Ten Years Ago ..From The GEBA Newsletter
Article reprinted from The New Yorker describes the plans of Julian
Nott, Britain’s foremost hot-air balloonist, to fly non-stop around the world.
He planned to fly in a 145-foot balloon. "Balloonists have known that
circumnavigation of the earth was feasible since 1966, when an unmanned weather
balloon circled the earth. So far his preparations had cost eight full years and
$812,000." Needless to say, it did not happen in 1989.
Jim Duncan wins the GEBA cup for being the 1989 Racing Champion, closely followed by Rodger Kell in 2nd place.
Article describes the many reasons Dave Wilsey was awarded the Torok Sportsmanship Award for 1989. "David has always made safety a priority. If you were trained by David, you will remember hearing, "Do it the same way every time! Do not cut corners!"
Description is given for GEBA awards and recognition: Membership Appreciation Award is to be presented to GEBA members in appreciation for work done on special projects or for the overall good of the organization.
Nominations are accepted from all members and will be approved by an informal poll of the Board of Directors. Plaques and dinners are to be awarded to GEBA members in recognition of specific efforts and dedication such as the safety seminar, serving as an officer, etc. Nominations are accepted from all members and approved by a formal vote of the Board of Directors.
Torok Sportsmanship Award is to be presented to a GEBA member who best
exemplifies the true meaning of sportsmanship and has made a positive
contribution to the sport of ballooning. Not necessary to present on annual
basis. GEBA Cup presented at the annual awards dinner to the top scoring
competing member based on the GEBA scoring system.
Other Items of Interest
My First Long Jump - By Jim Doerer
It all started with a phone call from Rodger Kell on 12/8/99.We talked about the idea of doing a long jump. I was excited about doing this for a couple of reasons. One, I thought it would be a lot of fun and also a different kind of chase. Second, it’s one of the requirements I needed for crew level four. Well on Saturday, Rodger gave me a call. He said he would like to make a trial run to see how everything would work out. He decided that he would take off from Lock Haven Pennsylvania. We left on Saturday night and got a night’s sleep. Next morning we went to the local airport. With the winds light on the ground the concern was what the winds upstairs were gonna do. All seems to be going good. One more check with the maps to see which direction we’ll be going. Ok, lets get this balloon up and flying. As Rodger took off he was giving Sue and I his winds and speed directions. As we started to chase I was saying to myself "well I guess we gonna find out if I can navigate or not". Normally I drive and Janet is my navigator.
Sue and I looked at a couple routes and decide to say on Rt80 for along as we could. The chase was going great; we even had time to stop for a pit stop. At first this bother me cause usually when a chase goes this easy the end turns into a lot of fun, if you know what I mean. We lost sight of Rodger a couple of times but we had radio contact. Time came when we had to get off Rt. 80 cause Rodger was flying south /east of us. We decided we would take Rt309 south until we got to Rt. 54. Once again we found Rodger to the east of us. So east it was on Rt. 54. Then we took Rt. 209 east. After three hours and what turn out to be 91.5 miles Rodger lands. We saw Rodger coming down to his landing spot, now to get to him. We were not there for the landing but we had an idea where Rodger landed. We were by Rodger in about 15 to 20 minutes. We could have be there sooner but we got the wrong directions from the locals. Rodger landed in the area of Beltzville Lake.
I had a great time chasing and I was glad we didn’t lose Rodger. I learned a couple of things from doing this chase. One, be prepared for anything that might happen.
Make sure someone knows how to navigate and understands what winds are out of 180 at 6 means. I’m glad I paid attention at Carroll Teitsworth ground school. When people give directions to where the balloon landed ask them to repeat it. Sometimes they get so into the event that they get a little mixed up.
Since I’ve been in ballooning I have meet a lot of people. I’m glad that
Rodger and Sue are one of them. It was an honor to be a part of his trial run.
Ballooning in Antigua - by Dennis Chiarelli
I spent a week in Antigua recently enjoying the sun, beaches, local hospitality and ballooning. I arrived on the Monday before Thanksgiving, about a week after hurricane Lenny paid the island a visit. There were signs of the hurricane all over the island. Thankfully this did not dampen the spirits of the locals or balloonists. This was an international rally with balloonists from all over the world. Approximately 23 balloons and 100 balloonists attended from 6 different countries (Luxembourg, Belgium, Switzerland, Germany, United Kingdom and United States).
