NATCHEZ &045;&045; Cluster balloons are a new way to fly. Pure. Simple. Audiences succumb to childlike wonder as they watch the colorful bunch of helium-filled spheres lift him into the air, said balloonist John Ninomiya. That makes his

infatuation with the medium all the more engaging.

Ninomiya, an epidemiologist from Solana Beach, Calif., will come for the first time to the Great Mississippi River Balloon Race in two weeks. He will bring along hundreds of balloons, ranging up to seven feet in diameter. He also will bring his cloud-hopper, a miniature hot-air balloon flown in a harness and, of course, his regular hot-air balloon to fly when he joins the other dozens of pilots during the three flights planned during the weekend, Oct. 15-17.

&uot;I’ve been flying hot-air balloons for over 20 years,&uot; Ninomiya said by telephone earlier this week. &uot;I started out with the traditional balloon and then tried hang gliding and paragliding. I really liked the harness arrangement of the gliding; so I tried the cloud-hopper and then, about seven years ago, the helium balloons.&uot;

Coming to Mississippi is exciting for him &045;&045; seeing Natchez, a history-filled city and adding a new state to his quest to fly with helium balloon clusters in all 50 U.S. states.

&uot;There are very few people who do it,&uot; Ninomiya said. &uot;It is somewhat inspired by the children’s movie ‘The Red Balloon.’&uot;

He recalled watching that movie. &uot;When I was young, I thought that was a cool thing,&uot; he said, recalling watching a small boy fly above a city with the red balloon. &uot;Then as an adult, I decided it could be done.&uot;

The flights with helium balloons are in compliance with applicable FAA rules, he said. They are the same rules that apply to ultralight airplanes and hang gliders.

&uot;I’ve done 30 of these flights in 11 states so far,&uot; he said, going on to explain the assistance he will need when he prepares to fly the clusters in Natchez.

&uot;I’ll need about 20 people for an hour and a half or two, and I’ll fly for an hour or two,&uot; he said.

Most people are curious about how the cluster flights work, Ninomiya said.

A cluster may consist of 70 balloons of the five- to seven-foot size or 150 of smaller sizes.

The balloons, once inflated, are sealed using tape and cable ties and are tied with nylon twine. The balloons then are secured to sandbags as the cluster is assembled. Balloons in groups of four or more are attached to nylon straps of varying lengths, which are attached to the pilot’s harness. Other balloons are attached in singles directly to the harness.

&uot;I take off with more balloons than I need. And I’m carrying extra weight in bags of water,&uot; Ninomiya said. &uot;I can change my weight or direction by releasing the bags or bursting balloons.&uot;

To level out or descend, he will release or burst balloons. To slow the descent or ascend again, he will let go some of the water bags.

As with a hot-air balloon, the cluster balloons move with the wind, and the direction of a flight can be controlled to some degree.

He describes on his Web site the pleasures of a cluster flight: &uot;The tether is released, and up you go. …The ground below drops away. If you’re at a balloon festival, the crowd is cheering for you, and you wave to them. And your balloons lift you smoothly and silently into the sky,&uot; he says. &uot;There’s nothing as serene and beautiful as floating a mile or two above the earth with a huge, colorful balloon bouquet.&uot;