underground 10 Day
Daily Reminders: Don't forget to visibly hang your Gate Card from your rearview mirror while you are at the Park. Check the 2 Runway Barriers/Signs for center position with the signs facing out to block each end of the Runway. Do respect the Balloonists if they are up and give them full airspace. Watch for and avoid other park users. Refrain from flying in the airspace above them. Remember that the airspace over the Golf Training Center (Driving Range) is a NO FLY ZONE. Clean up your Area (cigarettes/trash) or Crash Site (all pieces/parts) when you're finished, as well as all broken prop blades. If you see a broken prop, even if it is not yours, please pick it up and throw it away. Thanks.
Unless everyone agrees otherwise, AIRCRAFT may NOT be flown in or from the Infield (D7 between the Blue Awning and the Runway) while others are using the Runway.
It is OK to fly from the Pits only IF:
A. You are alone, just you and your plane.
B. Everyone else agrees, understands, and is doing the same.
As soon as anyone goes to fly from the Runway, Infield Flying and any Infield Agreement STOPS. Even if you are already flying, land safely or move to the Runway. MICROS may use the Infield to the north or south of the North Blue Awning when the Runway is occupied and there is agreement with everyone flying. However, remember that BFP is primarily for bigger, faster planes because of its fantastic Runway and grass. Please keep these little wonders well behind the Runway and NOT over any Pilot. Refer to Protocol.
Gary Kyle's "No, I'm Not Dead, Yet" Memorial/D' Day Warbird Rally: Saturday Morning, June 6th. BFP. Warbirds.
Bring your own food/drink/shade/chairs. The whole idea is to have fun flying while remembering the brave souls and fighting aircraft starting back in a big, bad war 112 years ago. ...And a few more in between.
Cheers,
Greg Rullman
President
Duke City Electric Flyers
Hint of the Week: I want you all to remember something... There are no two alike LiPo cells. None. Never. They are all, in very small ways, different in sustained voltage, the rate they charge, and the rate they discharge.
Also, a disclaimer... I realize I may have stepped on one or both of my feet over the years with information I've given to you. Suffice it to say, I'm always learning. Getting every bit of information out with complete accuracy - as even better info comes out over the years - is next to impossible. When waaay better heads than me keep changing the values, you know Greg will be a bit off as well! With that said, and a grain of salt...
I'm certain most all of you have a couple - or more - LiPos sitting for a number of years in storage. This is OK, as long as you check them every now and again for "leakage"... volts, I mean. In other words, "Are they holding their charge?" Small voltage leakage is acceptable as this is part of a LiPo's chemistry. But, you don't want them becoming a problem or that they got so low they can't come back and end up being wasted. After its initial storage at 60%(~3.8V/cell), a pack's resting voltage of about ~3.3V/cell would be a good "NoGoUnder" voltage for long term, say 10 year storage. After, ~10 years, any pack with all of it's cells above ~3.3v would be considered OK. Lower than that is concerning. If they're leaking away their voltage at an unacceptable rate, it's time to de-energize them and dispose.
I've covered disposal before. H2O/salt. Ratio: ~Gallon/~cup. LiPo discharged to 3V or less. Cut the leads, one at a time. Submerge for a day or two or until there are no more bubbles.
Back to re-energizing a LiPo. Also, look for any voltage difference between cells. A difference of 20mV(0.02V) is gettin' there. (I wouldn't say there's any hard, fast rule. I've saved quite a few with a bigger difference.) The further out of balance a pack becomes the less run time you have to get down to flight cut-off voltage. Remember, it happens at the lowest cell. And, you have no control over this while you're flying! The pack itself decides how it will discharge - and charge, or remain in balance for that matter. You can sometimes revive cells that are further out of balance. I use use a modified, single cell charge cord. But really, that is not advised for safety reasons. Maybe, another Hint some day!
To re-energize good LiPos, bring the pack(s) to room temperature overnight, charge and see if any cells resist balancing to more than 12mV if you have a higher end charger, 25mV if you don't. (use a good cell checker to confirm). There is a difference in chargers (and cell checkers). For the most part, less expensive (cheaper) chargers won't balance any pack as well as a high end charger. The reason being that chargers like the older Hyperion Duos and the newer iChargers, as well as others, use a higher balance voltage to bring stubborn batteries into balance quicker and more efficiently. They can bring older batteries back to life or work on that stubborn cell and get it back to performing after only a couple cycles.
So to start reviving, cycle the battery. One or two cycles should do the trick and bring it out of it's long sleep. Discharge should go down to 3.3-3.5v. And a good discharger is also helpful here because you want to hit it at ~5-7C. Of course, don't leave it discharged, ever. Bring it right back up to full charge to check the balance and possibly the IR if you own such a meter. (Know that the IR information on any charger is at most - unreliable - as the temperature between each measurement is critical and must always be constant. And, always return to store charge when any operation is complete.
Checking IR is great if you have an ESR or a good IR meter. Always the same room temperature for these. If you don't own one of these, here's another way to check the battery's condition...
Safely secure a plane and connect your freshly charged battery. Hook a cell checker up to the balance plug. Set it to Max/Min or Voltage Difference Mode. Run the throttle up. If the difference between the highest and lowest cell is more than 100mV(0.1V), it's time to consider tossing the pack. Maybe use it for a very easy flying trainer or another low power use.
Caring for LiPos takes some time and some understanding. Doing the work is not only the safe thing, but is rewarding as well.
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----- Forwarded Message -----
From: Rice, Susan <asr...@cabq.gov>
To: Rice, Susan <asr...@cabq.gov>
Cc: Gonzales, Sarah <sarahg...@cabq.gov>; Martinez, Jimmy <jimmym...@cabq.gov>
Sent: Friday, May 22, 2026 at 06:50:37 PM MDT
Subject: RE: Balloon Fiesta Park - Weekly Events for week: May 25 - 31, 2026
SUSAN RICE
recreation services division manager
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