After spending several days sorting out hotel rooms, propane and getting balloons out of customs, we finally flew on Thanksgiving Day. I was lucky enough to ride with pilot Gary Lovell from Maine. We flew from our hotel, The Jolly Castle, over the capital of St. John’s and several cruise ships docked in port. We landed in a soccer field and immediately attracted 50 or 60 locals, eager to take a ride. The children were all amazed at the sight of a balloon and helped us pack up. We loaded the system on a huge dump truck and went looking for other balloons that had landed. Chasing in Antigua was accomplished with three dump trucks and local drivers. The truck bed was five feet off the ground and loading the balloons required all hands. Propane tanks had to be removed and put on the trucks separately. I was impressed by the enthusiasm all balloonists displayed during these times. With the help of our organizers, drivers and balloonists we all made it back to the hotel by 9:00 AM for breakfast.
Also along for the trip were five skydivers from California and one from South Africa. These dare devils put on a great show with jumps from a helicopter.
A Trophy of Honor in Jeff Baird’s name was presented to Eric from Belgium. Jeff was crew chief for Debbie Harding and AirVentures who was killed in a tragic work related accident a week before the rally. This event was organized by Air Ventures of Paoli, Pa. (800-826-6361) who specialize in adventurous ballooning. They organize ballooning trips to exotic locations and regularly travel to Africa to fly over the Serengeti plains.
Ten Years Ago ..From The GEBA Newsletter
GEBA annual banquet was successfully held at The Yellow Brick Toad with attendance of over 140. Bob & Marie Dicks organized the event and Chris Mooney was Master of Ceremonies. GEBA event survey results reported by Jim Pauze. Majority opinions on some of the 34 questions: *There is a need for more varied types of competitions. *Sponsors should provide rooms for all pilots regardless of their distance from the event. *There should be crew competitions at races. *Launch field entrance/exit should be separate for chase crew. *There should be a safety officer at all events. Some pilot pack suggestions: Local maps with red zones marked; small towels; flashlight & batteries; discount passes to area restaurants.
President Dan Decker writes letters protesting the removal of the Balloon & Airship exhibit from the National Air & Space Museum. He suggests instead that the exhibit be improved. Response was received from the Smithsonian stating that the Lighter Than Air exhibit will be closed in April 1990 but a new exhibit will open by ’93. Letter from Jerry Rodgers recommends GEBA sponsorship of commemoration of 200th Anniversary of the first manned flight in America. Chris Mooney’s letter on the subject volunteers his service on the FAVIA committee and mentions his suggestion to BFA that their biennial convention be held in Philadelphia in January 1993.
Malcolm Forbes dies in 1990 at age 71. "Malcolm was a true friend to ballooning. Through his nearly unlimited fleet of special shape hot air balloons and his willingness to take his balloons anywhere in the world, he carved a very special niche for ballooning in the hearts and minds of many people...There are probably only a few who truly know the extent of Malcolm’s efforts to quietly quell the anti-balloon sentiments and legislation which have haunted us these last few years."
Al Emer celebrates his 20th year in ballooning.
Use Web Sites to Check Out Landing Sites
Submitted by John Coulahan
Wouldn’t it be nice to have aerial photos of an area you haven’t flown in
before to help you plan your flight?
They’re available at www.terraserver.com. You can get Soviet spy satellite
images and U.S. Geological Survey images downloaded free, or you can order
Kodak prints at a nominal fee. The images are good for rough planning and will
show solid woods, residential neighborhoods, or built-up areas. They don’t
tell you if the power lines are underground or if cattle are in the field, but
they do show individual buildings and roads.
I found my house on a Soviet spy satellite image with trees all over the
backyard. Sure enough, when I walked out the back door, there were the trees.
I then pulled up an image of Bob Mueller’s neighborhood. Bob! Please be
careful what you wear and do in the backyard--it’s not as private as you
think!
