Hot Air Balloon News

Well-known volunteers recover after balloon crash

2009-10-21T04:02:00.000+02:00

THE Warrnambool husband and wife who were burnt in a freak hot air balloon accident yesterday are well-known community volunteers.
Stuart Prince, 65, and his wife, Heather Martin-Trigg, 51, were taking part in an early-morning joy flight when the terrifying incident occurred north of Bendigo.

It is believed the flight was a birthday present which had been postponed from earlier this year due to hazardous weather conditions.

Mr Prince, who suffered serious burns to his right arm and lower extremities, was in a stable condition in The Alfred hospital yesterday after being transported from the scene by helicopter.

Ms Martin-Trigg was taken by road ambulance to the Bendigo hospital and also transferred to The Alfred in a stable condition yesterday afternoon.

The couple are both life members of 3WAY-FM where Mr Prince is a founding member and presenter and Ms Martin-Trigg is the committee treasurer. She is also vice-president of the Friends of the Warrnambool Art Gallery.

They own and operate Henna Street Picture Framers and Ms Martin-Trigg also works with the Vision Radio Network.

The balloon, operated by the Goldrush Ballooning company, was on a regular flight from Bendigo with eight passengers ? two from Warrnambool, two from Rochester and four from Melbourne.

It was under the control of a Bendigo man who has 12 years experience as a pilot.

http://www.standard.net.au/news/local/news/general/wellknown-volunteers-recover-after-balloon-crash/1653659.aspx?storypage=1

Bank Opens Fund To Help Balloon Crash Victims

2008-10-16T10:01:00.000+02:00

For the second year in a row, the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta was marked by the tragic death of a person in a balloon. Now, Wells Fargo Bank is trying to help the families of those at the center of this year's accident.
Wells Fargo opened the account for the families of pilots Keith Sproul and Stephen Lachendro, who were in the "Wings Of Wind" balloon when it hit a power line last Friday morning.
The gondola caught fire and separated from the balloon envelope, crashing to the ground.

Thieves made off with radios, computers and other items.
Wells Fargo has already donated $1,000 into the account to help the families deal with expenses surrounding the funeral, medical care costs and the break-in .
Donors who want to give to the account can contact Wells Fargo and should ask about donating to the Debbie Sproul account.

For Sale

2008-10-16T02:02:00.002+02:00

hi, would you advertise my balloon in your directory, balloons for sale section, thanks regards, david.

lindstrand 105 a series, 118 hours, red/yellow/blue. no artwork, fully complete, very pritty, cmeron basket, suade top/poles leg leathers, all tank straps, cameron mk 4 double burners rego fittings, x 3 worthington 40 litre cylinder tanks, blue covers, teema fittings, but with rego fitting adapters, bonano quick release. refueling hose, tether rope, all complete very tidy outfit, bargain UKP 4550 djfarrar@fsmail.net

Commercial Pressure

2008-10-13T10:28:00.004+02:00

Is this the reason that Albert Turkey keeps having fatals??

I know I wrote in several places last year that it must be the most dangerous festival on earth.

This year it has done nothing to dispel the myth.

But I just came across this.

Oct 12, 2008 (Albuquerque Journal - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX)

Maryann Myers flew in from Michigan just to see the fabled balloons she had heard so much about. But all she got to see Saturday morning were flames shooting from a propane tank and some people flying kites.
"We're very disappointed," she said.

Saturday's mass ascension was canceled due to wind, leaving a restless weekend crowd milling around the park seeking a diversion -- there's not much to see at a balloon festival sans balloons.

But organizers and pilots made every effort to appease the masses. Before the sun rose, several propane tanks belched fire into the darkness, surrounded by appreciative crowds.

Myers was standing near one such tank with her daughter-in-law and granddaughter Saturday morning, deciding what to do with the rest of their day. They planned to take in some of the booths at fiesta, visit the balloon museum and were hopeful that some balloons might inflate but stay grounded.

"We'll try and salvage the day," said Myers' daughterin-law Camely Myers, of Albuquerque. She said she has other activities planned for the weekend visit, but nothing that rivals the mass ascension.

"This was supposed to be the highlight," she said.

As the sky grew lighter and the crowd thinned, an enormous sheet of balloon material became a playground for the remaining children. Held near the ground by organizers at each corner, the sheet flapped in the wind as kids ducked underneath and played beneath its folds.

Colby Boudet, 4, was having fun playing under the sheet, but he still hadn't seen what he came for. Boudet's family flew in from Illinois on Friday for a trip they've been planning for nearly a year.

"We haven't seen a balloon yet," said Colby's father, Robert Boudet. But despite the disappointment, he said his son was finding ways to have fun anyway.

"He's having a good time collecting the trading cards," he said. "He loves balloons; that's his No. 1 thing."

Although several teams tried to inflate their balloons on the ground, their efforts were stymied by the winds. The Wells Fargo stagecoach made perhaps the most valiant effort but had to be deflated before it fully took shape.

The morning's only silver lining was that the same wind that canceled the ascension provided excellent kite-flying weather.

Colbie Boyd, 3, was flying a kite with her grandmother Saturday and seemed unconcerned about the cancelation. Her parents are pilots who live in Albuquerque, so there is no shortage of balloons in her world.

"Last Saturday was beautiful," said her grandmother, Jan Alford. Just then, though, Boyd let go of her fish-shaped kite, and Alford had to go running after it.

A farewell mass ascension is scheduled for 7 a.m. today, weather permitting. Inside

The balloon pilot injured in Friday's crash that killed another man remained in critical condition Saturday.

Now if that is not pouring the pressure on I'm not sure what is.

Is the Albert Turkey festival for balloonists or the public watching??? If it has turned into an event to please the masses then something is out of balance.

It amazes me that a local newspaper was not more sympathetic to high winds and their associated problems after last Fridays accident.

Looks like at Albert Turkey its less than a 1/1000 chance of death or serious injury when the flying field is opened.

Just being the biggest does not make an event the best.

But then thats America for ya all.

On a much brighter note, the 2010 Gordon Bennett coming to the UK, thats fantastic well done Jon and David.

British Team win Gordon Bennett

2008-10-13T10:25:00.001+02:00

Some better and fantastic balloon news from the USA

Adventurer David Hempleman-Adams has told how he landed a balloon in pitch black darkness to avoid plunging into one of the planet's biggest lakes.

The explorer from Box has just won the world's oldest air race with an 1,100-mile flight across the USA which ended on his 52nd birthday.

He and his co-pilot Jon Mason, 35, had been forced to choose between a complete darkness landing or the risk of ending up in Lake Michigan as they scented success in the prestigious Gordon Bennett gas balloon race.

Father-of-three Mr Hempleman-Adams took the decision to land the balloon in the dark rather than risk flying over the Great Lake without enough ballast.

He said: "I know you should never land a balloon at night but we had to make that decision as we didn't have enough sand to go over the lake and the balloon was going down."

The pair made two attempts to land in the drama on Friday at the end of the race, in which the winner is the crew flying the furthest distance.

"It's hard to judge from the air at night what is on the ground. During our first attempt what we thought were small bushes turned out to be 45 ft trees so we had to try again. We flew over the trees and landed near a maize crop."

The pair had taken off on Monday from Albuquerque in New Mexico and landed north of Chicago at 5am on Friday in their balloon Lady Luck.

They did not discover they had become the first British team ever to win the competition named after the man who gave his name to the famous exclamation until they had had a few hours of sleep.

Mr Hempleman-Adams said: "The sheriff picked us up and took us to the local hotel where we collapsed.

"We'd been flying for 74 hours taking it in turns to sleep at two-hourly intervals curled up on the floor of the basket. When we woke there was a note under the door from our chase team which said, 'Well done boys, you've won!'

"We thought we'd come second so it was a very good birthday present."

There were 12 crews in the contest, the 52nd ever held.

Mr Hempleman-Adams said. "It was a very tactical race with everyone trying to outdo each other like a game of poker."

Co-pilot Mr Mason, a consultant clinical psychologist who works in Canterbury, said: "We are a great duo and a foil for one another. David needs someone to restrain him and I need someone to encourage and push me. We arrive at a middle ground. We also work well together because we have different skills. "David is excellent at looking at the bigger picture and navigating while I am good concentrating on the detail doing what we have to do there and then."

He said he accepted the risky decision his co-pilot had made.

"It's easy to highlight the dangers but people do things all the time that are risky that, in the end, become routine.

"Gas ballooning isn't rocket science. You fill the balloon with gas that's lighter than air and you take sand with you. The risk isn't flying a gas balloon - it is flying a balloon for four days in bad weather when you are tired and in the dark."

One of their scariest moment came when the duo were hit by a snowstorm.

Mr Hempleman-Adams said: "We had some difficult weather. During the day it reached 42 degrees but at night it crashed to about 8 degrees and we would shiver.

"Once, we were up at 13,000 ft and it started to snow. The cooling on the balloon made it come down very quickly and we descended to 5,000 ft."

Another brush with death was when the team spotted two jets flying too close for comfort.

"At one stage we were over Albuquerque at 5,000 ft and two jets came in underneath us with only 500ft clearance and scared the daylights out of us," Mr Hempleman-Adams said.

The pair were due to fly back into Britain this morning.

The competition - founded by newspaper tycoon and adventurer Bennett - is described as the most prestigious event in aviation and the ultimate challenge for the balloon pilots and their equipment.

It was started in 1906, when 16 balloons were launched from Paris, but has never before been won by Britons.

It was put on ice at the outbreak of the Second World War and not revived until 1983.

The victory means the race will start from the UK in 2010.

Mr Hempleman-Adams turned to extreme and endurance ballooning after years of conquering mountains and polar regions.

He has climbed the tallest peaks on all seven continents, travelled to both the North and South Poles, completed the first balloon flight to the North Pole and the first flight across the Northwest Passage. He also completed the first balloon flight across the Atlantic in an open wicker basket in 2003. He holds the world altitude record for Roziere (a combination of gas and hot air) balloons at more than 41,000 ft.

Conner Prairie plans balloon attraction

2008-10-13T00:38:00.000+02:00

By Gretchen Becker
Posted: October 12, 2008
Read Comments(3) Recommend E-mailPrintShareA A
A planned $2 million recreation of a historic balloon flight would give Conner Prairie visitors a bird's-eye view of the Fishers living-history museum.
The project was expected to be announced today, said Ellen Rosenthal, Conner Prairie president and chief executive officer.

Beginning in June, a $10 ticket would let museum guests take a 15- to 20-minute hot-air balloon ride at an elevation of 350 feet.
Rosenthal said Friday that the Balloon Voyage exhibit commemorates John Wise's 1859 launch of the first manned balloon intended to travel cross-country, from Lafayette to New York.
"It is one symbolic event that draws attention to how much progress and scientific advancement was being made," Rosenthal said. "At this event, 20,000 people were there. There were only 19,000 people in Indianapolis then. (Since) 2009 is also the 150th anniversary . . . it's now or never to do the exhibit."
Wise, a Philadelphia native, was trying to prove that mail could be delivered across the country by air, Rosenthal said. Winds on Aug. 17, 1859, sent him south instead of east as planned, so he landed 40 miles away in Crawfordsville. Although a train eventually delivered the mail, the landmark launch was still considered a success.
Dan Freas, Conner Prairie's director of museum experience, discovered Wise's story, Rosenthal said. To learn more, museum representatives visited the Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C., to which one of Wise's relatives donated his journals and notebooks.
Tom D. Crouch, a senior curator of the Smithsonian's aeronautics division, told Conner Prairie representatives he'd waited years for an exhibit like this to introduce people to early flight attempts in America.
The exhibit is to be installed in the current Clowes Common area next to the main museum center. Before that can happen, Conner Prairie must appeal a Fishers zoning rule to allow for the equipment, Rosenthal said.
The museum plans to renovate Clowes Common to make concessions look the way they would have in 1859, Rosenthal said. Plans also call for an outdoor exhibit to engage guests in activities such as filling gas balloons and trying on the helmets of balloon pilots, or aeronauts.
The Balloon Voyage would join other living-history experiences at Conner Prairie, which include recreated towns from 1836 and 1886 and a Lenape Indian camp from the early 1800s, when white settlement of the area was beginning.
• Call Star reporter Gretchen Becker at (317) 444-2805.

Accident 4

2008-10-13T00:00:00.001+02:00

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1076536/Pictured-The-horrific-moment-hot-air-balloon-exploded-leaving-dead-injured.html

Balloon accident 3

2008-10-12T23:46:00.001+02:00

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5guPhdSq5ZsoMR2sfIlPc_xf3y6FAD93P0JRO0

Balloon pilots somber at NM festival after death

By HEATHER CLARK

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Pilots of hot air balloons on Saturday mourned the loss of one of their own in a fiery crash at Albuquerque's famous festival, even as they said another pilot fighting for his life after the accident would want them to keep flying.

Saturday's weather failed to cooperate. Windy, stormy weather grounded balloons readying for a morning mass ascension, and evening fireworks also were canceled, lending a somber mood to the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta.

Keith Sproul of North Brunswick, N.J., was critically injured Friday when the gondola of his Wings of Wind balloon crashed into power lines and exploded into flames over the town of Bernalillo. His co-pilot, Stephen Lachendro of Butler, Pa., was killed.

Sproul remained in critical condition Saturday, a hospital spokesman said.

"Our friend who's fighting for his life in the hospital, he would have wanted us to fly if it was flyable. I mean, that's what we do," said balloon pilot Chris Keefe of Oshkosh, Wis.

Keefe said Sproul was one of about a dozen balloon pilots who belong to the dawn patrol, a handful of balloons that launch before sunrise to test air currents for other balloons that will take off later. The crash occurred around 8 a.m., too late for Sproul to have been carrying out those duties.

The pilots said Sproul would want them to learn from the accident.

Pilot Craig Kennedy of Albuquerque said of Sproul: "I'll bet you that he will share his experience with any pilot who will listen to explain what happened, so that we can learn from it."

Balloon fiesta spokeswoman Kathie Leyendecker said Lachendro was a "very well-loved pilot."

"There's lots of warm conversations and reminiscing going on today," she said.

Pilots and fiesta organizers gave no thought to shutting down the festival, which ends Sunday.

"It provides a lot of joy and excitement for a lot of people," Keefe said. "We don't consider (ballooning) a risk-taking activity. Just like an airline pilot flying cross-country with a load of passengers, he doesn't consider his job a risky thing."

The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating the crash. Witnesses on the ground said it was windy at the time, and authorities said they received several reports of hard landings within about 15 minutes of the crash.

Six people died from 1990 to 2007 when their balloons hit or snagged power lines during the fiesta. Four died in 1982 when propane tanks on a balloon exploded.

On the Net:

Sproul's Special Shape Balloons: http://www.skychariot.com

Balloon accident 2

2008-10-12T23:34:00.001+02:00

Albuquerque Accident

2008-10-12T23:29:00.000+02:00

http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,24482905-401,00.html

ONE man died and another was seriously injured when the balloon they were in crashed in the United States yesterday.

The balloon hit power lines and burst into flames at a ballooning festival near Albuquerque, New Mexico, throwing the two men to the ground.

Witnesses at the International Balloon Fiesta said winds had picked up and many of the balloons were flying low just before the Wings of Wind crashed in Bernalillo, just north of Albuquerque, in the southwestern American state.

Stephen Lachendro was killed and Keith Sproul was critically injured.

Kathie Leyendecker, a spokeswoman for the annual festival, said she did not know who was piloting the balloon.

Mr Lachendro was found dead on the side of a ditch, while Mr Sproul was unconscious and taken to hospital, Rio Rancho Fire Battalion Chief Paul Bearce said.

Witness Glenn Vonderahe said he "couldn't believe it".

"I saw the balloon and the next thing I knew there was a lot of fire and smoke. There was fire under the balloon," he said.

He said the balloon landed, then bounced back up and apparently hit some power lines.

The balloon was stuck in the lines, then Mr Vonderahe saw the balloon portion - called the envelope - float away, a burning tank still attached. "Debris was flying everywhere," he said.

The tank fell harmlessly to the ground and the envelope was eventually found about 25km away.

The National Transportation Safety Board will investigate the crash.

The yellow, brown and orange triangle-shaped balloon was among hundreds competing in events at the weekend balloon festival.

Mr Lachendro was a father of two sons and a daughter and enjoyed ballooning with friends, said his daughter, Amanda.

"I just want everyone to know that he loved what he did," she said.

The annual festival is Albuquerque's major tourist drawcard, but it has had fatalities before, mostly from balloons hitting power lines.

Last year, a 60-year-old was killed. In 1982, four people died. Other fatalities were recorded in 1990, 1993 and 1998

Steve Fosset

2008-10-02T00:05:00.001+02:00

Calif. searchers find Fossett's plane and remains

By TRACIE CONE and MARCUS WOHLSEN – Oct 2, 2008

MAMMOTH LAKES, Calif. (AP) — More than a year after the mysterious disappearance of millionaire adventurer Steve Fossett, searchers found the wreckage of his plane in the rugged Sierra Nevada, along with enough remains for DNA testing.

A small piece of bone was found amid a field of debris 400 feet long and 150 feet wide in a steep section of the mountain range, the National Transportation Safety Board said at a news conference Thursday. Some personal effects also were found at the site.

Officials conflicted on whether they had confirmed the remains were human.

"We don't know if it's human. It certainly could be," Madera County Sheriff John Anderson said late Thursday, hours after the leader of the NTSB had said the remains were those of a person. "I refuse to speculate."

Asked about the sheriff's assessment of the physical evidence, NTSB spokesman Terry Wiliams reaffirmed NTSB acting Chairman Mark Rosenker's earlier statement.

"We stick by that. It's human remains," said Williams, who declined to say how the NTSB had arrived at that conclusion.

Fossett, the 63-year-old thrill-seeker, vanished on a solo flight 13 months ago. The mangled debris of his single-engine Bellanca was spotted from the air late Wednesday near the town of Mammoth Lakes and was identified by its tail number. Investigators said the plane had slammed straight into a mountainside.

"It was a hard-impact crash, and he would've died instantly," said Jeff Page, emergency management coordinator for Lyon County, Nev., who assisted in the search.

NTSB investigators went into the mountains Thursday to figure out what caused the plane to go down. Most of the fuselage disintegrated on impact, and the engine was found several hundred feet away at an elevation of 9,700 feet, authorities said.

"It will take weeks, perhaps months, to get a better understanding of what happened," Rosenker said before investigators set off.

Search crews and cadaver dogs scoured the steep terrain around the crash site in hopes of finding at least some trace of his body and solving the mystery of his disappearance once and for all. A sheriff's investigator found the 2-inch-long piece of bone.

The remains are enough for a coroner to perform DNA testing, Rosenker said.

"Given how long the wreckage has been out there, it's not surprising there's not very much," he said.

Fossett vanished on Sept. 3, 2007, after taking off from a Nevada ranch owned by hotel magnate Barron Hilton. The intrepid balloonist and pilot was scouting locations for an attempt to break the land speed record in a rocket-propelled car.

His disappearance spurred a huge search that covered 20,000 square miles, cost millions of dollars and included the use of infrared technology. Eventually, a judge declared Fossett legally dead in February. For a while, many of his friends held out hope he survived, given his many close scrapes with death over the years.

The breakthrough — in fact, the first trace of any kind — came earlier this week when a hiker stumbled across a pilot's license and other ID cards belonging to Fossett a quarter-mile from where the plane was later spotted in the Inyo National Forest. Investigators said animals might have dragged the IDs from the wreckage while picking over Fossett's remains.

The rugged area, situated about 65 miles from the ranch, had been flown over 19 times by the California Civil Air Patrol during the initial search, Anderson said. But it had not been considered a likely place to find the plane.

Lt. Col. Ronald Butts, a pilot who coordinated the Civil Air Patrol search effort, said gusty conditions along the mountains' upper elevations hampered efforts to search by air, as did the small amount of debris that remained after the plane crashed.

"Everything we could have done was done," Butts said.

Searchers had concentrated on an area north of Mammoth Lakes, given what they knew about sightings of Fossett's plane, his travel plans and the amount of fuel he had.

"With it being an extremely mountainous area, it doesn't surprise me they had not found the aircraft there before," Lyon County Undersheriff Joe Sanford said.

As for what might have caused the wreck, Mono County, Calif., Undersheriff Ralph Obenberger said there were large storm clouds over the peaks around Mammoth Lakes on the day of the crash.

Fossett made a fortune in the Chicago commodities market and gained worldwide fame for setting records in high-tech balloons, gliders, jets and boats. In 2002, he became the first person to circle the world solo in a balloon.

He also swam the English Channel, completed an Ironman triathlon, competed in the Iditarod dog sled race and climbed some of the world's best-known peaks, including the Matterhorn in Switzerland and Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania.

"I hope now to be able to bring to closure a very painful chapter in my life," Fossett's widow, Peggy, said in a statement. "I prefer to think about Steve's life rather than his death and celebrate his many extraordinary accomplishments."

Marcus Wohlsen reported from San Francisco. Associated Press writers Malia Wollan in San Francisco and Scott Sonner in Reno, Nev., contributed to this report.

Planete Balloon

2008-04-13T09:05:00.001+02:00

Hy,

The website PLANETE BALLOON will be online at the beginning of May. The goal is to show "where to fly hot air balloon in the world" and it will offer you the possibility to exchange ideas, find/propose a job as balloon pilot, sale/buy material etc., it's free. We choose you to represent your country.

If you confirm your membership, thank you to send back the membership application and to make the link with our website.

On the contrary, if you do not wish to be member, you will be immediately removed from the world map.

We stay at your disposal for any furtherer questions.

We would be pleased to count you as member of Planete Balloon!

Best Regards,

Soft Landings,

Jean-Christophe Brassart

PLANETE BALLOON

France

Tel./Fax: +33 (0)2 47 65 98 11

Mobile: +33 (0)6 20 55 40 70

www.planeteballoon.

Its been a while

2008-04-09T21:02:00.002+02:00

Yes I know this has not been the most upto date of news services recently.

All stuff that should be discussed over a beer!!!

I have also been working on a couple of non ballooning projects.

This one in particular, The Maloti Drakensberg Transfrontier Challenge

Normal service should resume shortly

G

7 Injured in Egypt

2008-04-09T20:58:00.000+02:00

LUXOR, Egypt (AP) - Seven tourists in Egypt suffered minor injuries when their hot air balloon crash-landed Wednesday in the pharaonic city of Luxor, police said.
Four of those hurt are Scottish and the others are from Belgium, England and New Zealand, said Al-Shafie Mohammed Hassan, the police chief in Luxor.
Two of the tourists were hospitalized with broken bones, Hassan said.

Hot air ballooning, usually at sunrise, is popular with tourists in Luxor, the site of the Valley of the Kings and other ruins from Egypt's pharaohs.

Go Lisa...

2008-02-20T05:58:00.001+02:00

Come celebrate the best year of Lisa's life all in support of 'Reach For The Sky!' a hot air balloon event dedicated to children with developmental disabilities.

All proceeds raised at the LeVack Block will be used to elevate this highly anticipated event far off the ground!

Suggested admission to LaVeck Block: $10 cover
Special balloon martini's
Hot DJ's
Birthday cake
Special *guest* appearances!
Much, much more!

What is Reach for the Sky?

