FLY GAS

Balloon Fiesta Live!

Fiesta may be canceled but you can relive the best moments of years past with the Fiesta Siesta Live! Join use shortly for tonight's edition featuring a past America's Challenge launch. https://balloonfiesta.com/Live-Stream

balloonfiesta.com The 2020 Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta may be postponed until 2021, but that isn’t stopping the Balloon Fiesta Live! crew.

alifeofballooning.com

62,5 HOURS IN THE AIR: PART THREE

A night in a gas balloon is dark. Very dark.

Its beauty is hard to capture in words, and even harder to capture in pictures. Our aerostat is in constant movement; photos with a long exposure get blurry almost every time. So, we have only our memories to recall these special moments of shooting stars on a pitch black sky, satellites flying by, or the first silver lining on the horizon, promising a new day.

During which we didn’t quite make it back to Stuttgart, but rather flew a big bow to the southeast again, over the Swaebian Alb, towards Heidenheim again, where Dennis and his fellow pilots visited us once more to circle our balloon in their little airplane.

In the evening, the balloon came down again, and again we were able to stabilize it on a low inversion. Both of us had slept some hours during the day, so we were feeling very well prepared to tackle the third night!

alifeofballooning.com

62,5 HOURS IN THE AIR: PART TWO

Saturday, our first full day in the air, was almost a bit uneventful: Winds proved almost exactly as forecasted, the ATC radio routines of the FSC Calw parachutists became a frequent noise in the background, and we enjoyed the views on our home region.

In the afternoon, things became a bit busier: Rather as a joke, we asked our fellow photographer Dennis from the Ballonsportclub Hellenstein e.V. how high his rc drone could go, on which he replied a bit later that he was working on something.

And just about an hour later, he came flying by himself, with the help from some friends at the Fliegergruppe Giengen e.V., to get some awesome footage of our balloon!

With the setting sun, our aerostat cooled down and dropped from about FL90 to almost ground, where we were able to stabilize it over Heidenheim at a safe level. And again, the forecast proved true: We were flying back towards Stuttgart!

Love their passion for gas ballooning! They will be on the podium of the Gordon Bennett one day!

62,5 HOURS IN THE AIR: PART ONE

It was a rather unexpected message: On Wednesday afternoon, September 16th, Ben sent a trajectory screenshot to our group chat, suggesting a gas balloon duration flight over the weekend. Takeoff would be just two days later, on Friday evening, from our launch site at Stuttgart.

We started monitoring the weather. Would it be possible to stay in southern Germany throughout the flight, to be back at work on Tuesday? With every new model run, we refined our strategy, and as the low winds seemed to prevail, we gave it a final go on Thursday evening.

Early Friday afternoon, we met at the depot of the Ballonsportgruppe Stuttgart e.V. to pack our stuff. Experienced as we are by now, everything went smooth. At around six o'clock in the evening, we started filling the balloon, with the help of several other club members. At five past seven, we took off.

Winds led us in a westerly direction, past my hometown of Pforzheim, towards Karlsruhe, where the winds started to turn in the wee hours of the morning. As the sun rose, we were already on the way back towards Stuttgart.

Someone is getting a new gas balloon. We don't know who, but it's exciting to know the sport may be growing a bit!

Back in the shop and doing what l love most; building a gas balloon! Plenty of time now to reflect on this past Summer. The Ascension Project is now a memory.

On this day in 2013 Jonathan Trappe attempted to fly across the Atlantic Ocean in a cluster balloon. Perhaps one day he or someone else will try again!

A few pictures of David Blaine's cluster balloon from the ground courtesy of Kathy Hansen!

David Blaine successfully flew a cluster balloon to 25,000 ft MSL and parachuted safely back to earth. He remained off O2 to 20,000 ft and his O2 levels were higher than any of ours would have been. This was a great day for ballooning, for aviation, for David, for Bert Padelt, for Don Day, and for David's daughter who he did this for to give her something beautiful. We needed this!

It's getting close! Are you going to be watching David Blaine in less than an hour? https://youtu.be/QwzvNAAqH3g

Balloon Federation of America

If you want to see something really cool check out David Blaine's new stunt tomorrow at 9 am EDT!