Another fun site is www.earthcam.com, which has thousands of cameras posted at
various spots around the globe. I watched the sun rise over Mount Fuji without
leaving my house (the one with trees in the backyard). Maybe not as good as
being there, but it keeps me busy till the ballooning season starts.
"LADY JANE"
Submitted by: Barry Nixon
On an evening flight in Bucks County in early Fall I was trying to make a landing in a development that we had visited before but
missed (seems to
happen frequently). Just ahead was a tree line with scattered houses behind so I stayed low for another try. As I lifted above the trees I saw
the white fences of a horse farm and gave a long burst to climb rapidly. As I passed the tree line I spotted the horses, unfortunately up against
the trees a short distance away. They were frozen in place for the moment, as was the landowner, hands on hips, staring first at me and then
at the horses. My climb carried me past the field with no apparent motion below and I
finally lit Fire 2 to hold level and look ahead for another spot. A passenger said "uh-oh" and I heard a loud cracking noise. I looked back
to see a fence rail down, horses racing around the pasture, landowners running down the lane, but no runaway horses in sight. Oh boy...deep doo
doo now. With chase ahead of me and the sun setting I looked for the nearest opening, landed, packed up expeditiously, and headed back to the
farm with more than a little apprehension. Driving up the lane in the dark I could see no break in the fence, and there seemed to be no
activity around the house. Hmmm....all out in the woods chasing runaways? A knock on the door brought a lady who asked if she could help me; I said
I was the balloonist that spooked her horses a while ago and she said
"Ohhh....you're the guy I've been cussing for the last hour or so!"
Really deep now. Then, with a smile, she said my name is Jane, please come in and tell me why you flew so low over the horses. I explained what
had happened and then asked -but what about the horses? She laughed and explained that one horse, not the leader of the herd, had cracked a fence
post dropping the top rail, had jumped out, took a look back at the others not following, and had jumped right back into the pasture. She and
her daughter had straightened the post, inserted the rail, and checked the horses. The "runaway" had a minor scratch on a front leg, no vet
needed, and she had a spare post in the barn that she would get installed. I offered to be responsible for any vet and fence repair
bills, and presented my business card. She cocked her head and said that she was so very pleased that we had returned to talk with her that she
would take care of any repairs. But she would keep my card. Why? She had taken a balloon ride a year or so ago and had loved it. She enjoyed
seeing the balloons fly by her neighborhood ..... just not low over her
horses. She had been planning a flight for the family in the future and we will probably hear from her in the coming year to book a flight. You
can be sure that she will get the very best ride that we can deliver.
She then graciously accompanied me to the van, declined the proffered bottle of champagne, moved her car so that we could turn the rig around,
and wished us Godspeed. I don't recall her last name (memory is the first thing to go.....or is it the second.....I forget), but to me she will
always be "Lady Jane". Moral: if you have caused a ruckus during your flight or even think you may have, don't be reluctant to try and find the
landowner......you may just meet some of the nicest people you will ever run into in this life!
Weather Information On The Internet
Written by Todd Nixon
In an effort to provide you the most information with minimal effort on my part I am going to list an Internet site and describe various addresses within its site. This will minimize navigating each site to arrive at the described information. Please note that from time to time some of the sites listed have trouble and you may get an error page. The bookmarks are correct so just try another time if you cannot get a particular site to download. Please share with me any weather sites you have found of value that are not listed below. Write to me at tbnxn@juno.com
National Weather Service (NWS)