Reach for the Sky is a hot air balloon event dedicated to children living with developmental disabilities. The magical day will be held in June 2009 in Port Perry Ont (1.5 hrs north east of Toronto)

Objectives:

• An integral fundraising initiative for children’s programs which are not supported by the government and rely solely on public donations
• To raise public awareness of developmental disabilities
• To bridge family, charity and community

Event Attendees:

• The overall community and balloon enthusiasts of all ages
• Families and their children with developmental disabilities
• Charity staff and front line workers
• Event sponsors

Charity Involvement:

• 50% of proceeds raised will be donated to The Reena Foundation in Toronto www.reenafoundation.org
• 50% of the proceeds raised will be donated to a local childrens's charity for the developmentally disabled within the Port Perry/Scugog Township area

If you love meeting new and exciting people, supporting children's charities and have ALWAYS wanted to go up in a hot air balloon, join our event planning committee today!

Volunteer positions are available, details at event!

Submit inquiries to lisa_bradburn@hotmail.com for a full outline of volunteer responsibilities. Thank you for your interest in Reach for the Sky!

This is an ideaNation sponsored event.

ideaNation's mission is to INSPIRE, CONNECT & SUPPORT people who want to make a difference by developing projects in their community.

Facebook website http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=6773723724

Steve Fossett

2008-02-18T08:44:00.000+02:00

Steve Fossett

Last Updated: 11:42pm GMT 17/02/2008

Steve Fossett, who has been declared dead aged 63, made his fortune on the Chicago futures exchange and embarked on a dogged campaign to break more world records than any other sportsman in history; he set 116 records in hot air balloons, sailing boats, gliders and powered aircraft, getting into numerous scrapes and surviving several brushes with death.

Missing millionaire Steve Fossett declared dead


	Steve Fossett: 'The things I do are things that a lot of other people would like to do – I actually go out and do them'

In 2002, after a series of dramatic failures, Fossett became the first person to fly around the world alone in a hot air balloon, completing 19,428.6 miles around the Southern Hemisphere in two weeks.

During a previous attempt, in 1998, his balloon caught fire and ruptured during a thunderstorm after 14,000 miles and he plunged 29,000 ft into the shark-infested Coral Sea off Queensland. For several hours no one knew whether he was alive or dead. His eventual rescue after 23 hours made international headlines.

Three years after his ballooning triumph, in March 2005 Fossett became the first person to fly an aeroplane solo around the world without refuelling - completing the journey in 67 hours. Four months later he and a co-pilot completed a transatlantic flight in a replica First World War wood and canvas bi-plane, navigating the route from Newfoundland to Clifden on the west coast of Ireland with nothing but a sextant and a compass.

In February 2006 Fossett again circumnavigated the globe non-stop and smashed the record for the longest flight by any aircraft in history; he covered 26,389.3 miles, beating the previous record of 25,361 miles set by the Breitling Orbiter balloon in 1999.

After keeping himself going during the 76 hour 45 minute flight with 10-minute catnaps and a steady diet of milkshakes, Fossett was forced to make a last-minute diversion from Kent International to Bournemouth Airport; he developed a generator malfunction over Reading which gave him just 30 minutes to land the plane before the batteries went flat. He made it just in time, bursting two tyres on landing.

With co-pilots, Fossett broke some dozen glider records, including, in 2006, the altitude record, with a flight which took him up 50,671ft over the Andes.

As a yachtsman he set 23 official world records and nine distance race records in his maxi-catamaran Cheyenne (formerly named PlayStation). In 2001 he and his crew set a transatlantic record of four days 17 hours, breaking the previous record by 43 hours 35 minutes. Three years later he circumnavigated the globe in 58 days, nine hours and 32 minutes, lopping nearly six days off the previous record.

Not content with mere mechanical propulsion, the indefatigable Fossett swam the Dardanelles; ran the Boston Marathon; raced in the Ironman Triathlon; skied in the 100-mile Canadian Ski Marathon; ran in the 1,165-mile Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race across Alaska; climbed the highest mountains on six of the seven continents (only Everest eluded him); and drove in the Le Mans and Daytona 24-hour races.

In Britain he was known, among other things, for his dogged attempts to swim the English Channel. He succeeded on his fourth attempt in 1985, in a swim which took 22 hours and 15 minutes and earned him a prize for that year's slowest crossing. After staggering ashore in France he was whisked off to hospital suffering from hypothermia.

With his paunchy physique and thinning hair, Fossett was an unlikely daredevil adventurer. He did not appear to enjoy the limelight and was reserved and awkward in interviews, regarding the attention he attracted as an inevitable but unwelcome distraction from the serious business of breaking records. He became animated only when discussing plans for yet another endurance attempt.

He was known in Britain for his friendship with Sir Richard Branson, an erstwhile rival balloonist who became a co-sponsor.

Branson once described Fossett as "a loner: half-Forrest Gump, half android" and suggested that he was not so much interested in sport for its own sake as in testing the limits of his own endurance: "If there's an ocean to swim, he'll choose Christmas Day and it must be snowing and, if possible, the only day in the last decade when the channel ices over," Branson observed. "That's Steve for you."

James Stephen Fossett was born on April 22 1944 at Jackson, Tennessee, one of three children of a manager with a pharmaceutical company; he was brought up at Garden Grove, California. As a child he was fascinated by stories of adventure in National Geographic, but found his hunger to prove himself physically stifled at school, where he failed to get into the cross-country and swimming teams on account of asthma.

He found an outlet for his energies in the Boy Scouts. "When I was 12," he told an interviewer, "I climbed my first mountain, and I just kept going, taking on more diverse and grander projects." Aged 13 he became an Eagle Scout, a rank achieved by very few, and he would later serve as president of the National Eagle Scout Association and as a member of the World Scout Committee and of the executive board of the National Boy Scouts of America. "I learned my values in the Boy Scouts," he said, "and I am proud of that."

Fossett took a degree in Economics and Philosophy from Stanford University and (after swimming the Dardanelles) an MBA from the Olin School of Business at Washington University in St Louis, Missouri. After an unsatisfactory period running IT for a department store, he took a job with the brokerage firm Merrill Lynch in Chicago, specialising in soya beans. Eventually he founded his own firm, Lakota Trading, and moved to Beaver Creek, Colorado.

Although Fossett built up a personal fortune of at least $50 million, he disliked being described as a millionaire, arguing that people should not be described in terms of how much money they have. His heart was always in the quest for sporting adventure. At college he became an endurance sports fanatic, undertaking challenging wilderness hikes and college swimming feats. As a young man he was one of the first particpants in the Worldloppet, a series of cross-country ski marathons around the world. In 1980 he became the eighth skier to compete in all 10 of the Worldloppet races, a feat which earned him a medallion.

At some point in his thirties Fossett typed out a list of his lifetime sporting goals. These included swimming the English Channel, climbing the highest mountains on six continents, establishing eight world records in sailing, and flying non-stop around the world in a balloon. Once his business was firmly established he set out to tick items off the list. He achieved them all - and more. He became a fellow of the Royal Geographical Society and of the Explorers' Club, and in 2002 won the Gold Medal of the Fédération Aeronautique Internationale.

Fossett was reticent about discussing the dangers he faced, dismissing his various misadventures as "undesirable circumstances", and he never allowed anything to get in the way of his quest for new feats. "The things I do are things that a lot of people would like to do," he explained. "What's unusual is that I actually go out and do them."

On September 3 last year Fossett took off in a single-engine plane from a private airstrip in Nevada on a planned three-hour excursion to search for a suitable lake bed for a world land-speed record attempt. He had enough fuel for four to five hours, so when he failed to return after six, air search teams were sent out to look for him.

Steve Fossett is survived by his wife Peggy, whom he married in 1968, and by 60 of his records which remain unbroken. There were no children.

Australian Air Force upgrades ;-)

2008-01-28T22:01:00.000+02:00

No. 28 Squadron, Burners Now

Posted by David Hughes at 1/28/2008 7:16 AM

It's not every Air Force that has its own balloons, but the Royal Australian Air Force does have some operated by No. 28 Squadron, based in the nation's capital -- Canberra.

The balloon crews conduct regular training flights in the Canberra area in addition to conducting a touring program. Air Force balloon crews represent the service by traveling to many regions of the country where the mobility of a hot air balloon allows them to show the flag at events where it isn't possible or economical to send an RAAF aircraft.

Flying from open spaces rather than airfields, the balloons get around. These photos from the RAAF website are labeled balloon fiesta over Canberra (top), crew (above), burners (below) and one I'll call envelope (at the bottom). The photographers are not identified.

Newton Faulkner link

2008-01-28T10:32:00.000+02:00

Kenneth Karlstrom shows Newton Faulkner the way... sadly you have to click the link!!

'Unplugged and Airborne' by Newton Faulkner

Newton Faulkner sings love songs to Ken

2008-01-28T10:25:00.000+02:00

Newton Faulkner performed a selection of his hits way above the Swiss countryside

KENNETH Karlstrom is more used to piloting champagne balloon flights from a St Albans school than taking part in a radio sessions thousands of feet above the Swiss Alps.

As Virgin Balloon Flights'chief pilot, he flew the 100-foot-tall balloon in which singer-songwriter Newton Faulkner lived up to the title of his hit single Dream Catch Me while soaring near to the town of Greyere.

Kenneth normally pilots champagne flights from Nicholas Breakspear School in Colney Heath Lane but he found himself joining 13 lucky passengers to hear dreadlocked Newton play several tracks including his latest single Teardrop.

The performance was recorded for Virgin Radio and the gig was punctuated by the noise of father-of-two Kenneth firing the balloon's burners.

Kenneth and the singer enjoy an after-flight Champagne
The high altitude and cold temperatures meant Newton had to continually warm up his hands and retune his guitar in order to pull off his light-fingered guitar playing.

Unforgettable

It was the first time a radio session has ever been recorded in a hot-air balloon and Kenneth, who has flown balloons all over the world, said: "Every hot-air balloon flight is an unforgettable experience but this had to be in my top 10 and I've been flying for nearly 30 years."

After a 50-minute flight, a soft landing and a champagne toast, Newton continued the celebrations with an impromptu gig in a chalet among the mountains. He was then presented with a platinum gold disc marking half-a-million sales of his number one album Hand Built by Robots.

A video of the full Unplugged and Airborne session is available to watch online at www.virginradio. co.uk

Nice one Kenneth, wish I could have made the meet, for those that don't know, the Virgin Balloon guys were flying 6 balloons for a week at Chateaux Dex

G

Austria, incident

2008-01-28T10:24:00.001+02:00

VIENNA, Austria (AP) - A gust of wind slammed a hot-air balloon into the ground as it was preparing to land near Austria's border with Germany on Saturday. Police said five people were injured, one seriously.
The accident happened around 11 a.m. (1000 GMT) about five kilometers (3 miles) outside the Bavarian town of Koessen as the balloon was about to touch down.
Authorities said the wind drove the basket into the ground and caused it to overturn.
One occupant suffered serious injuries, and four others were less severely hurt, Austrian public broadcaster ORF reported.
Koessen hosts a popular annual series of balloon races.

A flight of fancy for a wayward hot air balloon

2008-01-28T10:21:00.000+02:00

A flight of fancy for a wayward hot air balloon
by Julia Tosti
Special to The Friday Flyer

It was a beautiful morning, one of those mornings where the fog had rolled in sometime prior and settled, nestled in the valley and hugging the lake, giving it a mystical feel.
My husband and I enjoy a beautiful view from Tuscany Hills. We moved here two years ago from Orange County and have never tired of the endless beauty that surrounds our home.
From the back of our home, we have views of Canyon Lake, Mount San Jacinto, Big Bear and, far to our left, Mount Baldy. We watch hawks soar high and ducks and white cranes take flight from Canyon Lake to Lake Elsinore. It seems every morning the view is visited by a new guest that perpetuates this never-ending cascade of attractions. Today was no different.
We sat sipping on our coffee chatting and discussing the day’s tasks. We conversed about the beauty of the mountains, the mystical feel to the lake and today’s surprise guest, a hot air balloon. Typically balloons float toward Menifee, hovering high above the valley east of Canyon Lake, but today’s visitor seemed to be moving in our direction, approaching the lake.
Our excitement heightened as we watched the balloon, seeing the colorful fabric come into clearer view. At this point I decided to document this visitor and ran to get our camera. As the balloon continued to move our way it seemed to be picking up momentum; all the while, I was clicking away with our camera.
The balloon sailed over the lake, coming closer and closer and losing altitude. Our chatter turned to silence as we watched, stunned by the sight. Slowly at first, but then more rapidly, the balloon started to descend until it looked as though it was sitting on the lake. We strained to see if it had actually landed on the lake, wondering out loud if we should call 9-1-1 or the lake “coast guard” or someone! Just as we were about to dial the phone, the balloon started to rise. Slowly at first, then faster and faster until it was high in the sky. Up, up and away it went over our house, continuing to float until it was out of our sight.
Wow! We love this area – what a great place to live! It seems we are always seeing something of beauty or excitement outside our back view – and this was the icing on the lake, I mean, cake!

Balloons, many events highlight Feb. 1-3 Hot Air Affair

2008-01-18T22:00:00.000+02:00

Hudson Star-Observer
Published Friday, January 18, 2008

Balloon launches highlight a weekend of activities at the 19th annual Hot Air Affair Friday-Sunday, Feb. 1-3. Mass ascension launches are planned for 7:30 a.m. Saturday and Sunday, Feb. 2 and 3. An optional flight is scheduled for 3 p.m. Saturday, and the popular Moon Glow at 6:30 p.m. Saturday.

This year’s Hot Air Affair theme is “Mardi Gras…Balloons & All That Jazz,” according to HAA President Evy Nerbonne. “Our event sponsors have really embraced the theme this year. We have more than 30 restaurants, bars, pubs and retailers doing special menu items, beverage specials and retail events highlighting the New Orleans carnival theme. It’s the weekend for jambalaya, hurricanes, King Cake and lots of beads.”

Balloons

A popular balloon will take to the sky at the 19th annual Hudson Hot Air Affair Feb. 1-3. The familiar red, white and blue ReMax hot air balloon has the longest history of Hudson appearances by a commercial balloon.

The familiar red, white and blue ReMax hot air balloon has the longest history of Hudson appearances by a commercial balloon. It’s being sponsored by ReMax North Central and ReMax Associates Plus Inc., the owner of the ReMax realty company in Hudson.

Stephen Sinnen, Shakopee, Minn., will pilot the 105,000-cubic-foot aerostat in Hudson. He’s a 24-year pilot, logging more than 1,500 hours in balloons. Sinnen has flown balloons all over the United States and Mexico.

“Some of my more interesting flights have been dropping skydivers at the World Free Fall Convention in Quincy, Ill.,” Sinnen said. He has also carried passengers for Rainbow Ryders, the official passenger carriers for the balloon fiesta in Albuquerque, N.M.

This year’s other commercial balloons are U.S. Bank and M&I Bank. Special-shape balloons include Mr. Biddle, Rubber Duckie and Garfield. The Hot Air Affair, presented by M&I Bank, is one of the largest winter hot air ballooning events in the country.

“Everyone loves the balloons,” said balloon coordinator Carla Timmerman in describing the aerostats. “Commercial and special-shape balloons are what sets us apart from many other rallies.

The Hot Air Affair annually attracts corporate balloons from throughout the country because of the winter flying opportunity.

Pre-event activities start this week and Hot Air Affair isn’t just a spectator event! Here are some options for individual or family participation, some requesting advance registration.

Hot Air Affair kick-off Friday, Jan. 18, at Dick’s Bar & Grill, 111 Walnut St. Participants could win trivia contest prizes by correctly answering questions about Mardi Gras and the Hot Air Affair.

A family affair at YMCA camp St. Croix, Saturday, Jan. 19, from 1-4 p.m. The event includes hiking, sledding, orienteering and other outdoor activities, what it’s like to pilot and be a ground crew member for a hot air balloon, plus crafts. Aamodt’s Hot Air Balloon Rides will inflate their balloon and pilot John Lewis will offer a ground school for anyone wanting to learn how to crew for a hot air balloon. Paddy Ryan’s Irish Pub will offer beef and Guiness pie and potato/leek soup samples, and the camp will provide s’mores. All activities are free and no pre-registration is required.

Candlelight cross country skiing and hiking, Friday, Jan. 25, 6-9 p.m. at Willow River State Park. The event includes two miles of candle-lit ski trails and a mile of hiking trails. Free refreshments will be provided by Art Doyle’s Spokes & Pedals at the Nature Center. Hot air balloon pilots will provide a hot air balloon glow at 6:30 p.m., weather permitting. Hot Air Affair Geocaching Bash coordinate sheets will be available.

Phipps family day activity, Sunday, Jan. 27, 2-4 p.m. at Phipps Center for the Arts. Children of all ages and their families can create costumes to wear as they walk behind “The Phipps is for Kids” banner for the Torchlight Parade Friday, Feb. 1. Call (715) 386-2305 to sign up for the free class.

Hot Air Affair Geocaching Bash, Friday-Sunday, Feb. 1-3. Pick up coordinate sheets at M&I Bank or the Hudson Area Chamber of Commerce after Jan. 28. Geocache all weekend and turn in your log sheet to M&I Bank or mail it to PO Box 744, Hudson WI 54016 by Feb. 10 for your chance to win prizes.

Photo contest, sponsored by PressEnter. Send in your best photos of pre-events or activities Hot Air Affair weekend and you could win a prize. Entries will be accepted through Feb. 29 at PressEnter Internet Business Center, 206 Second St., Hudson.

Torchlight Parade, Friday, Feb. 1, 7:08 p.m., in downtown Hudson. This year’s theme is “Mardi Gras…Balloons & All That Jazz.” Parade participants should line up at 6 p.m. at the Wells Fargo Bank parking lot — the parade travels down Second Street and Walnut Street to Lakefront Park. Prizes will be awarded for best overall parade unit, the best “Mardi Gras” unit, the best pilot unit and the best kazoo marching band. Business and individual parade units should pre-register by calling Linda White at (715) 386-8332 or (715) 381-2050. Participants are reminded that no items can be thrown from parade units, and beads and other treats for parade watchers must be delivered street side.

Marketplace and craft fair, Saturday, Feb. 2, from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. at E.P. Rock Elementary School. Booth space is still available; sign up with Char Hipsher at (715) 381-5534. Fee charged for participation.

Winter Sports Olympics including volleyball in the snow, darts and horseshoes, Saturday, Feb. 2, 9 a.m. at GB Curlys, Burkhardt. Prizes will be awarded; entry fees are $40 per team for volleyball, $25 per team for darts and horseshoes. Call sponsor GB Curlys at (715) 386-5233 to sign up.

Pets at the Plaza, Saturday, Feb. 2, starting at 10 a.m. at Angel’s Pet World at Plaza 94. The annual pet costume contest starts at 11 a.m., and prizes will be awarded for the best Mardi Gras costumes. First prize is $50. Call (715) 386-6740 for contest details and to sign up your pet.

Smooshboarding competition, Saturday, Feb. 2, at 1 p.m. at E.P. Rock Elementary School. Resco Print Graphics sponsors the wackiest winter sport at Hot Air Affair when four-person teams on the same pair of smooshboards race a figure-8 course. Entry fee is $10 per team; sign up is at (715) 386-7300. Prizes for best team in competition plus best “Mardi Gras … Balloons & All That Jazz” costumes. Smooshboards are available that day.

Thirteenth annual chili cook-off, Sunday, Feb. 3, at 2 p.m. at Dick’s Bar & Grill. Enter your favorite warmup chili concoction and win cash, trophies and prizes. Call (715) 386-5222 for details and registration by Feb. 2; space is limited.

Complete Hot Air Affair event brochures are available at local businesses and the Hudson Area Chamber of Commerce and Tourism Bureau office. Information is also available at www.hudsonhotairaffair.com. The Hot Air Affair, presented by M&I Bank, is a non-profit community volunteer organization. Anyone wanting to volunteer to sell merchandise, crew for hot air balloons or help in any way should call (715) 381-2050 or (888) 247-2332 or email hotair2@pressenter.com.

Hot Air Balloon blamed for power outage

2008-01-18T21:50:00.000+02:00

Sun-News Report

Article Launched: 01/18/2008 09:28:26 AM MST

LAS CRUCES — A hot air balloon has knocked out power to about 10 electric company customers, an El Paso Electric spokeswoman said.

Teresa Souza said a hot air balloon taking off in this morning's Mesilla Valley Balloon Rally media day struck a power line about 8:30 a.m.

The rally site is at Brown Field, north of Las Cruces.

Aaron Jackson of the Greater Mesilla Valley Aerostat Association was unaware of any such incident.

Souza said another power outage earlier this morning knocked out power to about 3,000 customers in the High Range area in east Las Cruces.

A downed power line is being blamed for the outage which began about 3:15 a.m., Souza said. Power was restored about 5:30 a.m.

Well done Malaysian pilots and crew.

2008-01-18T21:43:00.000+02:00

CHONG Ja Jie's heart was racing as the hot-air balloon steadily rose into the heavens, taking the 11-year-old higher up than she had ever been in her life.

ADVENTURE: Children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder being lifted into the hot-air balloon basket for the ride of their lives.

"It was my first trip ever off the ground. I was flying with the birds and so close to touching the sky," said the Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder patient.

"At first, I was afraid but as the balloon began to lift off, I waved at my teachers down below while holding on firmly to the basket with my left hand.

"Once I was high above, I felt so free and light," said Ja Jie, one of the 30 special children from Happy Land Special Education Centre in Taman Johor Jaya.

"It was an great experience and I hope I get to do it again."
The balloon ride was part of the family day and fun fair at the launch of commercial lots at Seri Austin by UM Land Berhad recently.

More than 1,500 people showed up at the launch which saw the property developer bringing in professional hot-air balloon pilots who represented Malaysia in the recent Balloon Fiesta in Pattaya, Thailand.

The carnival was also packed with family-oriented activities such as a treasure hunt, manicure, foot massage, magic tricks and entertainment by a band.

UM Land Berhad Subsidiaries general manager Mohd Noor Abdul Talam, who launched the festivities, presented gifts, prizes and freebies to winners of the games and winners of the Seri Alam and Seri Austin "Spin and Win" winners.

The gifts included a 29-inch television set which was won by a 12-year-old boy who emerged champion in the treasure hunt.

"The carnival is in line with Seri Austin's slogan 'Simply Better' and is a gesture of appreciation to our loyal and prospective customers in conjunction with the New Year," Mohd Noor said.

Zell am See-Kaprun: hot-air balloons are rising once again

2008-01-18T00:25:00.000+02:00

The sky above the roofs of Zell am See and Kaprun is sure to wear its most colourful gown. At the 29th 'BP Gas Alpine Balloon Trophy' starting on 20th January 2008, about 40 international teams of balloonists will literally be up and away. Anyone who prefers to stay on the ground can look forward to enjoying a unique colour
spectacle! And there is even more: an exciting supporting programme with events about balloon travel and aviation makes sure that boredom doesn't stand a chance!

The first winter competition for hot-air balloonists took place as early as 1979. The pioneers of the aviation club 'Team Polar', Josef 'Joschi' Starkbaum and his partner Gert Scholz, didn't want to accept the unfounded assertion that 'hot-air balloons are just not made for travelling in the Alpine regions'. And now watch and learn: until today the event lures participants from all around the globe to Zell am See-Kaprun - and not even once has there been as much as a hitch. But nevertheless it is always a thrilling experience to mount the baskets. Since it is not possible to steer the balloons directly, your journey takes you into the unknown once you have lost touch with the ground. You can aim for your destination only by descending and rising and making use of the winds.

To judge who is best at this art, the BP Alpine Balloon Trophy has organized many adventurous competitions which are true challenges for the participants. But the visitors of the event don't have to limit themselves to watching either. And for small guests, the event has a special treat up its sleeve: On Monday 21st January, one day after the ceremonious opening on the old runway of the airfield of Zell am See, there is the start of the captive balloons. From 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. children can get into the baskets of the huge balloons which are tied to the ground. If the weather doesn't cooperate, the start will be postponed until Wednesday.

