The 51st Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta is in full swing, and it is hosting the start of the elite Gordon Bennett competition.

It's billed as one of the biggest events in aviation, with balloon pilots from all around the world descending on - and ascending from - the New Mexico festival on Saturday evening.  

The winners will be the team that flies its hydrogen-filled balloon the farthest distance without stopping.  

Competitors will be aloft for days on end, and the pilots will carry all their supplies and sleep in their tiny baskets.

Wind currents are expected to take the competitors into the Midwest and northeastern United States, and could bring them as far as Canada.

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