Posted: Sun, 7 Aug 2011 11:39 AM - 15,776 Readers

By: John Bumgardner

Some Austin balloon enthusiast lifted off Saturday for the 21st annual Lake Travis Flight.

Seven Pilots from Central Texas and one from the Dallas area took to the skies.

Frank Abernathy with the Central Texas Ballooning Association said in previous years upwards of 20 balloons launched.

They lifted off and flew from south-southwest to the north-northeast. Many of them made it up toward Cedar Park.

"The Yost Balloon," a homemade balloon by Austin pilot Phil MacNutt was one of the floating vessels.

"It was literally cut, sewn, etc. It is a replica of a Gas Balloon as opposed to a Hot Air Balloon; which these all were today," said Abernathy.

In November of 2010 CTBA hosted a balloon glow on Veterans Day weekend, which they plan to do again this year.

The balloonists will be in the Dallas area later this month from August 19 through the 21 in Highland Village performing balloon test flights