On Monday evening, the event 'Fire & Ice' promises to be an optical highlight: fire shows, hot-air balloons, and illuminated sculptures made of ice will light up the night. From 8 p.m. visitors can choose from a large variety of delicious drinks. Wednesday and Thursday, 23rd and 24th January, will definitely be as breathtaking as the preceding days have been. From 8 p.m. visitors are invited to come to the valley station of the cityXpress in Zell am See and to Lechnerberg in Kaprun where hot-air balloons are making the sky of the region their canvas. This colourful happening has always been a major event in the programme of the BP Gas Alpine Balloon Trophy. Fireworks and DJ music will make visitor marvel in amazement. And, of course, we mustn't forget to mention the show of the motocross and snowmobile drivers who perform daredevil acrobatics and breathtaking stunts!

For more information on the 29th Gas Alpine Balloon Trophy in Zell am See and Kaprun please visit us at www.zellamsee-kaprun.com.

Contact within the region
Guest Service Zell am See-Kaprun
Phone +43 (0)6542 - 770 0
welcome(at)zellamsee-kaprun.com
www.zellamsee-kaprun.com

Press contact
knoefler-journalist . media + communications GmbH
Mr. Benjamin Knöfler
Phone +49 (0)6028 - 80729 0
zellkaprun(at)kj-media.com
www.knoefler-journalist.com

Information summary
The holiday region Zell am See-Kaprun with its 14,000 beds and two million overnight stays every year is one of the most important holiday destinations in Austria. During the summer months you can enjoy a variety of outdoor activities like rafting, golf and hiking. And also in the cold season there is never a dull moment thanks to sleigh rides and hiking tours in snowshoes. Skiers can comfortably reach the 132 kilometres of slopes with powder snow with one of the 56 lifts. Snowboarders enjoy the perfect conditions of the Snowpark on the 2,600 metre high glacier plateau. Even in the summer you can swish down the slopes here. The renowned German publishing house of 'Falk Verlag' awarded Zell am See and Kaprun the decoration of the most family-friendly holiday region in Europe.

Contact Information:
knoefler-journalist . media + communications GmbH

Melbourne to celebrate historic flight

2008-01-18T00:09:00.002+02:00

All fired up: Peter Dutneall and David Langdon prepare for the 150th anniversary of Australia's first balloon flight.
Photo: Craig Abraham

Carolyn Webb
January 18, 2008

FOR the people of Melbourne in 1858, it must have been as mind-blowing as watching man land on the moon.

On February 1 of that year, Australia's first successful hot air balloon flight took off from Richmond. It was the start of aviation in this country, 50 years before aeroplanes.

The Victorian Balloon Association and the Richmond Historical Society will mark the 150th anniversary with a free public breakfast and balloon and historical displays next Friday.

In 1858, Richmond was rural. This was before the town hall tower, the St Ignatius spires, Dimmeys, trams or trains. Richmond's great attraction then was entrepreneur George Coppin's Cremorne Gardens, a 4.5-hectare pleasure park with the Pantheon Theatre, a pub, a zoo, a bandstand and a lake.

According to Helene Rogers' booklet, Early Ballooning in Australia, Mr Coppin imported the colony's first white swans and goldfish. His steamboats ferried crowds from the city along the Yarra River.

In the summer there was opera, ballet and theatre performances, bands, fancy dress balls and fireworks displays.

On a talent finding trip to London, Mr Coppin enticed experienced balloonists Charles Brown and Joseph Dean to Melbourne. Brown brought his home-made 18-metre-high muslin balloon, the Australasian. The day before the Richmond flight, the Australasian was partially inflated with coal gas at the City of Melbourne's gasworks at Batman Swamp, in West Melbourne. It took 30 men and a horse and cart to walk it to Richmond.

The next day, the balloon was topped up with gas from Mr Coppin's gas-making plant, which fuelled his gardens' lighting. He had doubled the normal entry fee to five shillings, but most locals watched free from outside the gardens.

The Argus reported: "Every eminence from which a view of the gardens could be obtained was dark with human beings … everywhere but in the grounds themselves."

Brown and Dean were to co-pilot, but escaping gas and a strong breeze caused havoc until the basket started to rise when Brown hopped out, leaving Dean to fly the balloon.

He later wrote in the Evening Mail: "Looking down I saw thousands of upturned faces in every street and road surrounding the place from which I had taken my departure."

He described feeling "raptures of delight" at the sun setting over the CBD.

After 25 minutes he landed at Plenty Road, near Heidelberg, and paid a passer-by to take him and the balloon back to Richmond. Rogers' book says that when Charles Brown flew two weeks later, he was bashed on landing in Collingwood by a superstitious mob who thought it evil for humans to fly.

The Cremorne Gardens closed in 1863 and today the land — between Balmain Street and the Monash Freeway in Burnley — is mainly dense housing.

The Victorian Balloon Association's Peter Dutneall said hot air balloons today used propane gas, live flame burners and canopies made of tear-resistant nylon, and ascended by blowing hot air into the canopy rather than dumping sandbags. But they still rely on catching air currents to change direction.

Celebrations will be at Citizens Park, in Church Street, from 6am-9am next Friday.

Up, up and away

November 21, 1783 The first manned, untethered balloon flight takes place in Paris.

February 1, 1858 The first Australian balloon flight takes place in Melbourne.

December 17, 1903 The Wright brothers' first powered aeroplane flight takes place in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina.

November 13, 1907 The first piloted free helicopter flight takes place in Lisieux, France.

March 18, 1910 Harry Houdini makes the first controlled flight in a powered aircraft in Australia at Diggers Rest, Victoria.

June 20, 1939 The first flight of a manned rocket-powered aircraft takes place in Peenemunde, Germany.

July 20, 1969 Man lands on the moon.

County grounds balloon company

2008-01-11T17:01:00.000+02:00

Lets hope this idea does not catch on all over the USA. Good luck to them, I hope sense prevails

Melanie Wong
mwong@vaildaily.com
Vail, CO Colorado
January 7, 2008

EDWARDS — For more than 20 years Ron Miller has given people a bird’s-eye view of the Vail Valley from his hot-air balloons, but now he may be without a place to land because of stricter county regulations.

Miller, the owner of Balloon America, used to fly his balloon tours out of the Miller Ranch area in Edwards.

Now the area is too populated with Freedom Park, a neighborhood and schools for him to do that without considerable insurance, said Eagle County Assistant Attorney Christina Hooper.

“Hot-air ballooning is an inherently dangerous activity,” Hooper said. “In the event that something were to go wrong during one of (his) hot-air-balloon flights, regardless of how unlikely that chance might be, the consequences would be extensive.”

But Miller thinks the concerns are unreasonable — there only has been one recorded hot-air-ballooning accident in Eagle County, which involved a minor injury, he said — and he feels he is being run out of business.

Whitewater rafting is far more dangerous and those companies can still operate, he said.

“After 22 years of accident- and incident-free operations, I have been told to take a hike,” Miller said.

Sky-high insurance

The county first asked that Miller get a permit to fly from the area last summer, which he did. Then, later in the fall, the county changed the insurance requirement for Miller from $100,000 per person to $1 million per person, an amount that is not even available in the industry, Miller said.

The county wants Miller to have a total of $2 million in insurance — $1 million per passenger for injury and $1 million for property damage.

“We came up with (that amount) based on risks involved with such a highly populated area with a children’s soccer field and everything,” Hooper said.

“What he had wouldn’t even cover (the cost) of an accident. In the end he wasn’t able to meet the insurance requirement,” she said.

The $100,000-per-person insurance Miller had is the industry norm, said Merlin Sagon, owner of Camelot Balloons, the only other hot-air-balloon operator in the county.

Sagon’s balloons land and launch from private property near the airport, but he said he also used to operate from Edwards until it became too crowded.

Balloons and jets

Now Miller’s best option is to fly out of the Eagle County Regional Airport, something Federal Air Administration regulations allow him to do, he said.

Not so, said airport officials.

The county told Miller that hot-air balloons cannot operate within a five-mile radius of the airport. The county threatened a Federal Aviation Administration investigation and “legal action” if he tried to do so.

“It isn’t going to happen, not in the confines of the airfield,” said airport manager Ovid Seifers. “It’s simply a safety issue.”

Miller is petitioning Federal Aviation Administration officials in Denver to take his side.

“I think the county just doesn’t want to deal with any potential liability and they’re pulling out every guy they have to stop me from flying,” he said.

Staff Writer Melanie Wong can be reached at 748-2928 or mwong@vaildaily.com.

Deptford balloon story not just a lot of hot air

2008-01-11T16:59:00.000+02:00

Thursday, January 10, 2008
By Jessica Driscoll
jdriscoll@sjnewsco.com

DEPTFORD TWP. A hot air balloon appears on the township's water tower, many of its street signs and its official web site, but many residents never give the symbol's meaning a second thought.

Now, some well-informed five- and six-year-olds will make sure they do.

On Wednesday, former mayor Bea Cerkez visited kindergarten students at Central Early Childhood Center to teach them about the first flight in America a flight she said "put Deptford on the map."

"Does anyone know what today is?" asked Cerkez, followed by a chorus of "January 9th" from her eager audience.

"That's right. And do you know what happened on this day more than 200 years ago? A man from France named Jean Pierre Blanchard took off on a hot air balloon from Philadelphia with his little dog and a letter from President George Washington. And he landed right here in Deptford."

In 1793, Blanchard left Philadelphia before an audience of dignitaries and traveled 15 miles before landing in the Deptford clearing. Cerkez encouraged students to visit the site on the lot of the old RCA building with their parents and to look for the tree which marks the historical spot.

Some students were way ahead of her.

"My Pop-Pop has a book of pictures with the balloon and where it landed," said Nicholas Lonergan, 5.

"And he showed me that tree and read the plaque on it."

Others had some important questions.

"Is the hot air balloon still in that tree?" asked Jacob Buchanan, 6.

Dr. Rena Alpert, a kindergarten teacher at Central, organizes Cerkez's visit each year and works on projects and stories about hot air balloons with her class. In the spring, students will visit the official DARE hot air balloon to learn more about how it flies.

"If it wasn't for Dr. Alpert, the day would go by and no one would remember what happened," said Cerkez.

"This is Deptford's major piece of history and it's so important that the site and the story are preserved. Every year, she calls me to come in to talk to the children and it's one of the nicest things I get to do all year."

Alaska World Balloon Challenge

2008-01-11T16:57:00.000+02:00

This sounds like it could be lots of fun....

Hot air balloon competition planned for 2008

By Rob Stapleton
Morris News Service

Hot air ballooning could help promote winter tourism in Alaska.

Planning is under way for the 2008 annual Alaska World Balloon Challenge, to be held in February to coincide with Fur Rendezvous and the Iditarod.

The event is scheduled for Feb. 26-March 2.

Jim and Karen Rogina are working to organize the event that would bring balloon pilots from around the world to Anchorage. Jim, a balloon pilot who has logged thousands of hours worth of flight time, brainstormed the event with his wife, Karen. He said the idea came about after a long hiatus of balloon flying in Anchorage.

"It just sort of came up during a visit with world-renowned Italian balloon pilot Paolo Bonanno at an international ballooning event in Europe," Jim said. "When I mentioned an event in Alaska he said, 'Why don't we talk this over later at a private meeting?' So we did."

The Roginas hope to attract not only tourists to Anchorage, but the attention of high school students as well. Jim and Karen said they are offering a continuing education program for high-school physical science teachers in the Anchorage School District, addressing aviation history in Alaska and the physics of ballooning.

"Children really get excited about using math and science when you can put a face to it," Karen said.

Jim and Karen said their educational program is better suited for home school students and by those students who have ample time to observe the flights.

As many as 10 balloons would travel the skies from Talkeetna to Portage along the mountainous regions of Southcentral Alaska.

"The plan is to have pilots do an extensive weather briefing, submit a flight plan and then execute it," said Jim. "(Pilots) would then be judged on how well they execute their plan."

"We want to bring a world-class event here to Alaska, to promote education through meteorology and flying of the balloons, and to promote winter tourism," Karen said.

On the Web: www.awbc.info

Rob Stapleton can be reached at rob.stapleton@alaskajournal.com.

Hot Air Balloon equipment for sale in South Africa

2008-01-11T16:43:00.001+02:00

Thunder and Colt 210. Constructed in 2001 and with only 185 hours, this balloon has a T & C triple burner and 12 place basket (was flown at sea level.) Sponsor logo can stay. The envelope has a tri-vent and a hyperlast cap only. The basket has a rather interesting configuration! There are no tanks or fan. Everything looks new and I know the owner personally. The asking price is R260 000,00 plus freight from Belgium.

Thunder and Colt AX8-105. This balloon is some years old now, but fairly low hours (about 125). The envelope is a little on the heavy side having some of the old heavy type silver in it. Artwork for “Kingston” can stay. Equipment includes Magnum double burners, swept top basket, three V30 stainless tanks, Tema fittings, fan, and quick release. Asking price R120 000,00 but be advised that there will be some additional costs to get the currency fees up to date and the C of A back in place.

Flamboyant AX-85 – ZS- HPY (Ex-TOTAL). At 385 hours this has had the artwork removed and some fabric replaced at the top, so there is plenty of life in the old girl, yet! It is really good value as the balloon comes with Cameron Mk 4 Burners, Flamboyant basket, four tanks, Kawasaki Fan, (3,5 hp) a trailer (needs new cover,) instruments, two Narco radios, tether ropes etc. In fact everything you need to fly. Priced between R75 000,00 and R80 000,00 depending on some last items to be included/excluded - ( like airworthy, new trailer cover and radio charger, instr. Calib., new type log books etc.)

Kubicek B22 (AX7-77) Blue and white envelope with 360 hours built in 1998. Has K12A basket & H3D burner and comes with fan, vario, pyrometer & closed trailer. Price wil be around R125 000,00 plus freight from Czeck Rep.

Kubicek B22 (AX&-77) This compreises envelope with 280 hours built in 1994, K10 basket and 3HD burner. This balloon has a current airworthy, has had only one owner and no repairs as yet. Price is around R89 000,00 plus freight from Czech Rep. Trailer available for around R11 000,00 extra.

Envelopes
Fire 140 – envelope only. Needs some work. R30 000,00.

Cameron 180 – envelope only. Needs lots of work! Make an offer.

Baskets and Burners
Schroeder fire balloons basket – very light with no T partition 1,22m x 1,8m (4 – 6 pax) Includes quick release and uprights with covers. R18 000,00 and there are 4 cylinders to go with this. Contack Udo on 021 863 3192.

Fire double burner. Recent factory overhaul. Like new. R30 000,00

Small partitioned basket. Non-type certified. Not suitable for commercial work.
R17 000,00 o.n.c.o.

Flamboyant single burner – make an offer

Flamboyant double burners – no frame – make an offer

1 X Cameron single burner ex the old Total Balloon. Good performer. Going for R4 000,00. Call Hazel Westworth Tel: 011 702 1342

Other kit

Inflation Fan - Robin 5 hp Motor. (Almost new) R6000,00

Give me a call regarding any of this equipment, or our growing portfolio of second hand balloons from Europe.

Aunty Monkey hits 500 users

2008-01-11T16:29:00.000+02:00

No not a slapping by an ancestor, Aunty Monkey the Australian based hot air ballooning social networking site passed a major milestone on the 9th of January passing 500 registered users. Thats impressive for a site that is not yet a year old.

The site also enjoys a No3 ranking in the top 50 ballooning websites

A wry look at the world of hot air ballooning and its various forms, excellent value for pilots and crew!

Without doubt my favourite ballooning site, if your pilot or crew and you have not signed up why not!! Its free.

Click the badge somewhere on the right hand side of this blog.

Well done to Andrew Robertson and the guys further round from me here in the Southern Hemisphere!

Airships mentioned on Slashdot

2008-01-11T16:22:00.000+02:00

Popular in Victorian and Steampunk fantasies, airships and zeppelins evoke a certain elegance that most modern travelers don't associate with the airplane.

Some companies are capitalizing on that idea, and a need to move cargo by air in an era of ever-increasing fuel costs, to re-re-introduce commercial zeppelins.

Popular Mechanics notes four notable airship designs, all with specific design purposes. One craft in particular, the Aeroscraft ML866, is being funded by the US government's DARPA group. It looks to combine the best elements of the helicopter and the zeppelin. "The Aeroscraft ML866's potentially revolutionary Control of Static Heaviness system compresses and decompresses helium in the 210-ft.-long envelope, changing this proposed sky yacht's buoyancy during takeoff and landings, Aeros says. It hopes to end the program with a test flight demonstrating the system. "

Phoenix Development Deflating Hot-Air Balloon Business

2008-01-11T16:20:00.000+02:00

by Associated Press

MESA, Ariz. (AP) _ You can't miss the growth and development in metropolitan Phoenix, especially from the air. And that growth is an issue for local hot-air balloon pilots, forcing some out of ballooning, others to fly in remote areas, and some to embrace its challenges.

``All in all, we like open spaces, and there is a lot less than there used to be,'' said Scott Nicol, owner of Mesa-based Roping the Wind Hot Air Balloon Co. ``You have to learn to fly in more congested areas.''

Nicol, flying for more than 20 years, said many hot-air balloon pilots don't fly in the Gilbert-Chandler area anymore or have left ballooning altogether because growth makes it more complicated to take off and land. Also, open desert is a lot more appealing to look at from the air, some pilots say.

Sport balloons are able to fly in more growth-congested areas because they are smaller, carrying two or three people, and need less room to launch and land, Nicol said.

``When we used to fly out here 15 years ago it was just all open farm fields, you could almost land anywhere,'' Nicol said. ``Now with all the new home developments going in we have less and less landing sites. It's a bit more challenging.''

But in Nicol's case, the limited space is something he's leaned to cope with.

``It makes you a better pilot,'' he said.

Nicol flies primarily in the east part of metropolitan Phoenix with Gold Canyon and Apache Junction topping his list of favorite locales. He also flies in Gilbert, Chandler and Queen Creek-Johnson Ranch areas.

Because of the growth, he finds it more difficult to land and launch in more typical spots such a fields and now uses ``nontraditional'' landing sites such as parks, cul-de-sacs, retention basins and green belts.

He said Queen Creek and nearby Johnson Ranch is a ``prime area for ballooning,'' but it's a long way for some pilots to go. And even those areas will go the way of boom areas of eastern metro Phoenix, he said.

``It's developing pretty quickly, and it's going to start exploding even more,'' Nicol said.

Hot-air balloon pilot Glen Buckles used to launch frequently in Chandler.

``When we first started here, there was nothing here at all, it's just amazing,'' he said of metro Phoenix's growth. ``We used to fly right up the street at Willis Junior High (in Chandler), and that was the middle of nowhere at the time. That was our launch area for years, but now it's just surrounded by homes.''

Buckles said navigating the growth takes a ``very good pilot.'' But even with good pilots, larger-capacity passenger balloon companies can't cope with the growth as well.

Pilot Brian Holmes owns the Hot Air Balloon Co., which frequents an area near northeast Phoenix and Scottsdale. He operates larger passenger balloons carrying from four to 16 passengers and pays for a permit to launch and land at a State Trust Land parcel just north of metro Phoenix.

``Traditionally, balloons have been flying in this area for 25 to 30 years now,'' said Holmes, in the business since 1983. ``It was just us and the coyotes and jack rabbits. We're always looking for large, unpopulated areas because of the fact that we're big and we need larger launch and landing sites.''

Holmes said the larger balloons aren't suited for flying in neighborhoods, and in many areas of metro Phoenix parks are off-limits to balloonists. He's also concerned about continued access to State Trust Land because ``they are selling off big chunks to developers _ the land is shrinking,'' he said.

``As we lose these launch and landing sites, we've been altering our flight patterns, but you can only do so much because we go with the wind,'' Holmes said. ``While we're somewhat able to accommodate that, it isn't as precise as having a steering wheel. You can always choose your launch site, but it's a little more difficult to choose your landing site.''

Growth causes balloon enthusiasts to move farther out from metropolitan areas and may even cause hot-air balloon companies to chose smaller balloons and fly over urban areas, an option that isn't as cost-effective, Holmes said.

``This is a pretty unique way to see the Sonoran Desert,'' Holmes said. ``We're fortunate to still have some pieces to fly over.''

Poor weather hits Polo and Balloon Festival

2008-01-11T16:15:00.000+02:00

Inclement weather kept the balloons grounded for much of the Ford Trucks Red, White & Blue Polo & Balloon Festival, but it didn't dampen the spirit of some festival-goers.
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On Friday, the first day of the festival, spectators, bundled up in jackets and scarves, turned out at Fantasy Springs Resort Casino for the first scheduled balloon launch.

It was the only day the weather cooperated. Two other planned launches - on Saturday and Sunday morning - had to be canceled.

Most of the balloons were able to take flight on this cool, slightly breezy day, including Noah's Ark, Humpty Dumpty, a pirate in a barrel and a big yellow fish with red lips.

Some of the larger, special shape balloons - including the 166-foot Energizer Bunny balloon, which stands 15 feet taller than the Statue of Liberty - were inflated but remained grounded.

"We're not sure what the winds are going to do," said Energizer Bunny pilot Glo Kehoe.

Kehoe is one of only six women in the U.S. who make their career as full-time, professional, corporate, hot air balloon pilots.

Justin Wolman, 8, said the big bunny balloon was one of his favorites. He launched into an impromptu imitation of the familiar Energizer commercials. He just kept going and going

Justin and twin brother Ben Wolman, visiting from Pacific Palisades on winter break, were enjoying the festival with their grandparents, Jerry and Lois Heisler of Palm Desert.

"It's just spectacular," Justin said of his experience at his first-ever balloon festival.

Ben said he enjoyed the animal-shaped balloons the best.

"The chipmunk, the dragon, Noah's Ark and the tree with the parrots," said Ben, listing his favorites.

The Heislers were looking for something to entertain their grandsons, they said.

"How often do you see such a thing," said Lois Heisler. "I thought it would be exciting for them to see."

Strip Festival Again!

2008-01-03T13:28:00.000+02:00

The Red, White and Blue Polo and Balloon Festival takes flight

Judith Salkin • Desert Post Weekly • January 3, 2008

If Mother Nature is in a cooperative mood this weekend, the skies above Indio will be filled with hot air - balloons, that is.
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Tony the Tiger looks "Grrrreat!" floating in mid-air, the Energizer Bunny with its 98 EEEEE running shoes, Aeronut the gigundo squirrel, the United Van Lines truck that's big enough to move the Empire State Building, and a pirate that could easily blow Jack Sparrow right off the deck of the Black Pearl. These and dozens of other balloons will fill the skies of the east end of the Coachella Valley.

The 17 speciality balloons are part of the Ford Trucks Red, White & Blue Polo and Balloon Festival at the Eldorado Polo Grounds and Fantasy Springs Resort Casino.

"The way it works this year, you start out at the field next to the casino on Friday afternoon," says Randy Russell, owner of Polo America and the organizer of the weekend event. "The balloons take off in the morning at the casino, then you move to the polo grounds for the games and mid-afternoon it's back to the casino for entertainment and the balloon glow."
Winds of fortune

For Russell, the one thing he's fervently hoping is that Mother Nature is in a better mood than she was last year.

"Those high winds aren't safe for the balloons," he says from his Indio office. "We felt really bad last year, it was a 'worse case scenario;' hopefully that won't happen this year."

According to the weather forecast from late last week, the temps will be slightly higher than the previous weekend with good ballooning winds.