http://www.nws.noaa.gov This is the home page for the National Weather Service. From here you can easily navigate your way to your region, state, and even county weather predictions. Most of the information is in text form. They have designed their site more for the laymen. Graphical models are available but are not as informative as other weather sites. http://tgsv5.nws.noaa.gov/er/phi/ For most of our GEBA members, which are in NJ and eastern PA, the Philadelphia forecast office is the location to visit. (The same office our Club had a tour of in Feb. ’99.) From here you can select what information you want to obtain and bookmark the sites. If you want to get specific information in your county, select your county from the menus at center bottom. For the bulk of the weather forecasting or current data go to the links under "Weather & Climate" in the left, yellow column. http://tgsv7.nws.noaa.gov/weather/ccus.html This site is called the "Internet Weather Source" (IWS) home page and it is a selection page so you can be navigated to weather for your state then your home county. It is part of the NWS but is designed for easier navigation and information for the laymen. Once you select your state you may select one of 2 categories: Current weather conditions. Forecasts, watches and warnings.Current weather conditions provides the latest hourly measurements & observations, and past data (23 hours) from area airports that you can select, but only one at a time. What I have done is select an airport listed and then book marked it so I don’t have to navigate the IWS site each time for the updated information. However, the current data is not consistently updated quickly. Most times it is updated 10-12 minutes past the top of the hour, and infrequently it is 1 to 2 hours behind. For a specific sample of this you can check out
http://weather.noaa.gov/weather/current/KPNE.html This is one I have book marked and it provides the above described airport data for Northeast Phila. airport. Notice the KPNE on the end of the address. You can plug in any major airport’s "K" letters and go right to its automated weather reporting data page.Forecasts, watches, and warnings is the other selection box, where you can select your local weather by county or town. It provides short term and extended forecasts, current area conditions and special weather statements, but there are no graphics involved. For a specific sample of this you can check out
http://weather.noaa.gov/cgi-bin/iwszone?Sites=:paz069 This address is just for Bucks County, PA (paz069). This is a favorite bookmark of mine for getting quick, detailed information on one page. (Otherwise if you want the same information by navigating the Philadelphia forecast office web site you have to click on several links.) http://iwin.nws.noaa.gov/pub/data/text/FXUS61/KPHI.TXT The weather experts at the NWS forecast office post 4 reports each day giving their advanced and detailed insight of the current weather situation. I’ll warn you that when the discussions get detailed the authors (forecasters) write in broken English. At times you will be deciphering shorthand and acronyms. Jim Eberwine, one of the senior meteorologists and our tour guide for our visit last year, does mention good "windows" for hot air ballooning in some of his discussions.Hydrometeorological Prediction Center (HPC)
This site is basically a federal government agency linked to
the NWS that provides forcasts on precipitation. However, they provide very nice
graphic maps for their short and mid-range forecasts. The maps are easy to read
for the laymen. However, you should know your weather symbols.
http://www.hpc.ncep.noaa.gov/html/about2.html
is their homepage.
To go right to their short-range forecasts go to
http://www.hpc.ncep.noaa.gov/basicwx/basicwx.html
and for their mid-range (medium range) forecasts go to
http://www.hpc.ncep.noaa.gov/medr/medr.html Click on the graphic that best fits the time frame you want to look forward to. They even have a "extended range" forecasts but they lack the weather graphics in previous maps, simply because they are trying to predict probability of precipitations (POPs) more than 5 days out.
This is an intelligent weather site with very useful information. This is also a very deep site with very many features to check out. You could easily spend a couple of hours checking out all it has to offer. Intellicast is a favorite of mine for detailed weather information, mainly because of their "WINDcast" feature, which is very helpful in determining forecasts for the wind in a region. Their radar images are great and usually load quicker than other sites hosting the same images. (Whenever you select radar composite images from the NWS it takes you to Intellicast who hosts the images.)
http://www.intellicast.com The home page. From here it is less than easy to navigate to the specific addresses listed below. To bring up the current U.S. weather map showing weather systems, isobars and radar go to http://www.intellicast.com/LocalWeather/World/UnitedStates/SurfaceAnalysisFor the Mid Atlantic region information start at
http://www.intellicast.com/LocalWeather/World/UnitedStates/MidAtlantic
where you can pick your state.
For the Philadelphia area you should go to
http://www.intellicast.com/LocalWeather/World/UnitedStates/MidAtlantic/Pennsylvania/Philadelphia/Forecast
to get the 4 day forecast.
