Ken Smith, head landscape designer for the Great Park project, was among guests who tried out the balloon ride during a preview event. Progress on building the 1,300-acre park has been slow, and designers and park officials have settled on scaled-back plans for now. (Glenn Koenig / Los Angeles Times)
Gary Stevens pilots the Great Park balloon. The ride was closed in February as the Federal Aviation Administration and a city-paid aviation expert investigated a former pilot’s allegations of unsafe flying practices. The ride has been cleared as safe,;and workers have spent the last three months planting five acres of grass and shade trees and installing picnic tables on platforms resembling lily pads at the park. (Glenn Koenig / Los Angeles Times)
A view of the old El Toro Marine Base in Irvine, where the park is taking shape, as seen from the Great Park balloon. Thousands of RVs line the runways at the former base. (Glenn Koenig / Los Angeles Times)
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The Great Park balloon at rest. For more than four months, Irvine’s balloon ride -- the lone attraction at Orange County’s fledgling Great Park -- sat grounded while criticism grew that “Great Park” was a misnomer. (Glenn Koenig / Los Angeles Times)