Good flying weather, Russell hopes, will also turn into lots of donations for the families of the Marines from the Air Ground Combat Center in Twentynine Palms.

A donation of $10 is suggested for admission to the event, "but there are young families who can't afford more than a buck or two; we don't turn anyone away."

All the money collected is used to help the soldiers, Russell says.

"Over the past couple of years the money we've raised has made a difference," Russell says. "The stories of the people we've helped, and it hasn't been tremendous sums, are really touching."

From house payments for the family of a Marine "now on the road to recovery" from wounds received in Iraq, to a paying for the return of a soldier's body for burial, "They're all stories that touch your heart," he says.

Russell is also grateful for the young Marines who come down as volunteers. "I've heard their sergeant tell them (the young Marines), 'We fight so that people can come out and enjoy an event like this one and the people do appreciate what we do'," Russell says. "The people who attend are all really generous; everyone gives what they can."
Riding high

Glo Kehoe pilots the Energizer Bunny, while Roy Caton is the man behind the United Van Line truck balloon.

Both Kehoe and Caton are pros who make their living flying corporate balloons in events like the Ford Trucks festival this weekend. It's a profession neither would give up for a desk job even though it means being on the road (Caton racks up up to 45,000 miles a year crisscrossing the country) most of the time.

"When I'm not traveling, I'm filling out applications and certifications for upcoming events," says Kehoe, whose balloon is based in St. Louis while she actually lives in Albuquerque, N.M.

Caton is also based in St. Louis, and lives in the area too.

"It's pretty much the center of the county and that makes it easier for me," he says.
Big bunny

When he's inflated with hot air, the Energizer Bunny is 166 feet tall. Flying him is the easy part.

"You need a lot of room to land a balloon with size 98 EEEEE shoes," Kehoe says with a laugh.

On a standard hot air balloon, the air bag, basket, burners and gondola generally weight somewhere between 350-450 pounds, Caton says.

Because of their size, the speciality balloons can weigh considerably more. "The bunny weighs nearly 1,200 pounds," Kehoe says. "You need a pretty large spot to land a balloon that's as big as a 16-story building."

"The preparation's not all that glamorous," says Kehoe, who has been working and flying balloons for 25 years. "But the flying time is what you live for. It's really pretty amazing being up in the air in a balloon."

From the Indio, both Caton and Kehoe will follow Russell to his next balloon event in Las Vegas.

"I love Randy's events," Kehoe says. "They're really well organized and this one especially because of where the money goes."
More than hot air

In addition to the morning balloons flights and the evening balloon glows, there's also the polo matches at the Eldorado Polo Grounds and live entertainment and vendor's village at the Fantasy Springs Casino site.

While Sunday's polo match is pretty straight forward, Saturday's may be a bit more revealing.

"It's a strip polo game," Russell says. Boys against the girls, when one team scores the other strips.

"The first time I saw it was in South Carolina in September," he recalls. "It was pretty funny."

Some of the guys have said they're planning on loading up on clothing.

But how far will they strip down? "I'm not telling," Russell says mischievously. "You'll have to come out and watch."

To close out the three-day event, there's a red-white-and-blue fireworks display at 6:15 p.m. on Sunday.

"Fireworks are patriotic," Russell says. "It's another way for us to say thank you to our troops and all they do for us."

Sydney Couple Flying High

2008-01-02T18:11:00.000+02:00

By Chico Harlan

January 03, 2008 12:00am

HEATHER Swan and Glenn Singleman own these things called wingsuits, which means that - at least in many eyes - they no longer own this thing called sanity.

A wingsuit, for the uninitiated, allows its wearer to cheat nature. Jumping from a cliff or a balloon or a plane while wearing a wingsuit, as Swan and Singleman often do, turns the human form into a flying missile of flesh.

Eons of instinct paint this as a decidedly poor idea. But Swan, 45, and Singleman, 49, a husband-and-wife team of Sydney adventurers, live on the frontier where instinct ought to be battled, not obeyed.

Together, they've hiked 6500m mountains and jumped off of them. They've performed hundreds of skydives and BASE jumps. They've sought fear so many times that now they no longer abide by its rules.

Many call wingsuit flying the forefront of human adventure sports, so Swan and Singleman decided to plan a flight unlike any before it.

In June, if all goes to plan, Swan and Singleman will journey to Alice Springs in the Northern Territory, strap on their wingsuits, rise 11,900m in a hot air balloon and jump.

They hope to soar some 30km in roughly six minutes, which would obliterate by almost 10km the current world record for wingsuit distance.

A willing human can set the distance record in Australia, Singleman believes, because of the powerful jet stream that whips at high altitudes across the outback.

"Our sport is like a gravity-powered glider sport,'' Singleman said. "You need height to get distance, but it helps to also have a really good tailwind. We happen to have the best in the world right over the centre of Australia. It's very consistent. It's thick. It roars.''

So here's the gruesome computation: If Swan and Singleman, with the help of their support team, can rise to 11,900m, the ensuing jump would combine the predicted wind speed (200km/h) with their natural wingsuit speed (220km/h), meaning that this tandem - one a mother of two, the other a still-practising doctor - will hurtle through the atmosphere at more than 400km/h, protected only by several thermal layers (to guard against the -50C temperatures), miniature oxygen tanks (to guard against hypoxia) and the $1700 customised suits, composed of 300 individual Gore-Tex-like panels.

Already, Swan and Singleman have laid much of the groundwork. They've researched weather patterns, arranged for the balloon and organised the GPS systems and a film crew. They've performed a trial run from 7010m. Singleman submitted an operational manual to the Civil Aviation Safety Authority.

They've performed physical training to strengthen their arms and shoulders - necessary to support the wingsuit at such speeds. Months, if not years, of preparation and red tape prevent such a record chase from being spontaneous.

You first have to think about dangers so often that your knowledge of them becomes almost clinical. It's an awareness that turns fear into readiness.

"The reason others say it's crazy is because they're scared,'' Singleman said. "But the reason Heather and I do this is that we want to discover what's possible when you overcome your fears. OK, you're scared - for lots of people, that's where the story of their life ends.

"Whereas Heather and I understand fear as a survival mechanism that helps us achieve incredible possibilities. We've found that the benefit of doing all this adventure stuff is that you can control these fears.

"We don't let fear stop us. I find that incredibly liberating. I find that intoxicating, in fact.''

Singleman started seeking adrenalin and adventure in the mid-1980s, long before he met Swan. He became proficient, and then an expert. In 1992 he jumped 6100m with a parachute from the Great Trango Tower in Pakistan, the basis of a documentary.

Three years later, when Singleman spoke to a corporate audience about adventure and risk, one particular listener, his future wife, felt captivated. "I'd never seen that kind of audience gobsmacked before,'' said Swan, who introduced herself after the presentation.

"But it had a profound impact on me. If it's possible for somebody to do something like that - it was such an outrageous thing: to climb a cliff and chuck yourself off - then hey, maybe our minds are a lot more powerful than most people give it credit for.''

Swan first became Singleman's speaking manager. Then she became his wife. Though she lacked a background in extreme sports, the couple found a natural harmony.

They talked Buddhist philosophy and meditated and shared vegetarian diets. Meanwhile, Swan crammed a career of adventure-seeking into just a few years, becoming her husband's able partner.

Five years ago, with wingsuits only in their infancy, Singleman and Swan caught on. Now, about 1000 across the world fly with such contraptions; most have used skydiving or BASE jumping as their gateway.

Until the 1990s, wing-aided human flying was almost non-existent, in large part because almost all those curious about the pursuit died while trying. In an information packet Swan and Singleman have compiled about their record attempt, they address the pathway of tragedies.

American Clem Sohn died in 1938 after jumping from a plane while wearing wings with a skeletal base of steel. His parachute failed to open and he hit the ground - in front of 100,000 spectators _ at 2000ft/min. A parachutist who later tried to copy Sohn died on his first try.

Swan and Singleman face updated, but still extreme, dangers.

"We cannot have any flesh exposed,'' Singleman said. "At that altitude we'd freeze within 20 seconds. And hypoxia, low oxygen. That's the real danger. If we were disconnected from our oxygen supply, we've got about 30 seconds of useful consciousness. After that, you're impaired.''

Swan said that fear comes from the unknown. Study erases the unknown.

And wings are the ultimate antidote for fear because they enable the one sensation that - until now - we've never been able to know.

Remote controlled balloon lands on roof

2007-12-31T11:17:00.000+02:00

Remote controlled balloon lands on roof
By Paul Broome

FIREFIGHTERS were called to a Ledbury house today after a remote controlled hot-air balloon landed on its roof.

Crews were initially called from Hereford around 3pm this afternoon after reports of the balloon being on fire.

It was seen floating from the city and over Haugh Woods, near Fownhope.
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The balloon then drifted as far as Ledbury where it came down on a property in Woodleigh Road.

Ledbury watch manager Keith Wilding later said the balloon had not been alight

Fire crews used an aerial ladder platform to bring the item down, before leaving the address shortly before 5.30pm.

Balloon from Thomson Elementary travels 1,000 miles

2007-12-29T15:18:00.000+02:00

Balloon from Thomson Elementary travels 1,000 miles

By Lynn Davidson
Staff Writer

It was Shakespeare who asked "What's in a name?" And for one Thomson Elementary student, the answer is mileage. A lot of mileage. One thousand miles, give or take a few.

McDuffie Mirror

Kayla Thomas shows the items sent from a student who found her balloon in New Hampshire.

Click photo for larger image

In October, third-grader Kayla Thomas wrote her name and school on a piece of paper and tied it to a balloon before launching it into the sky as part of a 21st Century After School balloon release project.

Last week, Kayla received a letter from 15-year-old Sara Frost, who said she found the balloon in her backyard in South Hampton, NH. Sara said she took the balloon to show her classmates at Cotting School, a special education day school in Lexington, Mass.

"When I saw the letter in my box, I said 'It can't be. Not all the way from Massachusetts.' But it was," said Barbara Johnson, the 21st Century director at Thomson Elementary.

Sara's letter included a photo of her holding the deflated orange balloon alongside seven of her classmates. In her letter, she asked many questions inquiring when the balloon was released, the type of weather on that day, where other balloons had landed, and what the class liked about the project.

Kayla said Ms. Johnson entered the two addresses in Mapquest, and estimated the balloon traveled 1,063 land miles. A similar inquiry on Google Earth estimated the length of travel was 900 miles through the air.

In her reply to the letter, she said the balloon release day was "warm and calm."

"I liked it when they went up into the clouds," Kayla said in an interview at school.

In her response to Sara, she said, "The best thing about this project was getting a letter from so far away."

Kayla received a lot of attention over her letter, both at school and at home. The envelope now shows a lot of wear and tear, as she has kept it with her so much, and enjoyed showing it off. She said her father, AndrÃ¨, was "real excited about it." Kayla said she likes to go off with her father, usually to Augusta. The farthest she has ever traveled is to Florida, where she goes every summer to visit family and enjoy the beach.

Kayla said she has no idea where New Hampshire is, or what it's like. But Ms. Johnson said she has plans to use Kayla's letter for a geography lesson when they return back to school from the holiday break.

In the meantime, Kayla had to work on her reply letter to Sara and the other students at Cotting. It seems all the attention she received had one disadvantage.

"I don't like it that it's making my teacher give me all these extra questions," Kayla said.

The 8-year-old has more important things in mind to do during 21st Century, like "going outside to play on Fridays, or watching Garfield and Sponge Bob movies. Those are my favorite things," she said. "And walking my dog. I like to walk my dog. She tries to chase other dogs, and she pulls me down the road."

And one day, Kayla plans to go up the road, all the way to New Hampshire. She said she'd like to visit one day, so she can see in person how far her balloon went.

Should you want to police that balloon meet...

2007-12-28T15:34:00.000+02:00

Heres the web url http://www.eldoradopolo.com/ looks like its all being done for a good cause!!

Starting at 1200 is a bit daring though no doubt that afternoon will turn into quite an evening.

G

Helium use rises

2007-12-28T15:33:00.001+02:00

THU., DEC 27, 2007 - 1:26 PM
Helium shortage to affect U.S. Bank Eve
DEBORAH ZIFF
608-252-6234
dziff@madison.com

Families who celebrate New Year 's Eve at the citywide party put on by U.S. Bank won 't get helium balloons when they walk in the door, as in past years.

That 's because a worldwide helium shortage has deflated supplies for balloons.

Helium may be the second-most common element in the universe, but supply is not meeting demand. Producers of helium, which is extracted from natural gas, are limited and new sources have not come online as quickly as needed.

It might seem a light topic. We usually think of helium for filling party balloons, or our lungs in order to create that Alvin and the Chipmunks sound.

But helium also powers industry and science: It is used to make medical MRIs, liquid crystal display screens, as a shielding gas in welding and manufacturing, and more.

Helium for balloons is a very small percentage of the helium used in the world, but it is also possibly the most expendable.

"Of all of the uses of helium, from medical to scientific to industrial, balloon helium comes down on the lower end, " said Jim Ely, vice president of Communications at Airgas, a U.S. distributor of industrial, medical and specialty gases.

That 's why party planners and suppliers may be feeling the blow most.

In the past, 1,000 to 1,300 helium balloons were distributed at U.S. Bank Eve. But the event 's supplier, A to Z RentAll, has stopped selling helium.

"Very few people can get the stuff, " said Todd Jordan, of A to Z RentAll, 2209 S. Stoughton Road.

U.S. Bank Eve will still feature a giant balloon drop with about 2,000 balloons at 7:30 p.m. for a "kiddie countdown " to the new year because those balloons don 't require helium.

Party City, 223 Junction Road, had to stop renting helium tanks because of the shortage, although it started up again about six weeks ago.

The short supply is also affecting prices. Airgas increased prices on helium by 20 to 30 percent, as of Dec. 1.

Mike Keeney, owner of Airigami Balloon Creations, based in Madison, said helium prices have tripled in the past year-and-a-half. The company, which creates displays as well as supplying some helium, sells a tank that fills about 500 standard-sized balloons for $150 to $175, up from $75.

He 's had to pass some of the price increase on to customers but tries to avoid using helium when possible by being creative, for instance, in making balloon arches.

Other balloon decorating companies are so desperate for helium they 're buying it from Airigami, Keeney said.

"That 's a little like Ford calling up Chevy and saying we can 't get tires, " he said.

Some companies have apparently gotten through the shortage unscathed. George 's Flowers, 421 S. Park St., does a light balloon business as part of arrangements and bouquets.

"We haven 't heard anything about a shortage, " said Erica Teela, a designer.

Balloon festival will feature strip polo game

2007-12-27T08:35:00.000+02:00

In no way does this seem like behaviour that hot air balloon pilots and crew would engage in!! Honest. Seems like the meet to be at next year, I wonder if over at the Icicle Meet which will be happening at about the same time in the UK they will consider such things ;-)

The Red, White and Blue Polo and Balloon Festival, taking place Jan 4-6 at Eldorado Polo Club and Fantasy Springs Resort Casino in Indio, will launch a new feature at this year's event: 'Battle of the Sexes Strip Polo Game.'

The competition, between a men's and women's team, will be held at noon on Saturday, Jan. 5 at the Eldorado Polo Club.

When a member of one team makes a goal, members of the other team have to remove a piece of clothing, until ...

How far down will the teams strip?

"You'll just have to come out and see for yourself," said Randy Russell, president of Polo America and festival organizer.

Balloon ride too short

2007-12-27T08:22:00.001+02:00

Its those crazy Mangalorians again, they just can't get enough of that balloon!! Mangalore is such an exotic sounding name though. I for one would love to go and try and fly a balloon there. The interweb and Google earth really shrinks things. (no don't send an email Barbara) How about an Aunty Monkey Mangalore Balloon meet. Its a little bit coastal though.

MANGALORE Dec 25: Most people who bought tickets for the hot air balloon ride clearly missed the fine print. It read: "Hot air balloon take off is subject to weather conditions and technical aspects".

While there were no technical hitches for the balloons to take off on schedule, weather conditions (read - upper winds) were not favourable. The organisers were not to be blamed. Some understood this and waited patiently for their turn. Others, who missed the fine print and were not willing to wait, sought a refund and got it. When their attention was drawn to the fine print, they just gave a sheepish grin. "They had told me that the balloon would take off at 4.45 p.m. But it is already 6 p.m. and I can not wait. I had come here for my son, Nandakishore," said Ganesh, a government official. "He is in tenth standard and we have other things to do," he added.
Disappointment

Disha, Deena, and Anolia, students of a private school, who had come for the ride in the morning, were disappointed that their ride was short as the balloon did not go up the distance. "We could see the ground clearly," they said.

But they got a compensatory ride in the evening when the wind steadied and allowed the organisers to inflate the balloon. "It was quite hot in there," they said while alighting from the basket. A few people, who took the ride during the day with the wind going their way, said the ride was exciting.

But their grouse was that it was too brief. "We could see the sea and a part of the city from a height," said one of them.

The organisers, on their part, had tethered the balloon to ensure that it did not fly off the Nehru Maidans boundary.

The more enthusiastic people tried at para-sailing as they waited for the balloon ride to start. Neha Benita, a sixth standard student of K.V. Mangalore Number 2 and a swimmer, said: "My grandmother goaded me and I was also interested".

She said she was not scared but excited. "It was nothing special. I could see the ground and the people below," she added.

Hindu

Christmas Ahhhh factor

2007-12-27T08:19:00.000+02:00

Child's note to Santa sent by balloon brings cheer in McNeal

Mary A. Fabiny holds a balloon and note to Santa she found in her driveway in Cochise County recently. (JONATHON SHACAT/Wick Communications)

By Jonathon Shacat/Wick Communications

Published: Wednesday, December 26, 2007 11:06 AM CST

MCNEAL - A child who recently sent a wish list to Santa has brightened the lives of some people in the area.

Mary A. Fabiny found a green balloon clinging to the branch of a bush along her driveway in an isolated part of Cochise County on Dec. 12.

A rolled-up piece of paper was attached to the balloon's ribbon. The letter, which is written in Spanish, starts off with "Hola Santa." The child asks him to bring a PlayStation video game system for Christmas. The note is not signed.

Fabiny lives 12 miles from McNeal, just south of Davis Road and west of Frontier Road. She is surprised the balloon landed where it did. "I have 80 acres of mesquite, so there is nothing but mesquite around here," she said.

At first, she suspected someone had put the balloon there on purpose. She looked for footprints and asked her neighbors, but nobody seemed to know anything about it.

Fabiny finds it interesting that Dec. 12 - the date she found the balloon - was the feast day for Our Lady of Guadalupe. The Virgin of Guadalupe is Mexico's most beloved religious and cultural image. The icon depicts an apparition of the Virgin Mary.

"I keep passing this story on and it makes a spark in people and it goes from there," she said. "The more I tell the story, the happier I get. It has opened doors for me. I've had the best week for a long time."

She would like to find the child who wrote the letter so she could arrange to give the gift to him or her.

"Some people say, 'Let's tie little gifts to green balloons and send them back across the border,' " she added.

Sierra Vista Herald/Bisbee Daily Review Reporter Jonathon Shacat can be reached at (520) 515-4693 or by e-mail at jonathon.shacat@bisbeereview.net.

Lawn chair balloonist looks back to the skies

2007-12-27T08:15:00.000+02:00

Is it just me but with his name, should he not be trying for a larger seat??

By Sheila G. Miller / The Bulletin

Published: December 26. 2007 5:00AM PST

In July, Bend resident Kent Couch made headlines around the world when he climbed into a lawn chair attached to dozens of helium balloons and floated nearly to Idaho.

“I still get about an e-mail a day about that,” Couch said.

After his story appeared in The Bulletin, The Associated Press picked it up and it appeared in newspapers worldwide. The event set off a whirlwind of media appearances, and Couch, 47, was written up in such magazines as National Geographic and New York Magazine.

Now, at the close of 2007, everything is pretty much back to normal. Couch is busy with a new business venture and is remodeling his gas station at U.S. Highway 20 and Northeast 27th Street in Bend.

He’s also making plans to fly again.

Couch wants to travel to Australia this summer to do a balloon chair trip. That is, after all, the setting of the Indie hit film “Danny Deckchair,” about a man who does something mighty similar to Couch’s trip across Oregon. The film was inspired by California’s Larry Walters, who floated in a lawn chair in 1982. Couch saw a piece on Walters’ trip on the Discovery Channel’s “Mythbusters” and was inspired to try it himself.

Looking for sponsors

Right now, Couch is working on securing a sponsorship that will help him pay for the trip. If he can’t get the money pulled together, he’ll take off again in July, right here in Central Oregon. He’s also been invited to do a flight from a casino in Las Vegas. Originally, Couch said he wouldn’t fly by chair again unless his wife, Susan, gave him the go-ahead.

“She said alright, you can do it as long as you take me to Australia,” he said. “So we’re going to do it this summer.”

Susan had plenty of reason to be nervous when Couch started preparing for his famous flight. The journey started at 5 a.m. July 8, and continued for nearly nine hours. Couch outfitted a large, green lawn chair with a video camera and a GPS tracking device. He hooked dozens of large helium balloons to the chair and weighed it down with bags of water that were used as ballast. When Couch needed to get higher in the air, he poured out water.

Couch traveled 193 miles and got as high as 13,000 feet before setting down in a farm field near North Powder, a few miles from La Grande.

Many of his family members and friends followed his progress in an RV and a truck, and Couch stayed in touch with them by cell phone and two-way radio, sending them GPS coordinates so they’d know where he was. Much of the time, Couch was visible on the horizon, a multicolor speck on the landscape.

By the end of his trip, Couch had run low on water in the ballast. He struggled to land, losing his chair and all of the supplies he had on it, including a video camera and his cell phone. These are things he’d like to improve on when he flies again.

Wherever he makes his next flight from, he’s got some plans.

“Every time I go, I learn how to make it more successful,” Couch said. “I’ve got to leave earlier, at daybreak, when it’s just getting light. And I have to prepare to sit longer.”

He will also carry more water for the ballast, which was the reason he failed to make it to his goal of Idaho last time.

E-mails keep coming

Since he made news in July, Couch has gotten plenty of e-mail from people interested in learning about cluster-balloon flights. He gives them a bit of advice but not too much, because he doesn’t want to be held responsible if the flights go bad.

This summer, Couch expects to see some copycats here in Central Oregon, since he’s received some correspondence from people interested in the flights. Two in particular seem ready to go, but Couch is nervous for them. He had years of training for the flight, including knowing how to sky-dive and parachute.

“I expect them to do it, but neither of them has showed that they were prepared,” he said. “They don’t want to learn to sky-dive, which is pretty important.”

It’s dangerous to fly, but Couch thinks of it as a calculated risk.

Shortly after returning from his media tour, Couch did a presentation for the local chapter of the Oregon Pilots Association. They were interested in his story, but most said they would never attempt what he’d done.

“They think theirs is safer,” Couch said. “I really think mine is safer.”

The price of fame

While Couch enjoyed the traveling he got to do for his media tour, the fame has gotten a little embarrassing.

“The worst part is when you go to buy something and they look at your credit card and say, ‘Hey, you’re the balloon guy!’” he said. “It’s not so much the recognizing, that’s kind of fun to share the story ... it’s that going into the hardware store, or the groups I’m in, every time I see them they make balloon jokes.”

But he did learn something from all the attention. Couch appeared on CNN, “Inside Edition,” “Good Morning America,” “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno” and a Fox Family network show, among others. The people, he said, were nice and friendly.

“They all were just like me and you, they treated me nicely,” he said. “I could tell they put their pants on the same as we do.”