WINDcast:
http://www.intellicast.com/Golf/World/UnitedStates/MidAtlantic/Pennsylvania/Philadelphia/WINDcast/d1_00/ This is a favorite bookmark of mine. WINDcast can be brought up for regions only and this one is for the Philadelphia region, which is basically the mid-atlantic region. Forecasts can be selected in 6 hour intervals starting at 01:00 hours (02:00 hours when on Daylight Savings Time), which is nice because it lands on early morning and evening times when we fly. (You might notice "Golf" in the address. That is because the WINDcast is made for golfers who are very interested in the wind conditions. I never did like golf, until now, for what they have brought to weather forecasting.) Once you get to this page you will notice that you can also select "THUNDERcast, PRECIPcast" and "TEMPcast" which use the same timetable of forecasting their respective information. I have found these forecasts to have high accuracy most of the time and extremely valueable in making decisions to plan a flight. All of the "…casts" are updated every 6 hours.Radar:
http://www.intellicast.com/LocalWeather/World/UnitedStates/MidAtlantic/Pennsylvania/Philadelphia/Radar This site gives the latest composite radar image for the Mid-Atlantic region. I use this feature to check on precipitation and thunderstorms in the area. The data is usually ½ hour old. Another drawback is it shows precipitation that is not hitting the ground. To get more recent radar data you can select "Base Reflectivity" at the top. This shows data usually 15-20 minutes old and the area covered is smaller. This one does show where precipitation is hitting the ground. Want the radar summary showing cloud top heights and the direction of travel, click on "Radar Summary" at the top.AWS
AWS WeatherNet has more than 4000 sites globally, making it the world's largest live Weather Network. This company is the host for real-time, automated weather measurement stations located at schools.
http://aws.com/corp/default.asp The AWS homepage. To find schools that may be in your area with the weather stations just fill in your zip code in the entry box located in the left column. It will take you to the local TV station that is sponsoring the WeatherNet program. The local TV weather station in each region will display the WeatherNet differently for the schools in their area. To get the Delaware Valley real-time Java display, go to http://megawx.aws.com/nbc/wcau/multisite.asp To get any of the individual sites on this map click on the data displayed on the screen and it will bring up that station’s display, or you can click on the county in the left column to see all schools in your county. Not all of the schools are shown on the regional display. Once you have brought up a school’s weather site you will see its current static display. At the bottom of its display you can select the real-time display by clicking on "Real-Time" at the bottom of that station’s display (if available). Here’s a school in Bucks County I like to visit: http://megawx.aws.com/nbc/wcau/broadcast.asp?javaid=DOYLT&units=0NBC10
NBC affiliate WCAU in Philadelphia, channel 10 has the exclusive weather feature "Doppler 10,000" the next best thing to real time radar. Live radar may be next.
http://www.nbc10.com/index.shtml The homepage for their station. To get to the Weather Center, click on the WEATHER button in the top bar. (There is no actual bookmark for their Weather Center.) They actually have a very nice Internet Weather Center with good information. If you want to reach the regional, school weather stations click on the red "WEATHERNET" button near the bottom. The best for was saved for last. Click on this
http://207.121.191.111/tvsd/weather/doppler.shtml to get the Doppler 10,000 radar. Updated every 10 minutes, only 3 minutes old when updated.ACCUWEATHER
http://www.accuweather.com/adcbin/siteguide is the homepage. You can log on as a free user or go for their premium services. I have tried their premium services and found it to be OK but not great. It’s not worth the cost with what I can find elsewhere. They do have good graphic, forecast maps showing fronts, lows and highs, but they lack isobars, like most maps do except HPC & UNISYS. For example check out http://www.accuweather.com/adcbin/wx_maps?state=location&day=2&submit3=Get+Map for a view of a forecast map of weather patterns. They have many different maps to look at and can be selected in the left column. At the top of the page are folder tabs, which are links to other weather features on their site. The "golf" one shows the hourly wind predictions and "aviation" is a good one to check on aviation weather. For aviation go to http://www.pilotweather.com and enter your local zip code for local weather. Once at your local aviation weather site check out the "surface obs" link in the left column and then again select your region, state or specific site for the past 6 hours of aviation weather data. This is a favorite of mine because if you select "region/state" it will bring up most of the airports within your area on one page to compare the latest data (wind) readings. For an example go to http://www.pilotweather.com/avibinf/surface_obs?wxcity=US%3B18940&partner=AccuWeather&metrixWant the latest sustained wind readings go to
http://www.pilotweather.com/avibinf/graphic?wxcity=US%3B18940&partner=AccuWeather&selectthree=amps&select=SIPNECUR&selecttwo=wsp
Here’s an example of my local 4-day weather forecast page
that I’ve bookmarked from Accuweather:
http://www.accuweather.com/adcbin/local_index?nav=home&partner=accuweather&thiszip=19020
WxUSA Weather Hub
Want to explore Internet weather sites on your own then visit this site http://www.spc.noaa.gov/index.shtml It’s the place where I found most other sites I have bookmarked. Just click on your state to get started. From there pick your city. The next page shown will give you a multitude of choices for different weather reports. Want some really different weather and unusual information like earthquake, avalanch, volcano and tsunami predictions and reports, go to http://www.wxusa.com/additional.htm
Storm Prediction Center
Want to check out severe storm predictions. Go to the NOAA’s Storm Prediction Center (SPC) http://www.spc.noaa.gov/index.shtml homepage. A great place to visit if you want to plan a trip to go tornado chasing in the Midwest.
