The Balloons at Chennault Fest Answer to the Same Wind Selman Field's Navigators Studied

At the entrance to Monroe Regional Airport, at 701 Kansas Lane, the Chennault Aviation & Military Museum fills the last remaining classrooms of the Selman Field Navigation School. On Friday and Saturday, November 6 and 7, the field beside those classrooms fills with hot air balloons for Chennault Fest. Gates open at 3 p.m. both days.

Cadets in those classrooms learned to plot a course through wind and weather. A balloon pilot on the field next door is dealing with the same air, only with fewer options. So this festival has a feature most local events don't. The headline attraction depends on the forecast, and the rest of the weekend is what holds up when the forecast doesn't.

The Classrooms Behind the Balloon Field

The Chennault Aviation & Military Museum's history page describes Selman Field as the nation's only complete navigation school of the Army Air Corps. A cadet could do pre-flight and advanced training, earn his commission and navigator's wings, and never leave the base. More than 15,000 navigators trained there during World War II and went on to fly in every theater of the war. Construction began on June 15, 1942, and the field was fully operating three months later.

The museum describes the standard those cadets trained toward this way:

"Zero Zero" was the navigator's ultimate objective. It means navigating through hundreds of thousands of miles of space, wind, and weather and hitting a dime-sized objective "on the nose" at the precise second you said you would.

The site was already an aviation landmark before the war. The small civil airport, named for Monroe native Lt. Augustus J. "Gus" Selman, was where a crop-dusting business called Huff Daland Dusters grew into Delta Air Lines. Delta's first terminal there was a converted gas station. Navigator training ended on September 1, 1945, and the airport went back to civil control on July 31, 1946. The museum puts the total at 15,349 navigation personnel trained at Selman. About 10% of them did not come home.

That history explains why a balloon festival here doesn't feel random. People have been reading the sky over this field for more than eighty years.

What the Wind Decides This Year

The plainest statement about the 2026 balloons comes from KNOE's October 15 preview. If it's too windy, the balloons won't fly, and the station suggests following the forecast on the KNOE 8 First Alert Weather app. The festival's ticket page carries the same warning. It says balloon schedules may be canceled because of wind or other problems outside the organizers' control.

The schedule itself hasn't been posted yet. The official festival page still reads "Schedule to be Announced," and the ticket listing says the balloon schedule will come out closer to the event. Launch times, tethered-ride times and the exact glow time will probably appear in the days just before November 6. Check that page again the week of the festival.

The festival also advertises a balloon glow every night. In KNOE's description, the glow is when all the balloons sit on the ground with their burners lit, and it's the chance to talk with the pilots. Flights depend on the air above the field. The glow happens on the ground, close enough to talk to the crews. If you can only go one evening, plan around the glow and count any flights as a bonus.

What's Already Set Before You Go

Wind won't change the price of admission. Here is how the 2026 tickets break down on the festival's ticket page:

The VIP tier makes the most sense if you plan to do a tethered ride. The fast pass is the perk tied directly to the balloons. The listing says general parking is "to be announced," and VIP parking is included with VIP admission.

The music is also set. The official lineup:

• Friday, November 6: Matt Dean, Chris Baker Band, Cal Presley Band, Spare Parts
• Saturday, November 7: Tammy Martin, Alyssa Freeman Band, Hog Wash, Hidden Tracks

Food trucks, vendors and tethered balloon rides fill out the field. Of everything on the list, the music and the food are the parts that don't depend on the wind.

Last Year's Rules, Clearly Marked as Last Year's

Two things people ask about every year, ride prices and what you can bring, haven't been posted for 2026. The 2025 versions give a rough idea, but treat them as last year's terms until the museum updates its page.

In 2025, KNOE reported that tethered rides rose about 20 feet and cost $20 in cash or $22 by card. If that cash-and-card split carries over, bringing a little cash could save a couple of dollars per rider.

The Monroe-West Monroe CVB's 2025 release allowed chairs, blankets, strollers, wagons, clear bags and small umbrellas. It prohibited ice chests and coolers, outside food and drinks, canopies, tents, glass containers, roller blades, skateboards, weapons, alcohol and narcotics. That list didn't mention pets. If last year's rules hold, plan to buy food on site and bring folding chairs.

An Hour Indoors Before the Gates Open

Both festival days fall within the museum's regular week. The museum and gift shop are open Tuesday through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., and admission is always free. Festival gates open at 3 p.m. The museum hasn't posted separate festival-day hours, so its regular schedule is the one to plan around. Arriving early on Friday or Saturday gives you time inside before you head to the field.

The museum has more than 11,000 artifacts in 10,000 square feet of galleries. That's a big jump from the 3,000 square feet it had when it opened in 2000. The bilingual "Way of a Fighter" exhibit is based on Gen. Claire Chennault's 1949 book. The museum's story of the Flying Tigers starts with Chennault recruiting the American Volunteer Group pilots who became known by that name. Outside, the aircraft restoration park puts aircraft from World War II through Vietnam within a few steps of you. On a festival afternoon, that's a good way to see the field's history before the balloons go up.

The museum also runs the festival, and the money stays close to home. Proceeds support its programs, which range from PTSD groups for veterans, service members and first responders to a clothing closet for service members in need. Organizers are still looking for volunteers through the festival's volunteer sign-up.

A Saturday Without Malone Stadium

The calendar works in the festival's favor this year. ULM football plays at Arkansas State in Jonesboro at 2 p.m. on Saturday, November 7, so Malone Stadium will be quiet that day. Fall Saturdays in Monroe often get planned around home games. This one doesn't need to be.

The festival is still new enough to be finding its rhythm. KNOE covered the first-ever Chennault Fest in October 2024 and reported thousands of visitors and about 140 volunteers. The CVB called the 2025 edition, held November 7 and 8, the event's second consecutive year. This year makes three, and the dates have now settled into early November.

KNOE plans to air a live festival preview on Friday, November 6, from 5 to 7 a.m., hours before the gates open on Kansas Lane.

A field built for reading wind and weather shows the difference between solid construction and something that depends on conditions, and that same difference matters when you're evaluating a home. If you're thinking about buying or selling in Monroe and want someone who looks at a property with a builder's eye, John Michael Sampognaro is happy to talk it through. Let's Connect.