His story captured imaginations all over the world, and it will continue to, since a story about Couch’s adventure was recently featured in the Weekly Reader, a magazine that helps kids learn to read.

Kids write letters

“Schoolteachers sometimes write me and ask me to respond, and kids will write letters to me and I respond,” he said. “That’s the fun part.”

He’s going to be featured on “Ripley’s Believe it or Not” television show, and in a book about normal people doing abnormal things. Now that Couch has a chance to look back on the frenzy, he’s happy with the way it went.

“I liked it in the end,” he said. “But at first I was like, ‘Holy smokes.’”

Susan thinks he’s handled the fame well.

“I think it’s a two-way street. I think there’s been times he’s thought, ‘Not again, not more attention.’ But I think he loves telling the story,” she said. “We find him telling the story more often than not.”

But Susan’s going to do her best to keep Couch from getting caught up in all the attention again.

“For Christmas I got him an anchor, so he can stay grounded.”

Sheila G. Miller can be reached at 617-7831 or at smiller@bendbulletin.com.

Merry Christmas

2007-12-24T17:23:00.000+02:00

Well I have just realised having looked at the Norad Tracking of Santa

http://www.noradsanta.org/en/home.htm

That I am a little behind in sending these wishes for a large part of the planet.

But all my mates in Oz know I'm always a little behind.

To you all and especially your children have a great and safe day.

Soft Landings

Gary Mortimer

PS Don't forget to click that tracking link, its great!!

Sean and Phil in Sydney Hobart Yacht race.

2007-12-24T17:19:00.000+02:00

Phil and Sean from Kavanagh Balloons should be getting feet wet soon, try the links below to follow them, I received the following email...

Both Sean and I are in the race this year and our yacht name is Namadgi, Bavaria 44, Sail #6388, competitor # 48. Our class is PHS (performance handicap system). Sean has put some details up on our web site in the "news" section and this has various links which will help you watch the race as it progresses. www.kavanaghballoons.com.au

Each yacht carries a GPS tracker and this gives speed, direction and position reports every ten minutes and this information is updated in real time on the Rolex Sydney-Hobart web site, http://rolexsydneyhobart.com/default.asp

If you watch the start of the race on television, our yacht has a yellow oval on the mainsail with black printing, "TITLEY RDF". Also, in the unlikely event of a spinnaker run down the harbour, (weather makes it look unlikely at the moment), look for the Kavanagh Balloons yellow spinnaker. A photo of this spinnaker is also in the news section of our web site.

I hope you have as much fun watching as we hope to have sailing the course.

Mangaloreans to get a taste of hot air balloon ride

2007-12-23T08:19:00.000+02:00

Full story, here... http://mangalorean.com/news.php?newstype=broadcast&broadcastid=61651

Mangaloreans to get a taste of hot air balloon ride

Mangalore: This coastal city will see and experience the thrill of hot air balloons. Thanks to the organizers of the Karavali Utsav 2007-08 the ride however will be for few chosen people who will be able to pay as much as 500 rupees per a 20 minutes ride. The 77,000 cubic feet hot air balloon has been brought from Delhi specially for the Karavali Utsav and apart from giving rides to the people, few dare devil para gliders will jump from the hot air balloon and give spectacular show of para gliding during one of the days of the 45 day long Karavali Utsav.

However the tickets appear to be in short supply and people were queuing up for buying that. A local ad agency Nisarga Publicity has been endowed with the right of issuing tickets and the officials of the company say that there was an overwhelming response to the balloon ride and the organising committee was in good mind to extend the duration of the availability of the balloon ride by another fifteen days and also increase the number of rides per day. The balloon has a diameter of 160 feet. The organisers have also decided to send only one balloon up at a time carrying not more than 7 people.

According to the officials of the Karavali Utsav three children from each government schools in the district will get to ride the balloon. Heads of government schools in the city can nominate three students from their schools for the ride.

Balloon grounded in Mangalore!!!

2007-12-22T12:06:00.000+02:00

Hot-air balloon refuses to go up
Saturday December 22 2007 10:05 IST

MANGALORE: Hot-air balloon show, touted as the highlight of Karavali Utsav, remained grounded through-out the trial show dampening enthusiasm of hundreds of spectators at Nehru Maidan on Friday.

A trial run of hot air balloon for selected invitees including mediapersons also attracted hundreds of people from all age groups. The hotair balloon with a diameter of 160 feet was the cynosure of attention as event organisers began their efforts to get the balloon soaring like a bird in the air.

Much as they tried, the hot-air balloon remained grounded and every strategy in the book to get the balloon afloat came to a naught.

Frustrated event organisers, finally called off the show and hundreds of spectartors resumed their ways with disappointment writ large on their faces. With the trial run landing in a thud, an uncertanity hangs over the formal inauguration of the show on Saturday.

Looking for work

2007-12-19T09:19:00.001+02:00

I get quite a few people emailing me looking for work, I don't have any vacancys but maybe somebody out there does, from here on in I shall start posting them. I was also thinking about adding a for sale thread.

Gary...

My name is Antonio Lo Franco

I am writing in response to the vacancy for The ground crew position

for your consideration.

I would welcome the opportunity to utilise the knowledge and experience I have gained from my job as hot air balloons Pilot and through my responsibilities

. My work experience over the past few years in this job in Italy has reaffirmed my interest in this sports ground of work and helped me to develop an ability to work and knowledge with enthusiasm.

During the last four years at owner and pilot hot air balloons me to develop my leadership skills and increased my awareness of the dynamics of small and medium-sized businesses.

A year abroad, and my extensive travelling experiences, have offered me opportunities to adapt to new environments. I have learned how important it is to be flexible and make use of my own resources.

I ‘m excellent physical fitness and strength,
a cheerful personality, responsible driving skills, the ability to live
with others, and a neat, clean-cut appearance. I’m fluency working knowledge and spoken Italian, English a bit French

I’m
resident in EU
* my weight is 68 kg I have * Completely clean driving record
I’ve 10 years driving experience

I am available for interview at any time in the coming weeks, and am available for work from the end of December. I look forward to hearing from you.

Yours sincerely,

Antonio Lo Franco

www.mediaballoons.com

Dick Rutan makes forced landing.

2007-12-19T09:10:00.001+02:00

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Dick Rutan, the daredevil pilot who completed the first nonstop, unrefueled flight around the world, made an emergency landing after reporting engine trouble on his plane while flying to a memorial service for a friend.
Rutan was flying solo from Mojave to Palm Springs, California, when his Cessna 150M had engine trouble, forcing him to land safely on a small road in the desert city of Victorville around 9:30 a.m. Tuesday.
Rutan said he walked away without a scratch.
«I got a healthy shot of adrenaline,» he told The Associated Press by telephone from his home in Lancaster, California.
The Federal Aviation Administration said it was investigating the emergency landing. Rutan said that shortly after takeoff, the cylinders in the single engine blew.
«It was sudden, catastrophic and inexplicable,» Rutan said. «The engine was totally destroyed.
Fortunately, he was flying below 1,000 feet (300 meters). He said he managed to land about eight miles (13 kilometers) from the Victorville Airport.
«This was a major incident. If I had been over the clouds and had to land on a mountain, my chance of surviving would probably be zero,» Rutan said.
Rutan said he missed the service for Robert Pond, the founder of the Palm Springs Air Museum.

Rutan made aviation history in 1986 when he and Jeana Yeager completed their round-the-world flight in nine days in the experimental airplane Voyager, which was designed by his brother Burt Rutan. The flight never stopped for refueling.
Before working as a test pilot, Rutan served in the U.S. Air Force and flew 325 combat missions in Vietnam. He was shot down by enemy fire during one of those missions, forcing him to eject from a burning F-100. He evaded capture and was later rescued.
Rutan later sought to break other aviation record by attempting to float around the world on a balloon without stopping. He missed that goal in January 1998 when a helium cell on the Global Hilton balloon ruptured, and Rutan and his co-pilot Dave Melton had to parachute out.
He had another near miss in May 2000 when a plane he was in landed on thin ice and sank on the North Pole. Rutan and several others abandoned the plane and were left stranded in the cold for more than a dozen hours before being rescued.

Another missing Blimp!!!! Keep a look out around Burnley.

2007-12-19T09:07:00.001+02:00

Burnley FC blimp appears on eBay in suspected hoax

By Samrana Hussain

Comment | Read Comments (9)

AN INVESTIGATION has been launched into an eBay advert which claims to be selling the missing Burnley Football club blimp.

Police have asked eBay to remove the advert selling the airship-style balloon after offensive comments were left on the web page.

But they believe the eBay advert, which shows a picture of an airship style balloon in front of Turf Moor and a bid of £800,100, to be a hoax.

championship match against QPR, is not genuine.

Burnley Football Club said they had not received any confirmed sightings of the blimp since vandals cut it free last week.

The reward of four VIP match day corporate tickets for a forthcoming game, still stands for the safe return of the balloon, which can be clearly identified by the club crest and branding.

Experts said the 20-foot, helium-filled balloon known as a blimp, used for the first time before last Tuesday's match against QPR, may have travelled as far as Scotland.

The blimp, which was only bought for a four-figure sum a few weeks ago to promote match days, was last seen heading eastwards.

But the Met Office said that south-easterly winds would have propelled the balloon in a north-westerly direction.

The club alerted air traffic control over the incident and the matter has been reported to the police.

Footage from CCTV cameras, which sweep the car park where the balloon was tethered, did not capture the incident.

A spokesperson for the club said: "We have not yet received any confirmed sightings of the blimp, but the reward still stands and we would love to hear from any genuine sightings on 01282 704701."

A police spokesperson said: "There is an investigation into the incident.

"The advert does look like it has been doctored.

"We have notified eBay and asked them to remove it because of the offensive comments on there."

Russian Balloon Flight over a lake I think....

2007-12-17T08:04:00.001+02:00

If you get through this lot I think the bottom line is that they flew over a lake!!

Unique flight through Baikal by a balloon
Leo Gav
I investigating cases of extra sensory, including cryptophysics, the abnormal phenomena and others boundary and breakthrough directions. I am 10 years expert of the UFO phenomen with lab examining UFO land points with physics laboratory equipment.
My experience started in 1996 then our group examine Perm Anomalous Zone(M-Zone). And after that almost 10 years expert of the UFO phenomen with lab examining UFO land points with physics laboratory equipment.
Since that period I visit and examine most unexplained phenomena at territory of Europe and Asia, some of them:
1999, town of Kyshtym (Ural, Russia) in late 1990s. We found several artefacts.
2000, Nong Khai (Thailand), phenomen of water fireballs
1999, an expedition to the remote Labynkyr Lake (in Sakha (Yakutia) Republic).
2002–2003: expeditions to Brosno(Russia). Lake in Tver Oblast search were performed.
2004, expedition to Matmata region(Tunisia).
May-Jun 2003, Vitim event expedition(Siberia), Vitim River. Meteorite was found.
2005, Tuza pyramides of Egypt.
2006 Altai Meteorite dicovering. I provide equipment and information for this project. Meteorite, or cometa underearth blow-up was found.
2007 Attending to British program "Psychic challenge". Exploration of Lytkarino highway.
September 2007, Undewater expedition at fallen UFO place, several artefacts were found at 7 meters depth.
I locate zones of phenomena UFO, geopathogenic, geoactive, technogenic and natural character phenomen, do video shootin

Leo Gav
December 16, 2007
Travellers tried to cross time and again lake on ice - on foot, on skis, on the fads and even on dogs. But to fly over it on a sphere people have ventured for the first time.
On it some hours, but what were necessary for pilots Valentine Efremovu and Vladimir Isajchevu of all.
For the first time aeronauts have decided to cross lake Baikal over so-called "a Bermudas triangle". This idea has arisen at pilot Valentine Efremova right after conquest of the North Pole.
Valentine Efremov, the pilot-researcher: "I do not love simply so, somewhere in simple points to fly. It is interesting to me to fly in unusual points of the earth which represent something mysteriousness".
The first attempts to carry out flight through Baikal have been undertaken exactly 100 years ago - summer of 1907, an aeronautic battalion of Russian army. The group of pioneers, alas, was missing, then the Baikal zone has been named by abnormal.
After flight it became clear - to fly through Baikal it is unsafe. Since then some expeditions were missing. For last years 3 more international expeditions therefrom have not returned, and in 2005 for 40 kilometres from this place helicopter Mi-2 with employees of the Ministry of Emergency Measures onboard was wrecked. It has taken off on July, 13th from village Oek to liquidate some seats of forest fire. The helicopter has fallen in lake around cape Dug. Both pilots were lost.Eyewitnesses spoke about abnormal movement of air streams which did not allow to cross space over lake.
And here the inhabitant of Irkutsk - engineer-radio navigator Leonid Aminov became the trailblazer in 1996 in sky overcoming over lake. It has alone crossed Baikal across, having done a way to 180 kilometres.
However, it not unique anomalies which have been noticed here. Eyewitnesses observed strange things in area of "the Baikal triangle»: the shone spheres, sparkling concentric circles and sharp weather changes.
This year to solve a "triangle" riddle two Russian travellers - Valentine Efremov and Vladimir Isajchev have ventured. On September, 9th the balloon with researchers onboard will rise on height in 800 metres. If extreme-man it will be possible to issue necessary their names will bring in the Book of records Guinnes on overcoming of Baikal at height 5000 over Baikal.
Travellers have been adjusted exclusively on success. «At us very much wide experience, - traveller Valentine Efremov has told« ». - We are assured, that modern technologies and our general interest will help to solve and secret of Baikal. Eventually, to support us half-affairs» are ready very many, and it already.
The balloon «Sacred Russia» on which traveller Valentine Efremov and pilot-researcher Vladimir Isajchev will depart, has been equipped by the newest systems of navigation. The expedition course was watched by forces of air defence and the Ministry of Emergency Measures of Russia.
The commander of crew «Sacred Russia» - professional aeronaut Valentine Efremov - first-ever has reached the North Pole by a balloon and has made unique expedition to areas of Arctic regions in 2006.
Valentine Efremov, the traveller, interview before flight:
- We will depart over a zone which is a little studied. If five-hour expedition passes without negative consequences for our health, the science will receive the invaluable information, supervision and photos.
Support researchers really many. But trust in success of expedition far not all. «I think, that this research will not bring scientific fruits, because devices in« the Baikal triangle »do not work, and to fix the abnormal phenomena it will not be possible, - the space pilot, twice Hero of Soviet Union George Grechko has told« ». - But I in an amicable way envy such brave travellers. They do it for the sake of interest, instead of for the sake of a science».
"Our primary goal - this flight to pay attention of all public, that Baikal demands protection. Also it is thought to us, it should go right, as it is a sore problem. It disturbs all. And here that for the first time by a balloon flight will be made is in itself involves people in great Baikal", - Vladimir Isajchev has continued.
According to the researcher, the first attempts to carry out flight through Baikal were undertaken 100 years ago. The group of pioneers was missing. Then the lake zone has received reputation of the abnormal. Eyewitnesses observed strange things in area "Baikal triangle": the shone spheres, sparkling concentric circles and different weather cataclysms.
Present flight Åôðåìîâ and Isaichev have devoted not only to a memorial, their purpose - to draw to environmental problems of Baikal attention of the wide public.
"Too one of problems of our expedition would be, say, in this case, to systematise in more details these facts and to transfer them in more proved ôàêòîãðàôè÷åñêîì a kind to expert studying to the scientific organisations of the country", - Sergey Borodin, the expert in abnormal zones, the participant of expedition has told.
- I think, that it is necessary to address to gods who live there, - Valentine Efremov has told before travel. Is god Ulhery - the father of sons of all winds. We will make all traditional ceremonies which exist from time immemorial.
- Once I have heard stories of local residents about the local inexplicable phenomena and about losses of people. Here also has wanted to check up, whether jokes, - Valentine Efremov tells.
To overcome Baikal travellers have solved on a thermal balloon «Sacred Russia». For start were prepared thoroughly: have adjusted navigating devices, a radio communication. Have just in case taken a saving buoy which is inflated for few seconds.
It has appeared, knowingly. To Do without adventures to aeronauts it was not possible. On the middle of lake very unusual winds have started to pull out a balloon at once some. Yes so, that threw a basket here and there, and a sphere twisted a spiral.
- A wind «Áàðãóçèí», «Tama» and «Kultuk» have incorporated and have formed a turbulence zone, - Valentine Efremov explains. - They have tried to cast away us back, to the place of start, but we have risen above these air streams and have departed forward.
Of a balloon and nature antagonism attentively observed both from water, and from air. The high-speed boat followed directly under a balloon, and aside flight from the helicopter was watched closely by rescuers.
In total researchers have spent for extreme travel three hours. And then three more tried to find a place to land. As a result the sphere has failed on mountain top.
- We by miracle managed to survive, - admits the traveller. - we with Vladimir have got off easy bruises and scratches, and here the basket has broken, the sphere fabric has torn. But we could overcome «the Baikal triangle»!
The feat of Nijnii Novgorod citizen was fixed by the Russian representatives of the Book of records Guiness. Now they are made out all official papers and after that surnames will be brought in the new edition of the world book of achievements.
Rehearsal before flight. The balloon will help to define a wind direction. First two attempts are unsuccessful - the wind blows the opposite party from Baikal. Flight is postponed for some hours. Someone speaks about meteoconditions, someone about influence ïîòóñòîðîííèõ forces. As a part of expedition the expert in the abnormal phenomena Sergey Borodin. He wished to survey the Baikal geopathogenic zone which is on cape "Dug". It was not possible. Because of a wind rose start have transferred on cape "Zama".
Sergey Borodin, the expert in the abnormal phenomena: "There serious artefacts are found. Ancient history of 5-thousand prescription, so-called gorizintal an observatory. In behind an observatory obvious signs of geopathogenicity, those. Those places which negatively influence health of the person".
Last minutes before start - travellers stack things - tent, sleeping bags, meal. The landing place is precisely not known - everything, again òàêè, depends on a wind.
With themselves in flight travellers took an inflatable boat. In case of failure it will help them to hold on on water before arrival of a saving boat. It will accompany travellers throughout all way
Travellers accompany not only from water, but also from air. The helicopter, having overtaken aeronauts, waits for them on other coast of Baikal.
Together with the traveller onboard øàðïà "Sacred Russia" will be researcher Vladimir Isajchev. Expedition starts on September, 9th, have informed in the media centre "Russian industry". Specially for this flight the aeronautic device have equipped with the newest systems of navigation. Flight will supervise from the earth of force of air defence and the Ministry of Emergency Measures of Russia. For the first time about puzzles over Baikal it became known in 1907 when the aeronautic battalion of Russian army has made for the first time flight through the biggest in the world fresh lake.
Military men of imperial army have taken out the verdict: to fly over Baikal dangerously. To find out the danger nature some expeditions tried, some of which were missing. Come back surprised with stories about the shone spheres, sparkling concentric circles, "to loss in time" and abnormal movement of air streams which did not allow to cross space over lake.
To start from the western coast of Baikal "Sacred Russia" it was possible after almost five hours of expectation. However first minutes of travel spectators observing from the earth saw, that a sphere has incurred in other party, but aeronauts have risen still above and have found the necessary air stream which has incurred them over lake. After a while with "Sacred Russia" the radio communication was gone. However fears were not justified. Interventions of rescuers which supervised flight, it was not required.
Complexities at aeronauts were not only at start, but also at planting. In the planned point of finish in Buryatiya "Sacred Russia" could not land, it was necessary to search for other platform. By a recognition of travellers, in flight well-known Baikal a wind have strongly pulled about a sphere. After flight Åôðåìîâ and Èñàé÷åâ have been delivered to Irkutsk. Now for travellers wait in Nizhni Novgorod.
Sixty kilometres over lake travellers have flown by for two hours. But winds have incurred a sphere further, on the east, in the Siberian taiga. Communication with a balloon unexpectedly was gone. Some hours from travellers were not any messages. By calculations, gas in cylinders should already will end.
Aeronauts have landed on cape the Uhlan-burgasy, having flown by over a taiga superfluous fifty kilometres.
Valentine Efremov, the pilot-researcher: "On the middle winds there have gone down. Turbulent movement of all winds there has begun and thus it was necessary to us on even big height on five thousand metres".
Travellers managed to establish a record - they the first have crossed Baikal in the widest place by a balloon, at height of 5000 metres. But the secret of the Baikal Bermudas triangle and remained unsolved.
The latest incident has occurred in 2005 - the helicopter going on suppression of forest fires was wrecked: it has taken off on July, 13th from village Oek and has fallen in lake around peninsula Dug.
It is supposed, that abnormal air streams could become a cause of accident over lake of this helicopter Mi-2 in 2005.
The same to whom has had the luck to return, confirm: to cross air space over lake stir abnormal a wind. «Their streams incorporate and together form a turbulence zone which live it was possible to leave very much the little, - the senior scientific employee of laboratory of ecology of culture of the East of the Moscow State University Vladimir Anisimov has told« ». - besides in lake territory other-wordly levels of radiating activity» have been fixed.
However, it not unique anomalies which have been noticed here. Eyewitnesses observed strange things in area of "the Baikal triangle»: the shone spheres, sparkling concentric circles and sharp weather changes.
On the bank of lake there is the most ancient in the world an observatory - now it represents a wall in length 800 metres. Experts are assured: it has been constructed in X century BC to observe those surprising phenomena which occurred in the sky over lake.
«Long since Baikal was sacred lake of Buryats, shamans used its water in the medical purposes, - the researcher of the abnormal phenomena Vyacheslav Klimov has told. - anomalies which there was no time are fixed in reservoir territory, connected, first of all, with its geographical position. The Baikal water pool is a zone of a geological break».
Leonid Gavrilov, the head of international mobile laboratory "Kosmopoisk" makes comments
«We will wait for the report on ecological monitorings of Baikal, at me at most it is a lot of relatives in Irkutsk, me it of very interestingly, probably photo, or records of navigating devices can clear a situation with the Baikal zone. Flight at height of 5000 metres by a balloon over an abnormal zone is the most reliable, but also an unpredictable type of transport. 5000 metres it, of course, any more that place of measurements which can clear something, but certainly are an act which is reputable and attention. Presence of the Ministry of Emergency Measures, the Russian Academy of Sciences, and air defence services, simply example of imitation for researchers of a similar sort of the phenomena.
At preparation for flight we suggested to take our recorders which we use in abnormal zones. Smallest of them - in size with a battery for hours, also does not demand any service, he should be put in several places of a gondola. Unfortunately at participants was not, it is visible time, - they could not call back to us.
At us the small, pilotless catamaran, by the way, prepares for testing with very simple, reliable engine and a radio beacon for such surface researches. In Thailand, on lake of Fiery spheres «Bang Fai Naag», about city of Nong Êàé this year on October, 25th we wish it to test. The American boat with researchers last year there was gone and local people see the phenomena similar on Baikal ».
So, these qustions about Baikal AZ(anomaly zone) and Undetified Aerial Phenomens(UAP) there still have no answer now.

BSOK

2007-12-16T04:43:00.000+02:00

No I'm not swearing honest

And I quote........

"We're the Balloon Society of Kentucky and the BFA Convention is coming here in April, 2008!"

Have a look here if you don't believe me.

http://www.myspace.com/balloonsocietyofkentucky

We will keep an eye on this and hope that safety is high on the BFA Convention agenda this year.

In fact high on every balloon association agenda worldwide.

G

I'm looking out at drizzle with passengers driving many many miles to fly this morning. Remind me again why I do this!!!!

Mauritanie Aventure, balloon accident Mauritania

2007-12-15T15:33:00.000+02:00

Reuters report that a French travel company Mauritanie Aventure operated the balloons involved in the accident in Mauritania on either Thursday or Friday, depending on which source you read.