WUNDERGROUND
http://www.wunderground.com From the home page you can type in your zip code at the top and it will bring up a local weather forecast page. The neat thing about this site is that it has the easiest access to historical meteorological data. As mentioned before the NWS tracks data at area airports up to 23 hours. For data before then you would need to come to this site. The data is stored by the hour and covers most aspects of the weather. For an example check out http://www.wunderground.com/history/airport/KPNE/2000/5/1/DailyHistory.html At the bottom is a selection box so you can pick the month, day and year of the historical weather you want to see. When the historical data is presented the top table is maximums, minimums, and averages of all aspects. The lower table is hourly readings. In many cases not all the hourly data points are present. Notice the "KNPE" designation in the address. If you put any "K" letters in that address you’ll get the weather for that day.Aviation Weather Center (AWC)
http://www.awc-kc.noaa.gov/index.html The main page for the AWC. Aviation weather forecasting has advantages over other forecasting in that it deals with the weather above ground level and winds aloft. Aviation weather forecasts are more general and are meant to cover a large regional area where the conditions can sometimes vary significantly within 50 miles. For this reason I have found these forecasts to be the least accurate for surface wind predictions at any one airport within the forecast region. It would be best used for high altitude flying for long jumps in hot air balloons or gas balloon flights. http://www.awc-kc.noaa.gov/awc/awc-fd.html The main page for winds aloft, where you will need to select your region and time frame for predictions.DUAT
http://www.duat.com Home page for DUAT, a familiar name to most of us. They too are on the web now and have much information to choose from. They have modified their site recently and can be set up to memorize your preferences so you do not have to select your choices each time you visit. (The main reason why I didn’t like this site before, but now it is very convenient.)UNISYS
http://weather.unisys.com/content.html This is the main index page of Unisys weather, which hosts all the super computer models that all other weather agencies use to extrapolate their own long range forecast predictions. They also have selections for current weather analyses, but they are on a very broad scope and are not as useful as other sites described later. I prefer the AVN model described below.Fair warning, the Unisys site is not for the laymen, it is for experienced ametuers or better. However, this site does have an entry box for the laymen where you can enter your city name or zip code and get a short-term forecast.
You can view the following super computer models:
Interested in archived data, look at the bottom of their index page for past hurricanes, past weather analyses, and USGS maps.
WEATHERGUYS.COM (Formally WX4U - Weather For You)
This site is good for a free service to e-mail you all sorts of weather reports. Other sites, like Accuweather, are doing the same but these "Weatherguys" are the originals.
http://weatherguys.com is the homepage.To set up a free account for free e-mails go to http://weatherguys.com/account.asp
TEN
YEARS AGO... FROM THE GEBA
NEWSLETTER
Submitted by: Georgia Puttock, Historian
Story
reprinted from Charlotte Sun Herald 5/20/90 described a new business in Tracy,
CA -- $99 for a
video of themselves jumping from hot air balloon 250 feet in the sky.
John Kockelman, owner of
Bungee Adventures, paid $10,000 for special reinforcing safety features
for his balloon.
“After the Lunge Earthward, the jumper is lowered to the ground.”
Joan Mount reported
on the first annual BA picnic 6/24/90 at Roger Kell’s home.
The group had a great time playing volleyball, horseshoes, and baseball.
Six balloonists did an early fly in.
Iowa Balloon
Association 4/90 Newsletter article from “Captain Tether” shared 6 pointers
for a successful tether.
