Brazil: Balloons in unique shapes shine on the coast of Rio Grande do Sul state

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Exotic balloons, with geometric shapes and drawings of the most diverse comic characters, besides the traditional ones, illustrated the sky of Torres, on the coast of Rio Grande do Sul, during the 32nd International Ballooning Festival, which ended this Sunday, April 24.

There were 11 days of competition and festive flights in the largest festival of the category in Latin America and the third-largest in the world. However, the public’s delight came during the design shows, when the exotic “Special Shapes” balloons took off. Other highlights were the competitive races, especially the ‘Key Race’.

The overall competition was won by the pilot from São Paulo, Fábio Pascoalino, 22 years old, born in Itupeva, in the countryside of São Paulo. Fábio Pascoalino is the son of the pilot Fábio Passos, five-time Brazilian ballooning champion, São Paulo state champion in 1996, and two-time International Ballooning Festival champion in 2000 and 2017 when he also took the car in the Key Race.

Father and son compete side by side. “During the race, we are competitors; we don’t make it easy for each other,” says Fábio Pascoalino, illustrating that if his father stops hitting the target to help him one day, he will refuse to participate in the races.

The family-school has been working out well. The young man has achieved first places in all the competitions he has participated in.

He is the current Brazilian ballooning champion, which also took place in Torres last year; he is the current champion of São Paulo and the Open Torres de Balonismo, besides being a four-time Brazilian junior champion and having the fourth place in the World Junior Championship 2021.

Fábio has the current first place in the national ballooning ranking, and will represent Brazil in the World Ballooning Championship in Slovenia in September.

The “Key Race” guaranteed a brand new vehicle to Murilo Hoffmann, a Torres native, who was also last year’s champion in the general category. The test is considered very difficult because the balloonists need to descend practically to the ground to get the car key hanging from a pole about two meters above the ground. After the feat, they have to collect the key and not release it.

EXOTIC BALLOONS THRILL THE PUBLIC

The creativity of Brazilian design has stood out in the skies worldwide. In all the main ballooning events, Luiz Paulo Gnecco Rodrigues de Assis, a manufacturer of special balloons, has been putting on a show. With a factory in São Paulo and representation in the United States, Gnecco has already taken his exotic balloons to more than 20 countries.

In the shape of comic book characters or even company logos, the balloons are successful because they are different from the traditional form. For this, there is a lot of technology involved.

“We gained worldwide prominence when we participated in the Albuquerque International Ballooning Festival in the United States,” recalls Gnecco, who attended the event for the first time in 2003. The festival takes place annually in the city of Albuquerque, New Mexico. Today the balloonist has more than 20 different shapes of balloons built and flying around the world.

The exotic balloons have complex engineering to lift them in the air successfully. “Special balloons have a more elaborate construction concept, requiring different structures than a conventional balloon. The biggest issue is to turn a figure into a seaworthy balloon. So you have to work carefully on the center of gravity, use ducts to fill the air chambers, the appendices,” emphasizes the manufacturer.