I also see reports of the balloons bursting in a sand storm, but obviously that needs to be taken with a big pinch of salt.

Camerons Fabric

2007-12-15T15:24:00.000+02:00

Shock horror......

Don must have been out of the room.....

http://ukcaving.com/board/index.php/topic,5340.msg74903.html#msg74903

You will have to read down a bit to realise what I am talking about.

Oh and to be fair they've kindly let me have a bag or two for kite making in the past ;-)

G

Tourists Die in Mountain Balloon Crash, Mauritania

2007-12-14T16:49:00.000+02:00

First reports coming in on this one right now..... I did'nt even know anyone did such things up there. If like me you were not entirely sure where in North Africa Mauritania was, heres a google map.

View Larger Map

You might remember Mauritania having a slightly happier recent ballooning past as it was over this country that Brian and Bertrand completed their epic round the world voyage.

Its Friday, lots of us will be going flying this weekend. Yet again I say...... be careful.

There is always another day to go flying.

As soon as I find out more I will post....

Tourists die in balloon crash14/12/2007 12:41 - (SA)

Nouakchott - Two French tourists were killed and four seriously injured on Thursday in Mauritania when the hot air balloons they were travelling in crashed, the official AMI news agency reported.
The French tourists were part of a group of 12 people travelling in two hot air balloons in the mountainous region around Atar, 400km northeast of the capital Nouakchott, when a strong sandstorm damaged their balloons, causing them to plummet, the agency reported.
After receiving emergency treatment in Atar, the injured were transported to the capital, it added.

Soaring Adventures of America

2007-12-14T08:31:00.000+02:00

Well done these chaps.

WILTON, Conn., Dec. 13 /PRNewswire/ -- This week FundraisingRides.org sold its 10,000th hot air balloon ride. The company, a division of Soaring Adventures of America, Inc., provides hot air balloon rides to non-profit organizations nationwide below cost on a consignment basis. The non-profit organizations use these hot air balloon rides as fundraising items in live and silent auctions.
Hot air balloon rides for two people that normally sell to consumers for $400 retail through Soaring Adventures of America are provided to non-profit organizations for $240 through FundraisingRides.org. Non-profit organizations put them in their auctions with the bids starting at $240. Most often, these rides are auctioned off at or above the retail price.
"Throughout our company history, we always offered special pricing to non-profit organizations who contacted us. Year after year, these inquiries grew. So, in 2003, we decided to formalize this process and make it simple and convenient for non-profit organizations to raise money with our hot air balloon rides. Everything they need is on our website-instructions, auction display materials and tips from other non-profit organizations who have raised money with our hot air balloon rides," says FundraisingRides.org Marketing Director, Jenna Wilkinson Roche.
The rides have broad-based appeal because they are good nationwide and are fully transferable. And, while FundraisingRides.org does promote its service in a handful of educational, community and religious publications, most of the sales growth is a result of word-of-mouth. "Organizing a live and silent auction is hard work-work that is largely performed by a dedicated volunteers. These volunteers are eager to share their best practices. And, they are spreading the word about the turnkey solution available through FundraisingRides.org," explains Ms. Roche.
For more information on hot air balloon rides, visit http://www.SoaringAdventures.com and for more information on live and silent auction services visit http://www.FundraisingRides.org. Or, call Soaring Adventures of America, Inc. headquarters at (800) 762-7464 and request a Live and Silent Auction Kit.
About Soaring Adventures of America, Inc. and FundraisingRides.org:
FundraisingRides.org is the division of Soaring Adventures of America, Inc. that is dedicated to providing non-profit organizations with fundraising opportunities. A family business founded in 1980, Soaring Adventures is America''s largest and most-trusted provider of recreational aviation rides.
Source: Soaring Adventures of America, Inc.

Melbourne Balloon Capital of Australia

2007-12-13T10:26:00.000+02:00

Well I wonder how many people will agree???

I hate the use of the word, "thrillseekers", balloon rides should'nt include too many thrills and spills!!!

http://cosmos.bcst.yahoo.com/ver/251.1/popup/index.php?cl=5437037

Arctic Circle Balloon meet, now thats cool (ouch)

2007-12-10T19:42:00.001+02:00

From this article

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/main.jhtml?xml=/travel/2007/12/10/et-north-pole-110.xml

Balloons over the Arctic
Lee Scoresby would be in good company in Levi, 155 miles north of the Arctic Circle in Finland, in February, when up to 15 hot air balloons and more than 100 balloonists soar over the slopes of Finland's biggest ski area during the annual International Arctic Hot-Air Balloon Adventure (February 7-12, 2008; www.hot-air-balloon-adventure.com).
Three-night full-board packages, including a balloon trip, a survival skills day, dog-sledding and Ski-Doo tour (and a complete set of Arctic clothing), start at around £1,010. Flights from Heathrow to Kittila (nine miles from Levi), cost from about £380 with Finnair (0870 241 4411; www.finnair.com).

Thats a flipping good price as well for everything you get.

Backyard landing

2007-12-10T09:51:00.001+02:00

Deep joy, I have had the emergency services out a couple of times on landing in tight spots. Always very embarrssing. Not sure about the policemans attitude though. I think somebody there should take him flying quick so he can see whats involved.

http://www.projo.com/news/content/balloon_drops_in_12-10-07_4I86O83_v16.26211ce.html

Dropping in uninvited, with a roar and champagne
01:00 AM EST on Monday, December 10, 2007
By Tom MooneyJournal Staff Writer

A hot-air balloon makes an unscheduled, but safe, landing into the yard of Michael and Joan Donovan, of 940 West St. in Attleboro, yesterday morning, delighting neighbors.
The Providence Journal / Tom MooneyA chase crew member steadies the hot-air balloon so that Tom Perry and ballooning instructor Beth Hamilton can climb out of the wicker basket after their impromptu backyard landing.
The Providence Journal / Tom Mooney
-->From front, 9-year-old Samantha Rose; her uncle, Tom Perry, and a chase crew member push air out of the balloon so it can be packed up for the return to Rehoboth-based Balloon Fantasies. The balloonists had launched from Hill-Roberts Elementary School in Attleboro about 7:30 a.m. yesterday.
-->
ATTLEBORO — Working on the what-goes-up principle, it’s perfectly reasonable to expect a hot-air balloon to come down.
Michael and Joan Donovan just weren’t expecting one to drop into their yard yesterday morning.
And the local police — who dispatched seven cruisers, a fire truck and an ambulance after several frantic phone calls about a descending balloon in trouble over West Street — would have preferred that it drop in on any other town.
But for the three balloonists who emerged perfectly fine and happy from their wicker basket, it was a great flight and much ado about nothing.
“Worked out great,” said Tom Perry.
Perry, his 9-year-old niece, Samantha Rose, and ballooning instructor Beth Hamilton of Rehoboth-based Balloon Fantasies had launched into the gray sky about 7:30 a.m. from Hill-Roberts Elementary School in Attleboro with an intended landing spot at Attleboro High School.
But as all balloonists know, flight plans are susceptible to change.
At about 8:30 a.m., neighbors around West Street — a corner of town just west of Route 95 and north of Route 123 — heard a strange noise outside. To some it sounded like a sputtering furnace, to others a strange gust of wind.
They opened their doors to see a big yellow, gold and purple balloon slowly descending in the still air over the bare trees. A periodic tongue of flame shot into the open end of the balloon with a lion’s roar.
Gary Morse, who lives across the street from the Donovans, looked out the window in awe as the silent, slow-motion scene played across the pane.
“I was watching the whole thing, thinking to myself, ‘Okay, it’s going to hit those trees, those electrical wires, that roof.’ But there was nothing you could do — you had to wait to see what was going to happen.”
Cars along the road stopped and pulled over. A couple of drivers got out and yelled up to the balloonists — not more than 30 feet above the trees and still descending: “Are you okay?”
“Fine,” said Tom Perry.
“My feet are cold,” yelled down Samantha Rose, who was riding in a balloon for the first time.
As the balloon approached the wide-open backyard of the Donovans, inside their raised ranch Joan and Michael were wondering what that strange noise was they were hearing.
“We thought maybe it was the wind,” Joan said.
“I though it was the washer,” said Michael.
The balloon skimmed the tops of the trees along the Donovans yard before floating over the house and dropping into the driveway next to the backyard deck.
The Donovans, who live at 940 West St., came out in nightclothes holding cups of coffee — and smiling.
“Would you like some hot cocoa?” offered Michael Donovan over the sound of approaching sirens.
Patrolman John Hynes was not particularly pleased with the balloonists or their three-man chase team, which had been following the balloon in a pickup truck.
He walked into the driveway: “You all right?” he asked.
“Oh, yeah,” said Perry.
“You know we just had seven cruisers sent to you who came buzzing through the city thinking you’re in distress and your chase car never called us to say otherwise,” Hynes said.
The officer said the Police Department has received calls in the past from residents complaining that balloonists were “buzzing their houses” and waking the neighborhood. A case could be made, Hynes said, for disturbing the peace.
Hynes said federal regulations require balloons to stay at least 400 feet above the ground unless they are descending.
Perry said he was landing and had picked out the Donovan’s yard to land after the wind died.
The balloon would have had to cross Route 95 — no more than a quarter-mile away — had the balloonists tried to reach the high school.
Hynes asked that the balloonists or their chase team to call the police the next time they decided to drop in unannounced.
Back in his cruiser, Hynes said maybe it’s “balloon culture,” but “they check their common sense at the door.”
As the team packed away the balloon, Perry delivered bottles of champagne to the Donovans and an abutting neighbor — a common gesture of appreciation in instances of unscheduled landings.
Hamilton played down the police officer’s concern: “Most people are thrilled to see a balloon land.”
Michael Donovan certainly was.
“I’m glad I was here to watch,” he said. “The last time someone dropped in was last Christmas.
“It was Santa, with a lot of presents.”
tmooney@projo.com

Aunty Monkey

2007-12-09T17:46:00.001+02:00

No idea what I am talking about??

Call yourself a hot air balloon entusiast (did I spell that correctly)

The worlds best internet balloon group is to be found here....

http://hotairballoon.ning.com

Or even via the badge on the right nav of this Blog.

This Australian based Ning group is fast approaching 500 members and is full of top types, from all over the place.

If you are into ballooning then you should join!!!

G

Home made hot air balloon.

2007-12-09T17:16:00.000+02:00

Fancy building your own balloon heres a start...

http://balloonbuildingblog.com/

Thank goodness the runaway blimp was not near here!!

2007-12-06T15:16:00.000+02:00

Yuma council approves amendment restricting use of large inflatables near airport
BY SARAH REYNOLDS, SUN STAFF WRITER
December 5, 2007 - 10:41PM

The Yuma City Council officially amended the city code Wednesday night to regulate the use of large balloons and other inflatable devices. This issue was brought to the city in March by representatives from Marine Corps Air Station Yuma and the Yuma International Airport.

Both organizations had experienced incidents where pilots were forced to maneuver around clusters of balloons that had broken away from their tethers and drifted into the flight path. "The real driving force behind the balloon regulation is the airport. That's how it really came to light," said Mayor Larry Nelson.

The City Council approved the amendment unanimously during its regular meeting. "It honestly does pose a flight hazard," said Craig Williams, airport director. "They float up in the sky and wind up in the path of aircraft. ... The flight path of an aircraft is much more than the runway. It encompasses what's a visual overhead pattern. ... It gets real complicated." Capt. Rob Dolan, MCAS Yuma public affairs officer, added that balloons could also be ingested into the engines of aircraft during flight, disrupting the craft's ability to perform.

Incidents like this were once not uncommon when car dealerships along 32nd Street, near the airport, were using extremely large balloons or long streamers of balloons in their advertising. However, after they were made aware of the issue, that type of advertising dissipated. Dolan said MCAS has not had a balloon-related incident since March. The case is the same at the airport. "About a year ago, when you drove down 32nd, there were balloons all over the place." "From my perspective, the car dealers have been very responsible. I think all we had to do was point out the safety issue," Williams said. Smaller, more easily tethered balloons are still used in lots.

Some provisions of the ordinance include:
• Individual balloons/inflatable devices or strings of balloons shall not be flown higher than the building located on the site.
• It shall be unlawful for any person to allow individual balloons to cross into the public right-of-way, whether in the air or on the ground.
• The first violation is punishable as a class 3 misdemeanor with a fine not to exceed $500, by imprisonment for not more than one day, or by both fine or imprisonment. A second violation is punishable as a class 2 misdemeanor with a fine not to exceed $750 or by imprisonment for not more than five days or by both. A third violation could result in a fine of as much as $1,000 and/or up to 10 days imprisonment.

Nasa to use balloon to study atmosphere

2007-12-06T15:11:00.000+02:00

Will be very interesting to see if they get the planned ring around the pole to work...

Balloons help study radiation
Thursday, 06 Dec 2007 12:34

The Van Allen Belts encircle Earth containing high-energy electrons and ions

A flotilla of 40 balloons flying at high altitude is to become Nasa's answer to studying the hazardous radiation trapped by the Earth's magnetic field.The type of radiation in the Van Allen
Belts can be harmful to astronauts, orbiting satellites and aircraft flying in high altitude polar routes.

These belts are doughnut-shaped regions encircling Earth that contain high-energy electrons and ions.The new $10 million (£4.95 million) mission, named the Balloon Array for Radiation-belt Relativistic Electron Losses (Barrel), will provide scientific insights into how and where the Van Allen Belts periodically drain into Earth's upper atmosphere.

The balloons are set to launch in conjunction with Nasa's radiation belt storm probes satellites in 2011."The study of near-Earth radiation is very important," said John Mather, Nobel Prize recipient and chief scientist of Nasa's science mission directorate."This research will provide information to mitigate problems here on our planet as well as permit better design and operations of new technology in space and safer passage for space explorers."The balloons will be launched from Antarctica and will expand to roughly the size of a large blimp when they reach the near-space research altitude.

By releasing a balloon per day the research team aim to form a ring of balloons encircling the South Pole.

Northampton Balloon Festival to stay put.

2007-12-06T15:08:00.000+02:00

http://www.northamptonchron.co.uk/news/Balloon-Festival-switch-to-Saints.3559273.jp

The Northampton Balloon Festival will go ahead on the Racecourse next year and not Franklin's Gardens, it has been decided.
After organisers Northampton Borough Council raised doubts about the future of the balloon festival last month due to rising costs, Northampton Saints put in an offer of help. This year's festival lost up to £160,000 after appalling weather and falling attendance figures.Saints officials said they would consider hosting the festival next year after successfully taking on the Bonfire Night fireworks, which were abandoned by the council for being too costly.Now the council has agreed to keep the festival in its usual location, but thanked the club for their offer of support.The decision to go ahead with the festival, as reported in Tuesday's Chronicle & Echo, was made by the borough council's cabinet members. Councillor Brendan Glynane (Lib Dem, Delapre), the councillor responsible for the festival, said an admission fee, which was introduced for the first time this year, was set to remain but added the council was committed to making t
he festival break even.He said: "The cabinet agreed that the balloon festival will go ahead, which I'm sure is welcome news for Northampton residents."It's a flagship event, putting Northampton on the map nationally and internationally. But our challenge is to put the event on a firm financial footing. "The balloon festival cannot continue to make a loss and be a drain on council resources. We are going to put that right."We will now invite members of the Conservative and Labour opposition parties to join a working group to advise the cabinet on the long-term strategy for the event."There will be an admission charge for this event to continue. How much that will be has not yet been decided."The 2008 festival will take place on August 15, 16 and 17.

An Album for all balloonatics maybe??

2007-12-05T08:39:00.000+02:00

Kat Vipers, Hot Air Balloon EP

http://www.ilikemusic.com/features/Kat_Vipers_Review-4350

Balloon Sponsorship

2007-12-05T06:37:00.001+02:00

There might be something useful in here...

http://www.sponsorshipsecrets.com/hotairballoons.htm

Then again there might not.

Has anybody tried it??

Balloon or UFO do you have more???

2007-12-05T06:32:00.000+02:00

Long time since one of these has cropped up.

http://www.ourstrangeworld.net/?p=11363

by Jonathan SchofieldUFO hunters have been inundated with reports of strange objects in the skies above Mansfield, Ashfield and Shirebrook. A number of bemused locals have described seeing objects resembling glowing orange ‘balls of fire’ that hover for a while and then quickly disappear.
Witnesses have described the glowing balls zig-zagging across the sky and moving too quickly to be fireworks, planes or helicopters.
Now experts on the unexplained at The Ashfield Paranormal Investigation Team (TAPIT) have been flooded with calls from eagle-eyed residents claiming to have seen the strange sight.TAPIT team leader Lee Roberts said checks with East Midlands Airport and local air bases revealed that nothing should have been in that air space at that height at the times the sightings were reported.
Team members have ruled out lanterns and hot air balloons as an explanation because neither can change direction as described and balloons have intermittent flames rather than a constant one.
The mysterious balls were first reported in the skies above Alfreton last month, but they returned on Saturday when Warsop resident Tim Palmer spotted an unusual object at around 3.30pm.
“We were coming from Glapwell, towards Pleasley round-about when I noticed on the left over Shirebrook a large ball of flames,” said Tim.
“We pulled up in the lay-by to take a closer look. We thought it was a plane on fire as it was too big for a lantern or a hot air balloon. As we watched, we could see smoke behind it and another small ball following it.
“It was falling out of the sky at a 45 degree angle. After about 10 seconds it went over the horizon. It was very strange as there was no noise.”
TAPIT will continue an investigation into the objects and anyone with video footage or pictures should contact the team at bobby_roberts8@hotmail.com or through the website www.tapitcrew.info. [link]

Jeff Bartlett wins Holiday Balloon Fest

2007-12-04T19:59:00.001+02:00

Pennsylvania man wins Holiday Balloon Fest Trace Christenson The Enquirer
Sometimes Jeff Barlett drives and sometimes he flies during hot air balloon competition.
Last year Barlett was crew chief for his wife, Sandy, who was the pilot. This year, the roles were reversed and Sandy was crew chief and Jeff was the pilot.

On Sunday, Jeff Barlett, 44, of Sharpsville, Pa., was announced as the winner of the 2007 Holiday Balloon Fest.
He finished ahead of Pat Brouillet of Kankakee, Ill., last year's winner. In third place was Scott McClinton of Prospect, Ky., while Chase Donner of Fisherville, Ky., was fourth and Alan Blount of Palos Park, Ill., fifth.
Barlett scored the highest on Saturday's only flight of the weekend, a four-part task in some changing winter winds.
"It was pretty fun," Barlett said after the awards ceremony, held at the Heritage Dome in downtown Battle Creek. "We had a box wind so we climbed back up and made a second pass. It's rare when you can do that."
Lower level winds Saturday morning were from the southeast, and Event Director Derrick Jones placed targets at Kellogg Community College and then two more further west.
Pilots said they could climb to 6,000 feet and find winds that took them back to the east so they could drop back down and make a second pass, attempting to fly closer to the targets.
Barlett said he flew for more than an hour and the second pass paid off.
An engineer and a pilot for 12 years, he said he was trained by his wife who has flown more than 20.
He crewed for her last year so this Holiday Balloon Fest is the first time he has flown in Battle Creek.
He also is a fixed wing aircraft pilot and said, "I just like being up in the air, flying balloons or airplanes."
But he had an added satisfaction because in 2000 the couple built their balloon, named Aida, themselves.
"We were competing against some pretty good pilots and were flying something built in our garage," he said.
The Holiday Balloon Fest is not the first championship for Jeff Barlett.
In 2006 he won the team championship at the Pro Football Hall of Fame Festival Balloon Classic Invitational in Canton, Ohio, with teammates Paul Petrehn of Howell and Joe Zvada of Wadsworth, Ohio.
"He is a very good pilot," Petrehn said Sunday. "We just can't get him out to fly enough."
Barlett said the difficulty is finding a crew so both he and his wife can fly at the same time, something they want to do more frequently.
"We take turns but we both enjoy the competition," he said.
Although weather forced cancellation of four of five scheduled flights, Jones said the event remains a success. Crowds of people gathered at the college both Friday and Saturday night for scheduled balloon glows, concerts and children's activities even though winds prevented the pilots from inflating their envelopes.
"Despite the challenging weather, I think the people enjoyed it," Jones said.
"I was shocked (Saturday) night that we had a decent turnout in the wind and snow and freezing rain.
"I think it shows there is a passion to enjoy and see the balloons," he said. "They wanted to see a glow. They come out and they look forward to it."
Jones said planning for the 10th annual event has begun, scheduled for Dec. 5 through 7, 2008.
Trace Christenson can be reached at 966-0685 or tchrist@battlecr.gannett.com

$2000 dollar reward for lost blimp!!!

2007-12-04T17:14:00.000+02:00

Brian O'Neill really wants his blimp back.

It was his that made a blimp for freedom a few posts ago.

Escaping not once, but twice.

I just love his blog and ahem.... "Worldwide Search" typical Americans!!

They play rounders just like girls here and call is something I have forgotten and have a World series because Canada turns up. Anyhow I'm going off topic.

Good luck Brian, I hope it comes home soon, can't help noticing that eveything to the right of the map is blue.

http://www.blimpbounty.com

I will watch eagerly.

Although I suspect the chance of me finding it and claiming the $2000 dollar reward on the Western Shores of South Africa are quite slim.

(And for the blimp, keep going the worlds a big place to explore)

Don Cameron one of two to be offered the freedom of Bristol!!

2007-12-04T16:49:00.000+02:00

Congratulations to Don Cameron.

Must admit to a bias here as most of the balloons I have flown have been from his stable. The rest from Phil Kavannagh maybe Sydney will do the same for him.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/bristol/somerset/7126436.stm

Pair offered Freedom of the City

Dr Cameron is closely associated with the Bristol Balloon FiestaTwo men who have made "extraordinary" contributions to Bristol are to be offered the Freedom of the City.
Bristol City Council will offer Dr Don Cameron and Paul Stephenson the honour at a specially-called council meeting this afternoon.
Dr Cameron, 68, will be honoured for his contribution to the art and science of modern hot-air ballooning.
Mr Stephenson, 70, will be honoured for his public service and race relations work in the city.
Equal opportunities
The ceremony will take place in the council chamber where council members will vote to declare the two men honorary freemen of the city.
They will then be invited by Lord Mayor Royston Griffey to sign the book of honorary freeman and receive commemorative scrolls.
Dr Cameron is the founder of balloon makers Cameron Balloons and is closely associated with the world-famous Bristol Balloon Fiesta.
In 1964, Paul Stephenson led the campaign to secure equal opportunities for the black community to work for the Bristol Omnibus Company.
He won the support of Harold Wilson, the then Leader of the Opposition and later Prime Minister.
He is also a founder member of the Bristol Black Archives Project, which is credited with building closer relations between all the communities of Bristol.