A condensed list: (#1) Always use 2 good log chains and tie them to 2
very heavy objects, such as buildings.
(#5) Bend knees on final landing. Before final landing, be sure client
has signed the ride waiver, and it is hidden from his view.
(#6) Always have a crew member ready to help the client out of
the basket. They’ll probably be weak in the knees due to the sheer
exhilaration of first flight.)
Susan Brown reminded
members about “fashion safety,” recommending balloonists wear clothes made
of Nomex, 10 oz. Denim, heavy-weight cottons, wool, or leather including your
underwear!). Burn specialists agree that natural materials could save your life
by minimizing the degree of burn received.
National Examiner
article 5/90 from Montevideo, Uruguay:
“Angry nudists used sling-shots and sharp rocks to shoot down
photo-taking hot air balloonist soaring above their private beach.”
Emilio Guadalajesus, 54, a banana farmer, suffered minored injuries when
he was thrown from the balloon’s gondola as it hit the ground.
Nudists say, “that creep deserved it!”
A police spokesman said charges against the nudists are being considered.
GEBA Long Jump
The second annual long jump competition season will start October 1st and
continue to April 1st. Entry forms are available on the GEBA
website. Auxiliary fuel will be allowed for inflation. Prizes will
be awarded at the May meeting. Contact Jack Edling for details.
GEBA Picnic & Farmers Appreciate Day
(the following is a letter sent to Uli Krahenbuhl from farmer J.
Peter Vermeulen)
I have in hand your invitation to farmers and landowners
to be your guests June 4th at Solberg Airport. It is sincerely and much
appreciated and I applaud your action.
As a farmer/landowner I have witnessed a steady decline in appreciaton of
farmers and farming by the general public and too oftenby our very own
governments. As our problems increase while our profits decline, farmers
find increasing conflict wit hour good neighbors. Thank you for thinking
of us.
As a charter member of the Somerset County Agriculture Development Board we
welcome the turnaround and current recognition of the community value of
farmland and farm families. Our board will soon publish results of an
extensive survey of past, current and future farming in Somerset County that we
believe will strengthen this recognition.
Unfortunately, my wife, Edith, and I will be out of state on June 4th and will
not be able to avail ourselves of your invitation. We would have been
thrilled with a balloon ride. Several times when balloons would terminate
their flights on our farm we were offered rides "sometime" but it
ain't happened yet.
We hope and trust your day will be pleasant and fruitful. Thanks again for
the invite.
Maintenance Seminar
Bert Padelt will host a maintenance seminar at his repair station
on October 28th. Space is limited to the first 15 people. Contact
Ray Horan for details.
Landowner Cards
The time has come for the second drawing. The pilot with the most
landowner cards returned is Barry Nixon with 21. The pilot whose name was
pulled out of the hat is Bob Dicks. Both pilots will receive a $20 gift
certificate from Paul Stumpf's store. Other pilots in the hunt are:
David Allen (17), Gene Burnstein (15), Uli Krahenbuhl (15), Dick Young (14)
& Ken Leota (11).
Shawnee Balloon Festival - First Impressions - by Jack Edling
Two weeks before the event, Ray Horan called me to ask if I would like to attend
Shawnee this year. Of course, he knew that I have wanted to fly at Shawnee
for years. He said that some of the really good Shawnee pilots wanted to
go to Albuquerque (KAIBF) this year to witness the mass history of 1000 balloons
launching in the year 2000. So, he was calling some of the low-life, third
string pilots to fill the void. Seems like I have been filling voids for a
long time now.
Anyway, the Shawnee Festival was great. The weather was nearly perfect
with a big fat high pressure system surrounding us all weekend. The flying
area was amazingly beautiful with near-peak autumn foliage. We had a dead
calm balloon glow on Friday night with four flights on Saturday and Sunday that
took us over the river and ridge into NJ with lots of easy, open landing spots.
Best of all, the people at the Shawnee Inn treated us just excellently with
on-campus accommodations and wonderful interesting meals every day at breakfast
and dinner.
For a short time some of the pilots were even hopeful that a flight into the
Delaware Water Gap might be possible on Sunday night. But the Wind Gods
would not cooperate at launch time.