As pilot of the hot-air balloon Last Dance, Robert Lupton’s job was to safely navigate the 500-pound craft using nothing but ropes, a propane burner and the wind itself.

That is no small task, given obstacles like radio towers and power lines and the fickleness of the wind.

Fortunately, Lupton had 11 years of experience and a crew of almost 60 people going into the 15th annual Great Mississippi Balloon Race.

&uot;There’s no kind of rudder to guide us,&uot; said Lupton, whose balloon was sponsored by Stephens and Hobdy Insurance. &uot;The wind goes different directions at different heights, so you’ve just got to use those currents to steer you where you need to go.&uot;

That experience and help served him well during Saturday morning’s flight.

After the 6:30 a.m. pilot briefing, held at the Natchez Visitor Reception Center, Lupton headed to Tracetown Shopping Center to take advantage of winds that would steer him in the direction of the first target, behind Natchez Mall.

The second target was on the riverfront mat field in Vidalia.

After waiting out sprinkling rain for several minutes and releasing balloons to see which way the wind was blowing, the balloon’s crew sprung into action, promptly carrying out Lupton’s orders. That is perhaps not surprising, given that many of the crew members have been crewing for Lupton and his wife, Sally, since they started flying in the race 14 years ago.

&uot;They’re just a fun couple,&uot; said crew member Eddy Kay McCall. &uot;Crewing for them has been a really good experience.&uot;

First, several crew members removed the envelope, or the balloon&160;part of the craft, from its bag and spread the envelope out on the parking lot as Lupton checked and adjusted the gauges on the basket.

Two teenage crew members held the envelope’s mouth open while a veteran crew member used a large fan to inflate the envelope, which can hold up to 77,000 cubic feet of air.

Meanwhile, Sally Lupton — herself a veteran pilot who has flown since 1982 — and others attached the envelope to the balloon’s basket with ropes, securing the lines tightly to the basket.

&uot;Sally and Robert, they tell us what to do and we do it,&uot;&160;crew member Barbara McDill said matter-of-factly. Robert Lupton’s 16-year-old daughter, Robin, has also learned the ropes of ballooning and helped crew the balloon.

As the balloon rose and swayed, other crew members held it steady with guide ropes. Lupton briefed his passengers — &uot;when we land, face forward and hold the basket in two places to steady yourself&uot; being just one safety rule.

Then, with crew members holding the basket down, two passengers stepped into the balloon which, with bursts of propane, quickly lifted into the air.

Crew members followed in a caravan of minivans and cars, stopping in parking lots to get the best view of the balloon and where it was headed.

&uot;We look like a funeral procession,&uot; said crew member Peggy Mayberry, laughing.

Although the balloon only made it from Tracetown Shopping Center to Natchez Mall — with stop in a pasture in between — Lupton said he reached his goal.

&uot;The first rule is that everybody stays alive,&uot;&160;Lupton said. &uot;The second rule is that we don’t ruin anyone’s property, and the third is that you don’t hurt the balloon — in that order. And anytime you can do those three things, you win.&uot;

&uot;We won a lot of flights in the first few years, and we still enter about 12 a year, … but we’re not competitive,&uot; Lupton said. &uot;We’re just in to have fun and to let as many people fly as want to, and we’re doing that.&uot;

But Lupton steered towards the mall nevertheless, skimming just a few feet above the roof of the mall itself and landing softly in front of the mall’s movie theater.

After making sure that no one balloons were passing overhead, Lupton even gave several children a low-altitude ride in the balloon, with crew members keeping the craft low with the aid of tether ropes.

With the rain starting again in earnest, Lupton dried the envelope as much as possible with a few bursts of propane.

The crew guided the deflated envelope to the ground, then lifted it by sections to place it in the tote bag once again for storage in the Luptons’ trailer.

Afterward, the pilot and crew were treated to brunch at the Lake St. John home of Alan and Margaret Brown.

The pilot and crew and their hosts mingled, talking and laughing about the flights of past years while browsing photo albums of those flights — and eating heartily from the Browns’ buffet.

The brunch has been a tradition for several years, ever since one of the crew members’ vehicles had a flat in front of the Browns’ house.

&uot;We do this every year,&uot;&160;Brown said. &uot;It’s a joy to have them.&uot;

Afterwards, Lupton initiates the day’s first-time flyers with a champagne ceremony, much as other balloonists do throughout the world.

And they recited the Balloonist’s Prayer: The Winds have welcomed you with softness./The Sun has blessed you with its warm hands./You have flown so high and so well/That God has joined you in your laughter/And set you gently back again/Into the loving arms of Mother Earth.