Malaysian Team To Compete In Pattaya International Hot Air Balloon Race

2007-12-04T10:54:00.000+02:00

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 30 (Bernama) -- A seven-member hot air balloon team, captained by Khairudin Abdul Rani will head to Pattaya next month for the Pattaya International Balloon Fiesta held in conjunction with the 80th birthday celebrations of Thailand's King Bhumipol Adulyadej.According to Khairudin, who is also the managing director of AKA Balloons Sdn Bhd and a balloonist for almost 15 years, the week long race will see about 25 teams from all over the world competing.He added that hot air balloon races are still in its infancy Malaysia but is a popular sport in Europe and America and even in some parts of Asia, like the Philippines."The Philippines International Hot Air Balloon Fiesta is a yearly event on the international calender and we have been competing in it for the past 13 years. However, this is the first time Thailand are organising such a fiesta," he told Bernama.A vice president of the Malaysian Sports Aviation Federation (MSAF) which governs all sports aviation activities in the country like paragliding, paramotoring, parajumping and hot air balloon races, Khairudin said there are only five qualified hot air balloon pilots in the country."All five are in the team that will compete in Pattaya from Dec 8-12 and we hope to come back with a good result," said Khairudin, who finished second in Philippines last year."I took up the sport when I was studying in the United Kingdom and not only got hooked to it, but I'm also involved in the balloon and airship business."The team: Khairudin Abd Rani, Mohamad Sobri Saad, Azam Manaf, Abdul Wahab Ma'sod, Mohd Fekri Ahmad, Fauzi Eusoff, Sheikh Faleigh Sheikh Mansor.

Indian CAA moves towards formalising balloon operations.

2007-12-03T16:13:00.001+02:00

Love the bucket line at the bottom, I wonder who they are leasing the balloons from.

NEW DELHI: Floating over the sand dunes of Thar desert or the blue-white beaches of Goa on a hot air balloon may be just a fantasy now, but the dream is all set to turn into a reality. The government has initiated steps to commercialise ‘ballooning aviation’ to herald a new era in adventure tourism — balloon safari. The directorate general of civil aviation (DGCA) would soon notify guidelines for ‘balloon aircraft’ and incorporate them in the civil aviation requirements (CAR) which guides the entire civil aviation industry in India.

The ministry of civil aviation recently granted no-objection certificate to the Delhi-based E-factor to start commercial ‘balloon safari’ operations in Rajasthan. DGCA is likely to give non-schedule operator permit (NSOP) to the company by the end of this year.

This permission is usually awarded for chartered airline operations. “We have created a separate category in CAR to encourage ballooning and airships in the country. The move is aimed at promoting several forms of aviation in the country.

This would help turn various hill stations in the country into tourist spots,” an official in the ministry of civil aviation said. A company planning to start ballooning is required to have a start-up capital of Rs 25 lakh.

A hot air balloon is also considered an aircraft which travels by moving with the wind. On the other hand, an airship is a buoyant aircraft which is propelled through the air in a controlled manner. E-factor has leased two balloons to begin operation from early next year. “Once we succeed in making this adventure popular in few states,we would multiply the number of balloons in the next few years,” E-factor chairman Harish Garg said. “We propose to charge $350 per hour per passenger,” he added.

Hot air balloons are the most common balloon aircraft across the world. The balloon gets airborne as the air inside it is heated, making it lighter than atmospheric air.

Depending upon the size, price of a hot air balloon varies from Rs 30 lakh to Rs 3 crore. The ideal weather for these flying machines is winter when outside temperature is low and air-pockets are rare.

While a small balloon can take off with two passengers in its bucket, a bigger balloon may fly with 25 passengers.

Myanmar Balloon tissue balloon festival.

2007-11-30T11:04:00.000+02:00

I wonder if this is a government generated blog???

http://melodymaung.myanmarbloggers.org/2007/11/international-tourists-participate-at.html

I should think they are struggling to get international visitors back there.

------------------------------------

The November fullmoon is an important date in Myanmar tourist calendar, especially for those wishing to visit Taunggyi, Lake Inle and its environs.During this period there are many colourful and enchanting festivals at Taunggyi.

One of the most famous is the Hotair Balloon Competition where hotair balloons of various sizes, shapes and figures are sent up into the sky both in competition and sheer joy. The competition is divided into two parts: a daytime competition and night-time competition.Balloons sent up during the daytime are small but nevertheless they are diverse. There are cows, elephants, birds and even rhinoceroses sailing up into the sky.

They may be alone or in pairs or even in groups of 4 or 5 balloons. The balloons that are sent up at night are huge, some measuring more than 30 feet in diameter and 60-70 feet high. They are hung with many small glass-paper lanterns on the outside and teams must race to finish lighting them up in stipulated period. As they fly up pyrotechnics displays are released against the dark background. Marks are given for the creativity, flight patterns, outside decorations, the ability to complete all tasks in stipulated time etc.

But whatever the results everyone has a goodtime, including many tourists.I am pleased to direct this blog to know more about Taunggyi Tazaung Daing.This year, they did do webcast successfully and we have to know about competed hot air ballon of 301 and it is 64 more than last year.

Firefly Balloons, $691,200 dollars in Federal assistance in 2005

2007-11-29T20:59:00.000+02:00

Well its all in title really.

This URL was bought to my attention,

http://www.fedspending.org/faads/faads.php?reptype=r&detail=-1&datype=T&sortby=t&maj_agency_cat=73&database=faads&recip_id=300849&fiscal_year=2005&record_num=f500

Seems to be a small business loan, sat under the grants tab.

Interesting stuff though, if that is Firefly balloons the manufacturer and not Firefly Balloons the novelty balloon seller or some such.

Was it a tough year for balloon sales or did they expand then. We don't know too much about them in the rest of the world.

Perhaps someone in the USA could enlighten.

Gary Mortimer

Advertising Blimp breaks free

2007-11-29T13:57:00.000+02:00

Published November 27, 2007 11:00 pm - A giant blue blimp-shaped balloon that appeared to be about 30 feet long with an advertisement for a Pennsylvania apartment complex scrolled across the side landed 350 miles away in Massachusetts. Balloon makes overnight flight before taking off againBy Katie Curley THE DAILY NEWS (NEWBURYPORT, Mass.) AMESBURY, Mass. —
Neighbors Denis Nadeau and Bill Morse had quite a surprise early Tuesday morning when they looked out their windows and into their backyards on Whitehall Road.

Stuck on Morse’s fence was a giant blue blimp-shaped balloon that appeared to be about 30 feet long with an advertisement for an apartment complex scrolled across the side. The complex wasn’t local — it was for The Lofts at Valley Forge outside of Philadelphia, about a six-hour, 350-mile drive from Amesbury.

“I looked out my window at about 5:45 this morning, and there it was,” Morse said.
Nadeau called the number on the blimp wondering where it came from and was put in touch with its owner in Valley Forge. She told Nadeau it was on the lawn on the complex Monday, but it must have come loose.

A powerful storm, the same one that contributed to the lowest-scoring NFL game in 60 years Monday night in Pittsburgh, had blown the blimp off its mooring, Nadeau said.
Less than 10 hours later, it had traveled and landed at the Morse home on the shores of Lake Gardner. Nadeau, the town’s building and zoning compliance officer, spent the early morning snapping pictures of the blimp.

“This doesn’t happen every day; it’s pretty strange,” Nadeau said.
When Nadeau spoke with the woman in Pennsylvania, they discussed deflating the balloon and sending it back, but no plans were made, he said. According to Web sites for companies who manufacture promotional blimps, the large ones can cost as much as $5,000.

Then as quickly as the big blue balloon appeared, it flew away again.
A gust of wind around 11 a.m. pulled the balloon from the fence and carried it high over the ocean in the direction of Salisbury Beach, Morse said.
“It landed for the morning, then it was gone,” Morse said. “It’s headed north.”

Though the balloon that visited Amesbury on Tuesday was a promotional advertising device, it resembled a weather balloon, which can reach an altitude of 90,000 feet and can travel hundreds of miles an hour.

The balloon that landed in Morse’s backyard was not immediately determined to have been picked up by Federal Aviation Administration radar, according to FAA spokesman Jim Peters. A person reached at Lawrence Airport said their radar has a five-mile radius.
“We don’t know what route it took or what altitude it was at — it could have been anywhere,” Peters said. “Any reason as to how or why it got to Amesbury would be speculative.”
Peters sent pictures and information about the balloon to the FAA Lexington office, where it will be investigated, he said.

Toy balloon flys from Northern Ireland to Norway

2007-11-29T13:54:00.000+02:00

High flying balloon had enough puff to make it to Norway

Wednesday, November 28, 2007
By Victoria O'Hara

A charity balloon launched in Northern Ireland proved to be full of hot air - after it travelled hundreds of miles to land in Norway.
About 500 balloons were released from Belfast Castle to mark International Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day in October.
The charity Life After Loss, which organised the release, also ran a competition for the balloon which travelled the furthest distance.
They received two tags back from balloons found across the UK - one from Ballycarry in Northern Ireland and another from Girvan in Scotland.
But a third was found by Kristen Troseng- in Sigdal, Norway, almost 700 miles away.
Life After Loss spokeswoman Heather Savage said they were all very surprised when they read the tag.
"It was found on October 21, exactly a week after the release in Belfast," she said.
"On the day the actual balloon release was very successful indeed.
"Anyone was able to purchase a balloon to be released from the top of the castle.
"People were filling in the tags with messages, and anyone who found the balloons were asked to fill the tag in and send it back to us in Belfast.
"The furthest away would win a prize.
"We really didn't expect to receive one from Norway!"
Ms Savage added: "The conditions must have been good for the balloon to travel that far.
"I thought this was quite incredible!
"I haven't managed to speak to Kirsten yet but I'm looking forward to finding out exactly where she found the tag!"
Ms Savage said the charity event raised £1,200 for a number of baby loss charities.
"A huge crowd turned up, and the release itself was very poignant," she added.
"We are just really starting out as a charity, and this was our first really big event, so we are delighted that it went so well, and we had a great response.
"So I'm sure after the success of the balloon launch we will do it again next year."

Hot Air Balloon Festivals

2007-11-29T13:45:00.001+02:00

Nice use of the google maps API here at http://www.hotairballoon.com

Will be very handy if your travelling on holiday to a foreign clime and you would like to catch a balloon meet when there.

I guess if you have an event then you should contact the guys!!!!

It probably is the biggest list anywhere, but only really covers the USA.

Gary Mortimer

Steve Fossett to be declared legally dead.

2007-11-27T10:11:00.001+02:00

Very sad, and I guess it had to happen one day.

Peggy Fossett must have been holding out on this one.

Perhaps Sir Richard Branson should pick up the gauntlet and have a crack at the land speed record in memory of his friend and fellow adventurer.

I'm sure many people have seen the video clip where Sir Richard talks to a chap at a balloon launch about Steve Fossetts flight, only to discover that he is talking to Steve Fossett himself.

One of modern times great adventurers, maybe Steve has left us in a mysterious manner befitting of such a chap.

Gary Mortimer

From http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-fossettnov27,1,2075668.story

By Michael Higgins Tribune staff reporter
1:53 AM CST, November 27, 2007
Article tools

The wife of Chicago adventurer Steve Fossett went to court Monday to have him found legally dead, saying she believes he died when his plane disappeared over the Nevada desert in September.Peggy Fossett asked a Cook County probate judge to begin the process of distributing his assets according to his will."[Steve] Fossett's wealth is vast, surpassing eight figures in liquid assets, various entities and real estate," the court petition said.

Fossett was reported missing Sept. 3 after he failed to return for a lunch appointment from what was supposed to be a pleasure trip while a guest at the ranch of Barron Hilton, the hotel magnate. Fossett had only one bottle of water with him.Officials and volunteers searched for weeks for Fossett and the white, blue and orange Bellanca Citabria Super Decathalon plane he was flying. Searchers used rescue aircraft, satellite and radar images and even scoured the craggy, remote terrain of western Nevada on foot. The search recovered wreckage from eight other air crashes, including one from the 1960s, but it turned up no sign of Fossett or the plane."As anyone can imagine, this is a difficult day for our family," Fossett's wife, who lived in the Gold Coast neighborhood with her husband, said Monday in a written statement. "We will continue to grieve and heal, but after nearly three months we feel now that we must accept that Steve did not survive."Peggy Fossett said she and others contributed more than $1.2 million in private funds to the search effort, which was scaled back in mid-September and suspended in early October."Although an ongoing recovery mission continues, all involved have accepted the inevitable conclusion that Mr. Fossett did not survive," Mary Downie, one of Peggy Fossett's lawyers, said.Under the law, the petition can be filed at any time after someone is suspected of dying.It could take two to three years to distribute Fossett's assets. Peggy Fossett's lawyers are expected to appear before Probate Judge Jeffrey Malak in a few months.Steve Fossett, a commodities trader who had made millions of dollars in Chicago, was known as a record-setting adventurer whose conquests included scaling the world's tallest mountains, swimming the English Channel and completing five nonstop flights around the earth as a solo balloonist, sailor and pilot.The National Transportation Safety Board concluded that the plane flown by Fossett was destroyed in a fatal crash, according to Monday's court petition."Even if Fossett had survived a crash uninjured, which statistics show to be very unlikely, without water Fossett could not live more than a few days," Mark Marshall, a Fossett friend, said in a sworn statement.In her affidavit, Peggy Fossett said her husband was in good spirits and had no debt or financial difficulties."None of Steve's wealth was transferred out or withdrawn in any manner that would suggest a planned disappearance," her statement said. "Steve has not accessed any of his assets since his disappearance. Steve had no debt and no life insurance."According to the petition, Fossett was in the late stages of building a vehicle that he hoped could set a land speed record.mjhiggins@tribune.com

Steve Fosset, was the Amazon Mechanical Turk effort worth it??

2007-11-24T21:13:00.001+02:00

From wired magazine http://www.wired.com/techbiz/it/news/2007/11/fossett_search

Looking back, Diana Francis says she should have known it would be a big waste of time. She sat for hours each day in her husband's home office in Houston scouring little digital snapshots of the Nevada desert on Amazon.com, in hopes that she'd help locate vanished millionaire aviator Steve Fossett.
Finally, though, she decided the exercise was tedious and unproductive.
"It was so exciting and new when we started it and it seemed like it could really help them, but eventually it was disheartening, and I realized I had no idea what I was actually looking for," says Francis, who participated for a couple of weeks while her kids were at school. "You know the saying, 'a needle in a haystack'? Well, this literally was like looking for a needle in a haystack the size of a small European country."
She's not the only one now expressing doubts about Amazon's Mechanical Turk, a high-tech aspect of the Fossett search that received such vast media hype that Mechanical Turk's director, Peter Cohen, won't do interviews about it any more. The online retail giant took the most up-to-date satellite images of the 17,000-square-mile search area, broke it into smaller chunks, and had more than 50,000 volunteers look at randomly distributed segments. In Mechanical Turk parlance, each segment was a small job, known as a Human Intelligence Task or HIT, which required the assigned volunteer to flag anything thought to be out of the ordinary.
Fosset disappeared Sept. 3 during what was planned as a brief jaunt from a ranch 90 miles southeast of Reno, Nevada. The massive online effort didn't lead to the discovery of Fossett or the single-engine Citabria Super Decathalon he was flying. But neither did the dozens of planes and hundreds of ground searchers who made up the biggest search for a missing aircraft in U.S. history. To date, it remains a mystery what happened to Fossett.
Amazon closed the search last week, almost a month after the official on-site search ceased. Now that it's over, Amazon spokeswoman Kay Kinton says the company has learned much, and she gives the system high marks for its ability to update and adapt as the situation changed.
Still, many of those who participated have mixed feelings about their experiences. Francis, who says she's "not that much of a geek," regrets taking part, but many who are more knowledgeable about the technology say it was a worthwhile exercise that should help Amazon refine its methods in the future.
"There was always the hope that people with good eyes would hit the right image, but it's also a learning experience," says Ken Barbalace of Portland, Maine, who runs the website EnvironmentalChemistry.com and who looked at 25,000 HITs. "We can't figure out how to make it a valuable tool until you work on it and change things."
The most important change Amazon needs to make for the future, Barbalace says, is that the interface ought to offer a way for searchers to toggle between the image they're given and an image of the same section prior to the date of the search target's disappearance. That would have helped volunteers know whether the things they were spotting were new.
Instead, some volunteers took the GPS coordinates from the squares they were issued and fed them into Google Earth for older images, slowing down their progress. And in the last couple of weeks when Mechanical Turk started using higher-resolution images, the GPS coordinates were no longer listed with the images, which made matching the photos even more of a challenge.
Some volunteers believed that information was withheld because Amazon began to worry that helpers would try to actually go to the sites themselves to search. But Kinton says it's because the source at that point changed from satellite imagery to images taken from aircraft, which didn't have GPS coordinates attached.
Another intense Turker, Andy Chantrill of Castle Donington, England, says he wishes Amazon had provided the searchers with more information about the overall effort. The 25-year-old software designer says he put in 85 hours poring over 20,000 HITs. Since each square was reviewed by up to 10 people, he says he'd like to know how many others had flagged ones he looked at.
"The value of the contribution is hard to quantify because ultimately we failed to find Steve, but it seems reasonable to imagine that this could work," Chantrill says. "I don't see any downsides to it, so long as people don't pester the professional search-and-rescue teams with poor leads."
Yet that is exactly what happened, much to the exasperation of Civil Air Patrol Maj. Cynthia Ryan, who says her e-mail and voicemail boxes were flooded with leads from folks working on the Mechanical Turk. Many times, they mistook search aircraft in the air for Fossett's plane -- even though it's unlikely Fossett's plane would have appeared intact.
"The crowdsourcing thing added a level of complexity that we didn't need, because 99.9999 percent of the people who were doing it didn't have the faintest idea what they're looking for," Ryan says.
"In the early days, it sounded like a good idea," Ryan continues. "In hindsight, I wish it hadn't been there, because it didn't produce a darn thing that was productive except for being a giant black hole for energy, time and resources. There may come a day when this technology is capable of doing what it says it can deliver, but boy, that's not now."

Google Earth

2007-11-24T20:47:00.000+02:00

Its quite possible that I am the last balloon pilot to do this.

Its drizzling here, looks set in so I have been looking for weather charts, satellite pictures, you know the drill.

Well I spotted, "weather" as a tab on google earth the other day and I selected it tonight.

I then found yet another reason to loose too much time on google earth.

Looking at the cloud formations around the earth was stunning.

Now if I was in a more civilized part of the world I see it would also offer me a radar overlay as well.

Flipping handy for seeing lines of storms develop in a more, um intuitive way. Well you can zoom in and out to your hearts content and see how parts of the weather system relate to the rest.

Will it make forecasting tommorrows passenger flight easier?? I doubt it.

But it looks way cool.

Gary Mortimer, in the drizzle South Africa.

Power Line strike during tether New Zealand

2007-11-22T12:58:00.000+02:00

Plop - power goes out By Anika Forsman 22 Nov 2007

HOW deflating – the Civil Aviation Authority is awaiting a report from Queenstown hot-air balloon operators who got caught in live powerlines last Sunday. Glenorchy’s power was cut off for more than two hours during the spring carnival after a hot-air balloon made an emergency descent during a stunt in the recreation ground.

Sunrise Balloons had invited local daredevil Chuck Berry to jump from the balloon when they were caught in a wind gust and hit powerlines in front of more than 30 spectators. CAA’s Bill Sommer confirms hot-air balloon incidents fall under their jurisdiction but they haven’t heard from the company. “We would expect that in the end it’s reported to the CAA,” he says. “It doesn’t have to be instant – just as soon as is practicable.” An eyewitness told Mountain Scene the balloon was flying quite high before it came to grief. “You could smell burnt nylon from the balloon and that’s what probably shorted out the power,” says a Glenorchy source not wanting to be named. “I was asked to move further away from the wreck – I think they were a bit worried about the gas cylinders.”

When Mountain Scene first contacted Sunrise Balloons the woman answering the phone refused to comment or give her name. “I’ve got nothing to tell you,” she says. “Mountain Scene drives me absolutely mad, you always love it when something goes wrong.” Sunrise owner and pilot Hugh McLellan did speak to Mountain Scene yesterday and admits a wind change caused one of the balloon’s tethering ropes to hit the powerlines, forcing him to descend quickly. “It would’ve been a non-event except when the lines touched they should’ve tripped out but the [power pole fuse] was faulty and turned the whole system off. “There wasn’t any damage to the balloon and it [has] just had a 100-hour [maintenance] check and it’s good as gold.” Daredevil Berry was onboard with McLellan and one other person when the crash landing happened: “I was just going to do a jump at the end of the day but the wind changed – because we were tethered to the ground it caused a bit more difficulty,” he says. “Hugh used his exceptional flying skills and got us down safely."

Solar Balloons

2007-11-21T22:30:00.000+02:00

This video link has just started rearing its head all over the place.

http://www.ifilm.com/video/2914128

If you want a better way.. try Steve Griffiths excellent explanation of solar tetrahedron.

http://www.flymetothemoon.com.au/homebuilding/solar.htm

Its funny that solar balloons are back in the news as just yesterday I put some pictures on facebook or er um well er....

I may or may not have been involved in a UFO report. But its Sean Wakeford actually releasing it not me. So it was him your honour. We flew this from Nottingham Road in KwaZulu Natal, South Africa two years ago.

It went flipping well we chased it for about 15km before it climbed out of view, even with binoculars.

It may or may not have stopped traffic on the N3 highway and R103.

At take off it looked like some bin bags knotted together but once past about 200' it filled right out and became a gently spinning doughnut in the sky. Seans wife had spray painted one side silver and that made it glint as it rotated.

People rang into the local radio station and it even made the paper. I hopped on a plane to Kenya the next day so was out of the way for all the flack.

Deep Joy.

And if as they say around here you really want to go mal, you could always build one to actually take you flying.

http://pagesperso-orange.fr/ballonsolaire/en-index.htm

Fabulous looking stuff there.

G

For Sale ZS-HPY in South Africa

2007-11-21T18:52:00.001+02:00

The proposed sale of this balloon appears to have fallen through. Hazel needs to sell this balloon now.

The artwork has been removed and we have repanelled the cap.

This is really a great deal for a trainee or new pilot.

The balloon comes with instruments, radios, trailer, fan, tanks, etc so it will be complete and ready to fly. The burners are Cameron Mk 4 so there is a lot of value in this sale. I expect that including the few bits and pieces necessary to get the Authority to Fly renewed, and replacing the trailer cover, this will go for just under R80 000,00.

If you are interested, get in touch with Felicity Clegg felicityc@absamail.co.za

I-Stockphoto Images

2007-11-21T18:46:00.001+02:00

Just found some very nice images that could be useful if you are a balloon operator in England.

Or anywhere else that looks like it...

http://www.istockphoto.com/file_search.php?action=file&lightboxID=2691105

Balloon Festival Job

2007-11-21T12:34:00.000+02:00

ADMINISTRATOR/ASSISTANT

Montpeliers Farm Ltd, based in Writtle, Chelmsford and recently awarded the 'Best New Company' in the Mid Essex Business Awards are looking to recruit a full time Administrator/Assistant.

This is a new, exciting and challenging role in a progressive new venture already dealing with events such as The Essex Hot Air Balloon and Kite Festival, 'V' Festival, Race for Life and The Essex Young Farmers Show.

The successful candidate chosen for this great opportunity will not only be working on a number of projects with the Events Manager but also assisting the Director with the day to day running of the company. Because of the nature of the position you will be required from time to time to work out of '9am-5pm' office hours and often weekends, you will also hold a full UK driving licence and be prepared to work on your own initiative.

If you are interested in becoming part of this exciting new team, please apply either in writing enclosing your CV to: Andrew Green Director Montpeliers Farm Ltd Margaretting Road Writtle Chelmsford CM1 3PL or e:mail to info@mpevents.co.uk

Thailand Grand Festival

2007-11-21T10:51:00.000+02:00

Looks like the chaps are busy tethering at this festival

http://www.thailandgrandfestival.com/festival.asp?festID=593

Very pretty sunflowers.

The hills and valleys of Mae Hong Son, one of Thailand's most naturally scenic areas, turn to gold when the Dok Bua Tong wild sunflower (Tithonia Diversifolia) comes into full bloom during this period.
When the flowers fade, the seeds are collected and made into insecticides.When the flowers fade, the seeds are collected and made into insecticides. Doi Mae U-kor mountain peak in Khun Yuam district of Mae Hong Son is considered to be the an excellent location to enjoy the splendour of the sunflowers in full bloom. Contact information: TAT Northern Office - Region 1 Tel : +66 (0) 5324 8604, (0) 5324 8607, (0) 5324 1466 Fax : +66 (0) 5324 8605 E-mail : tatchmai@tat.or.th

Thailand Ballooning

2007-11-21T08:43:00.000+02:00

Ah Thailand, a place where I had the pleasure of teaching the first Thai pilots more years ago than I care to think. I had some fabulous flights in Chaing Mai, stacks of temples.

G

HS-SMG a Cameron 140 balloon had its maiden trip from Chiang Mai's Doi Saket Balloon Adventure Thailand base on 05NOV2007.

We will be glad to e-mail you more pictures of the maiden trip and the new balloon. We can also send you our e-brochure if you request to.

Our rates remain unchanged for the season @ 8.800Baht** or equivalentBalloon Adventure Thailand offers now a daily capacity of upto 16 passengers a day**.HS-SMG is the third hot air balloon in the fleet, and will be based @ Doi Saket with HS-FLY.

HS-balloons are balloons registered in Thailand, this means that such balloons are certified by the Thai DCA, the official body that checks the airworthiness of all legal airships in the Kingdom.

This body also checks the pilot licenses and their insurances. (Passengers or tour operator's or DMC's representatives, are most welcome to check all these certificates as well as the airships logbooks prior to take off @ Doi Saket's Balloon Adventure Thailand base or @ any location in the Kingdom where we are to operate.)

Better Balloon Times

2007-11-21T08:31:00.000+02:00

When I first started putting balloon stories that I came across online, I did'nt for a moment think there would be so many grim ones.

All a matter of timing I guess.

So I would really like it if you have a first solo story or something else thats really excited you, for you dear reader to contact me.

We can have some more light hearted stuff inbetween as well then.

The serious side of ballooning cannot be ignored. In every life a little rain must fall. We should all discuss things that make us uncomfortable in an open space, Aunty Monkey gets my vote. If one person passes on one tip that keeps one pilot safer then it will be worth it.

I am aware that these things get politicised very quickly and camps form, maybe for the good of sport ballooning pilots and crew should try and cut through all the crap.

G

Happy Montgolfier Day

2007-11-21T08:12:00.000+02:00

My maths makes it er um er 2007-1783= balloonings 224th birthday.

Blimey those blokes in aircraft really are the new kids on the block.

We have history whilst they simply have habits.

Whatever special flights you are undertaking today or perhaps parties, have a good one.

Gary Mortimer 21-11-07

An Archimedes refresher: How a hot air balloon works

2007-11-19T20:10:00.000+02:00

Humm just how much can a professor of physics get wrong in one very small article. Not his fault I am sure I expect the reporter modified it all a little.

G

An Archimedes refresher: How a hot air balloon worksBy: Jin NohIssue date: 11/19/07 Section: News Last update: 11/19/07 at 6:57 AM EST

Any student who has taken introductory physics should understand the mechanics of hot-air balloons, said Berndt Mueller, James B. Duke professor of physics.
"The Law of Buoyancy states that any object immersed in gas or liquid, which in this case is gas, has an upward force called buoyancy that equals to the weight of the displaced cold air," he said. "The buoyant force has to be larger than its own weight and whatever it is carrying on the balloon."

Hot air is less dense than cold air and because the density of air relates inversely to its temperature, when the hot air balloon is heated to 120 degrees Celsius, the balloon is less dense than its outside environment.

Mueller added that other sources can be used to lift the balloon.
"You can fill it with helium, which is also less dense than air," he said. "But that is relatively more expensive. Hot air is cheap because you just have to heat it. There are also solar balloons, which you could use where there is a lot of sunshine. But hot air is easier to control because you can change the amount of heat."

Navigating the balloon, however, is much more difficult, Mueller said.
"You control going up and down by controlling the temperature and volume of hot air," he said. "Otherwise, it depends on the wind and there's really nothing for you to steer very well. So you don't want to go up when there is strong or variable wind."

Pilots can navigate to a certain extent by shifting altitudes, said April Persons, a ground crew member of Above and Beyond Hot Air Balloon Company.
"Winds at different altitudes go in different directions," she said. "So if you want to go a little more right, you can shift your altitude and catch a right."

A balloon also has a turning vent, which the pilots open to steer the balloon, Persons said.

Steamboat Springs Balloon Meet

2007-11-19T06:53:00.000+02:00

This very simple image and story of a few words caught my imagination.

Looks like the students are having fun being part of the balloon festival in their own way.

http://www.steamboatpilot.com/photos/2007/nov/17/8823/

Witnesses describe winds that led to balloon crash in Iowa

2007-11-18T18:05:00.000+02:00

Sharon Dunn, (Bio) sdunn@greeleytribune.comNovember 17, 2007 Comments Print Email

The high winds didn't take many residents by surprise Friday morning in a small farming community in Franklin County, Iowa.But the winds would ultimately take the lives of two Colorado residents flying cross-country in a helium balloon. A third passenger survived.That man, Doug Chaplin, 58, of Albuquerque, N.M., saw John Korth arrive at the crumpled balloon basket that had just fallen 60 feet to the ground and asked him for help."He said they left like Wednesday from Colorado, and ... they had been in the air the whole time," said Korth in a phone interview Friday night.Chaplin was in a helium balloon piloted by Dr. Thomas Boylan, 62, who was a doctor at a pain management clinic in Fort Collins, and Bradley Brookhart, 37, of Littleton. Both Colorado men died at the scene.

The men had taken off around 11 p.m. Wednesday from Greeley on a cross-country flight. Another balloonist, Troy Bradley, of Albuquerque, who has flown balloons since 1976, launched from Greeley in a different balloon in which he was attempting to add another record to his list of accomplishments."Troy was trying to set the world distance and the world duration records for the smaller size helium balloon he had," Greeley resident Tim Cole said Friday morning, attempting to allay fears of UFO sightings some in Greeley had thought they'd seen Wednesday. "Tom was flying a larger helium balloon as a training flight."Both balloons had lighting to permit flight at night, and Cole said Greeley is a good launching area because it's away from most major flight paths. Also, they launched from the Greeley area because Cole -- who has become well-known for planning and overseeing world record flights -- lives in Greeley.Bradley's balloon was still in the air, east of the crash site, and according to media reports, he was unaware of what had happened.

Moments before the crash, Marillyn Korth was working to get her shoes on so she could wave at the balloon from her porch."It was really very exciting to see the balloon and to have it turn out so bad, that was not fun," said Korth, 72. "It was quite windy here, and it looked like it veered to the left and the balloon itself took off. ... I thought it was unusual for a balloon to be in the air. Out here on the plains, it blows a lot. Our friend called and said it was going quite fast."She had called her son, John, to look, too.He watched, as it suddenly seemed to get hung up mid-air."I thought it was really windy for a balloon," the 44-year-old said. "My mom and dad called me, because we don't have that many balloons come through. I stepped back in for two steps, and I walked back out and thought, 'These guys are pretty low.'"Then I noticed, something's not right. The basket started to do funny things. They were caught in the highline wire, he said, adding that a truck driver who also stopped said he saw the men throwing sand out of the basket, as if to give them enough height to clear the lines."They were swinging pretty hard, and the wind was pretty hard, and it hung out there for a while," Korth said, then the cables attaching the balloon to the basket just snapped, he said."The basket fell to the ground, and I'm trying to dial 911," he said. "It was just freaky. I realized the call time was 9:11 a.m."Dick Johnson, a reporter with the Globe Gazette in Mason City, Iowa, responded to the scene about 40 miles from Mason City."The basket was on its side, and the balloon was a good half-mile to the north," Johnson said, noting that the balloon straps lay on the power lines when he arrived on scene around noon (around 10 a.m. Colorado time) Friday. Johnson said the power company was called to shut off power to the line to remove the straps, as emergency crews waited for investigators from the Federal Aviation Administration.Korth said Boylan and Brookhart, both face down, were dead when he spoke with Chaplin as they waited for paramedics. Chaplin, who landed face up with Boylan face down on top of him, told Korth his ground crew was driving about eight hours behind them and was somewhere in Nebraska."You know when you're waiting for help, it seems like forever," Korth said.His mother didn't see the men, as she waited outside the cow pasture that they had landed in. Later Friday, her thoughts again turned to the weather."Everyone's gone, and everything is quiet, and we have a beautiful moon shining here," she said Friday night. "It was a tragedy, but I guess it was a man doing what he liked to do. ... We just want to send our sympathies out to the families."Contacted later Friday, Cole said Boylan's family wasn't yet ready to talk and would appoint a spokesperson today. Chaplin was listed in fair condition at North Iowa Mercy Hospital in Mason City.-- Tribune reporter Mike Peters contributed to this report.CRASH FACTS* The course: Launched form Greeley around 11 p.m. Wednesday, landed in Omaha Thursday night, expected to land in eastern Iowa at sunset Friday.* The craft: Helium-powered balloon* Who died: Dr. Thomas Boylan, 62, Fort Collins; Bradley Brookhart, 37, of Littleton.* Survivor: Doug Chaplin, 58, of Albuquerque, listed in fair condition at North Iowa Mercy Hospital in Mason City, Iowa.Difference between hot air and Helium balloons» Hot air balloons fly because the air in the balloon is hotter than the air outside. Since hot air rises, the balloon rises when the air in the balloon heats up. Pilots control their balloons by heating more air or slowly releasing the air, thus allowing it to cool off.» Helium balloons fly because the Helium gas inside the balloon is lighter than the air outside the balloon. They rise when the Helium is pumped into the balloon. Typically, helium balloons are harder to fly.

Troy Bradley, new records.

2007-11-18T17:59:00.000+02:00

Well done Troy Bradley on bringing two more records home, will add more when I find it.

Gary

For Immediate Release
11/16/07, 2225Z / 1725CST:
At 2225Z/1725CST, Troy Bradley safely landed in 7kt winds in Pleasant Springs, WI. According to his gps, he flew 824 miles in a little over 42 hrs., acquiring two more records.
Take off: 11/14/07 @ 0507Z
Landing: 11/16/07 @ 2225Z (±)

Indias first balloon ride company..

2007-11-18T17:57:00.000+02:00

Jaipur, Nov 17 - India's first commercial hot air ballooning venture will commence from Dec 1 here and is a joint venture between the Rajasthan government and E-Factor Adventure Tourism (P) Ltd, the company announced Saturday.
Sky Waltz - as the venture is named - will initially have two balloons with total seating capacity of eleven passengers.
Targeting high spending Indian travellers, adventure sports enthusiasts and foreign tourists alike, Sky Waltz will launch the balloons from Amber Fort and surrounding areas.
Announcing the launch, Samit Garg, director, E-Factor Adventure Tourism (P) Ltd, said, the venture is 'for Indian and foreign tourists alike as Jaipur is a prime tourist destination'.
'Initially, we are commencing service of two balloons but will be adding more balloons along with more locations in Rajasthan,' he said.
Navigated by experienced international pilots, the duration of each flight will be of one hour, with each balloon flying morning and evening, six days a week, depending on weather conditions.
Flights are priced at $350 or Rs.14,000 per passenger for an hour and the cost will include door-to-door pick up and drop service and snacks & beverages.

More on the Iowa incident.

2007-11-18T17:52:00.000+02:00

FRANKLIN COUNTY, Iowa -- Two men died Friday in a balloon crash in northern Iowa.
Witnesses told police that the balloon hit the top power line before diving 65-feet onto a farm field around 9:15 a.m., southwest of the town of Coulter.

KCCI has learned that Dr. Tom Boylan, 62, and Bradley Brookhart, 37 from Littleton, Colo., died in the crash. Boylan is from Fort Collins, Colo., and had more than 20-years experience piloting balloons.
Rescue crews said Doug Chaplin, of Albuquerque, was flown by helicopter to Mercy Medical Center North Iowa in Mason City. Chaplin had serious injuries. His condition is unknown.
Police were able to talk to Chaplin who told them the crew was attempting to land when they hit the power line, but he wasn't able to explain why the crew was landing. Friday, he was listed in fair condition.
"For some reason (they) were coming down. We got witnesses that watched and as you can see there, they caught the top wire. And at that point the balloon and the basket separated, and it's about a 65 foot drop," Sheriff Larry Richtsmeier said.
The balloon top blew more than a mile north of the crash site.
Federal Aviation Administration investigators were headed to the scene to take over the investigation.
The Trip
The three men originally left Greeley, Colo., on Wednesday night and had an East Coast destination. Their balloon was loaded with gear and supplies for their cross-country trip.
A second balloon that left Colorado on Wednesday was also reported traveling over Iowa Friday. That balloon was piloted by Troy Bradley, of Albuquerque, who was trying to set a a world record flight for distance and duration for the AM-3 balloon. The balloon mixes hot air and helium.
A website tracking Bradley's progress last reported him near Omaha on Nov. 14.
Friends confirm to KCCI that Bradley's balloon landed safely in southern Wisconsin at around 5:09 p.m. Friday.
A Colorado newspaper, The Greeley Tribune, reported that Bradley "easily broke the world duration record, which was 27.5 hours and by Friday morning had been in the air more than 30 hours."
Dr. Tom Boylan
“All of a sudden there was a lot of chatter about a balloon accident this morning and when I heard of the fatalities, I thought that may be Dr. Tom,” Frank Wechter said.

Hours later, Wechter learned it was his friend.

The two pilots met in 2001 flying in the America's Challenge in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Since then they have flown together on trips all over the country.

Wechter sent KCCI a picture of Boylan in his gas balloon "The Sandman" which he said was likely the balloon involved in Friday's crash.

“Gas ballooning is extreme ballooning because unlike hot air balloons which fly one to two hours, gas balloons are one to three to four days, and you encounter weather,” Wechter said.

Ballooning was something Wechter said his friend loved to do in his free time. Dr. Boylan lived in Fort Collins, Colo., and worked as a pain management doctor.

“The man was sympathetic to people and so he was a people person and he loved his wife and love his daughter, Marilyn,” Wechter said.

Wechter said Boylan was in his mid-fifties and had every intention of flying for years to come.
“He was certainly not a man who would choose to die now, but in terms of living and dying, I think probably he died in the fashion living the way he wanted to,” Wechter said.

Iowa balloon crash kills local doctor

2007-11-18T17:48:00.000+02:00

Seems like this is the best place to leave condolences.

A difficult time for all three families, from the reactions on the site, Dr Boylan was much loved in the community he served.

http://www.coloradoan.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071117/NEWS01/711170363/1002/CUSTOMERSERVICE02

Iowa balloon crash kills local doctorBY MILES BLUMHARDT MilesBlumhardt@coloradoan.com

Fort Collins balloonist Dr. Tom Boylan and a Littleton man died and one man was injured when their helium balloon hit a power line Friday morning and crashed in north-central Iowa.
Boylan, 62, an osteopathic physician at Front Range Pain Medicine, 3744 S. Timberline Road, was pronounced dead at the scene, as was Bradley Brookhart, 37, of Littleton. Doug Chaplin, 58, of Albuquerque, N.M., was listed in fair condition Friday night at a hospital in Mason City, Iowa.
Reached on her cell phone late Friday afternoon, Boylan's wife, Margo, said she had no comment.

Shannon White, co-owner of Mountain Breeze Ballooning in Fort Collins, said he would have likely been in the balloon basket with Boylan had his wife passed on the message Boylan left on their answering machine Tuesday asking White to join him.
"I'd probably be dead right now," White said. "She just forgot to pass along the message. Usually she is on the ball about that. I think my angels were looking out for me. That's all I can figure because I'm sure I would have been right there. It's not my nature to turn down a flight."
The balloon was descending when it hit the line around 8:15 a.m. MDT. The balloon and the basket separated and the basket fell 60 feet to the ground, Franklin County Sheriff Larry Richtsmeier said. Residents who had come out of their house to wave at the balloonists saw it hit the power line, called 911 and rushed to the scene, Richtsmeier said. They found the basket on its side in the pasture, about three miles southwest of Coulter, which is about 85 miles north of Des Moines.

Fort Collins resident Bob McCluskey, who had known Boylan about 20 years, said he had flown with him and called Boylan a "very conservative pilot."
"He didn't take a lot of chances," McCluskey said, who also called Boylan "a great mentor for me."

On Friday morning, there were high scattered clouds and winds of 15 to 20 mph, Richtsmeier said. Investigators from the sheriff's office were at the scene Friday afternoon and officials from the Federal Aviation Administration had arrived to assist in the investigation.
"Sometimes, with that wind, you get stuck in a situation that has bad consequences," McCluskey said.

According to a phone call Boylan made to the Coloradoan on Tuesday inquiring about the possibility of coverage of his flight, he and a friend, Troy Bradley, were going to launch two balloons from Greeley on Wednesday evening. Boylan said he was going on a training flight.

Paperwork found in one of the men’s pockets indicated they had left Greeley on Wednesday and spent Thursday night in the Omaha, Neb., area. They were flying beneath a helium balloon, rather than a more common hot air balloon inflated by air warmed by propane burners.
White, of Mountain Breeze Ballooning, said helium balloons are more difficult to control than hot air balloons. Helium balloons only have ballasts to release to adjust elevation. Hot air balloons have ballasts and heated air blowing into the balloon to adjust elevation.
Boylan had more than 20 years of experience piloting balloons,
“It takes a lot of time for a helium balloon to respond,” White said. “I’m sure that had a lot to with it.”

White said Boylan was an excellent pilot who was respected and willing to help others. He never flew with Boylan in his basket but went to events where Boylan flew.
“My best memories of Tom were up at Snowmass,” White said. “We used to tailgate after flying and it was a lot of fun. He was a great guy. It’s like losing a family member.”

Coulter, Iowa, said to be a gas balloon??

2007-11-17T09:34:00.000+02:00

COULTER, Iowa (AP) - Authorities have identified the two men killed when a helium-powered balloon hit a power line and crashed in north-central Iowa yesterday.
They are 62-year-old Thomas Boylan of Fort Collins, Colorado, and 37-year-old Bradley Brookhart of Littleton, Colorado.
Injured was 58-year-old Doug Chaplin of Albuquerque, New Mexico. He was in fair condition at a hospital.
Franklin County Sheriff Larry Richtsmeier says the balloon was descending when it struck a power line, separating the balloon and the basket. The basket then fell 60 feet to the ground in a cattle pasture.
Richtsmeier says paperwork found in 1 of the men's pockets indicated they had spent the night before in the Omaha, Nebraska, area.

Iowa Balloon Accident

2007-11-17T00:06:00.000+02:00

COULTER — The Federal Aviation Agency (FAA) is en route to rural Franklin County where two men from the western U.S. were killed this morning when their hot air balloon crashed near Coulter.A third man was injured and was taken to Mercy Medical Center-North Iowa, Mason City, for treatment.No names of the victims are available at this time.Franklin County Sheriff Larry Richtsmeier said onlookers saw the balloon in the sky and saw it separate from the basket about 65 feet above the ground.The accident was reported at 9:15 a.m. and happened three miles west of Coulter, near the junction of Finch Avenue and 110th Street.Authorities at the scene included the Franklin County Sheriff’s Department, Iowa State Patrol, Franklin medical examiner, Coulter Fire Department, West Franklin EMS and Franklin County Hospital.

More sad hot air balloon news

2007-11-16T23:28:00.000+02:00

Its with heavy heart that I report yet more fatalities this year.

Perhaps 2007 will go down as one of the worst years ever for hot air balloon accidents.

My mind can instantly think of a couple of incidents in the past that involved large balloons so the numbers of deceased were realitively high in single incidents. I don't think I can remember a year in which so many individual incidents caused so many fatalities.

Thoughts and condolences to the families involved.

2 dead in hot air balloon crash near Hampton
HAMPTON, Iowa (AP) Two people were killed and a third person injured Friday after the hot air balloon they were in crashed in north-central Iowa.
Franklin County Sheriff Larry Richtsmeier said the names of the people who were killed and the person who was hurt wouldn't be immediately released. He also declined to identify where they are from.
The balloon was descending when it struck a power line about 9:15 a.m., he said.
The balloon and the basket separated and the basket fell 60 feet to the ground in a farm field southwest of Hampton, the sheriff said.
Investigators from the sheriff's office remained at the scene and officials from the Federal Aviation Administration had arrived to assist in the investigation.
The passengers who were killed died at the scene. The third person was flown by helicopter to a Mason City hospital. That person's condition wasn't immediately known.

Hot Air Balloon News

Well-known volunteers recover after balloon crash

Bank Opens Fund To Help Balloon Crash Victims

For Sale

Commercial Pressure

British Team win Gordon Bennett

Conner Prairie plans balloon attraction

Accident 4

Balloon accident 3

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5guPhdSq5ZsoMR2sfIlPc_xf3y6FAD93P0JRO0

Balloon pilots somber at NM festival after death

Balloon accident 2

Albuquerque Accident

Steve Fosset

Calif. searchers find Fossett's plane and remains

Planete Balloon

Its been a while

7 Injured in Egypt

Go Lisa...

Steve Fossett

Steve Fossett

Australian Air Force upgrades ;-)

Newton Faulkner link

Newton Faulkner sings love songs to Ken

Newton Faulkner performed a selection of his hits way above the Swiss countryside

Austria, incident

A flight of fancy for a wayward hot air balloon

Balloons, many events highlight Feb. 1-3 Hot Air Affair

Hudson Star-ObserverPublished Friday, January 18, 2008

Hot Air Balloon blamed for power outage

Well done Malaysian pilots and crew.

Zell am See-Kaprun: hot-air balloons are rising once again

Melbourne to celebrate historic flight

Up, up and away

County grounds balloon company

Deptford balloon story not just a lot of hot air

Alaska World Balloon Challenge

Hot Air Balloon equipment for sale in South Africa

Aunty Monkey hits 500 users

Airships mentioned on Slashdot

Phoenix Development Deflating Hot-Air Balloon Business

by Associated Press

Poor weather hits Polo and Balloon Festival

Strip Festival Again!

Sydney Couple Flying High

Remote controlled balloon lands on roof

Balloon from Thomson Elementary travels 1,000 miles

Should you want to police that balloon meet...

Helium use rises

Balloon festival will feature strip polo game

Balloon ride too short

Christmas Ahhhh factor

Child's note to Santa sent by balloon brings cheer in McNeal

By Jonathon Shacat/Wick Communications

Lawn chair balloonist looks back to the skies

By Sheila G. Miller / The Bulletin

Published: December 26. 2007 5:00AM PST

Merry Christmas

Sean and Phil in Sydney Hobart Yacht race.

Mangaloreans to get a taste of hot air balloon ride

Balloon grounded in Mangalore!!!

Looking for work

Dick Rutan makes forced landing.

Another missing Blimp!!!! Keep a look out around Burnley.

Russian Balloon Flight over a lake I think....

BSOK

Mauritanie Aventure, balloon accident Mauritania

Camerons Fabric

Tourists Die in Mountain Balloon Crash, Mauritania

Soaring Adventures of America

Melbourne Balloon Capital of Australia

Arctic Circle Balloon meet, now thats cool (ouch)

Backyard landing

Aunty Monkey

Home made hot air balloon.

Thank goodness the runaway blimp was not near here!!

Nasa to use balloon to study atmosphere

Northampton Balloon Festival to stay put.

An Album for all balloonatics maybe??

Balloon Sponsorship

Hudson Star-Observer
Published Friday, January 18, 2008