We have just heard from Bert Padelt, David Blaine will fly at 9 am EDT, 6 am local Arizona time tomorrow morning! Head to https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=QwzvNAAqH3g to watch it live!

David Blaine puts pin in ‘Ascension’ balloon stunt over Hudson River, moves it to Arizona

David Blaine changes plans, now will do stunt over Arizona.

https://www.nj.com/entertainment/2020/08/david-blaine-puts-pin-in-ascension-balloon-stunt-over-hudson-river-moves-it-to-arizona.html

nj.com Blaine had planned to float from New Jersey to New York using helium balloons.

David Blaine | Magician & Endurance Artist

Our own Bert Padelt has been working with illusionist David Blaine training him in gas balloon flying. Blaine plans to fly in a cluster balloon. Now you can watch the results of this training on August 31st and see if he makes his goal. Click the link to set a reminder or come back in a week and click the link to watch! Check this out, cluster gas balloon flying - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QwzvNAAqH3g

Meanwhile, head to https://davidblaine.com/ to view some of his other stunts and illusions!

davidblaine.com “David Blaine is the greatest magician who ever lived.” Howard Stern made that on-air proclamation. Just twenty- three when Street Magic first aired on ABC, transforming televised magic by turning the camera on the audience. Spectators at home could feel the visceral reaction of people being ast...

Cool! Free virtual camp for balloon lovers!! Sign up today.

There's still time! The first ever virtual balloon camp will be July 13th - 16th, 2020 and you can still join in! Because it is virtual we do not have a limit on the number of participants. There is also no age restriction! If you've ever thought to yourself that you might like to do balloon camp or if you want to learn more about many of the things we have to know as pilots this is your chance to join in! There is a FREE camp so there is no reason not to sign up and give it a try!

Head to www.bfa.net/campinar and get registered today!

The BFA Gas Division Board of Directors have been working diligently over the past three months to update the Gas Division’s bylaws, which were last revised 30 years ago - in March of 1990. The Balloon Federation’s Board of Directors has requested that all division boards review the bylaws associated with their divisions with the objective of bringing them up to date and syncing them with the BFA’s bylaws. Adoption of the amended bylaws requires a 2/3 majority affirmative vote by the voting division members as defined in the existing legacy 1990 bylaws. The amended bylaws have been already been approved by a majority vote of the Board of Directors of the Division.

All Gas Division Pilot Members in good standing as of July 6 are entitled to one vote. You will be voting to approve or reject the amended bylaws, dated 6/24/20, as written, in their entirety, without correction or modification. Voting will be open from July 26 through August 24th. Members with email addresses will receive an email with voting instructions on July 26. Members without email addresses will receive a paper ballot by postal mail.

Please take a moment to review the 'Current By-Laws' and the 'Proposed By-Laws' by going to your email and clicking on the links.

From Bert Padelt .

When one thinks of gas ballooning in this country they often think of long distance extreme ballooning consisting of thousand mile flights and high wind landings. I certainly thought the same so many years ago when as a young child my Grandmother would give me a small balloon to occupy my mind. I remember attaching myself to this balloon as my imagination would take me far away floating on the wind like the seeds of a dandelion.

There is something to be said however for the type of gas ballooning I just did a week ago, what I like to call 'gentleman' gas ballooning. A gas balloon flight where you take off and land in the same benign weather system as you would in a hot air balloon. A four or five hour flight consisting of two hours of darkness where you truly hear the world wake up, followed by multiple take off and landings and contour flying over the trees as though it were a hot air balloon. Where the flight is not only shared with the people in the basket but in addition it is shared with the other club members on the ground, eager for the second hop.

For me, the experience was even greater as I watched the balloon take off on the second hop, knowing that Joanie and I constructed this beautiful balloon together and that our hands have at some point touched every inch of the fabric when it was being built. A true labor of love.

The building process will soon be repeated again! We will be building a thousand meter gas balloon in the months to come and thus welcoming a new customer into the fold of gas ballooning!

Photos by: Brooke Ridgeway

Lifting Spirits around the World

Provide an opportunity for the Balloonists in Albuquerque and around the World to say THANK YOU to the “front-line workers” that exhibited steadfast determination to help where help was needed. #liftingspirits #liftingspiritsaroundtheworld

[06/26/20]   Dear Gas Balloon Division Members:

Your Board has talked about the postponement of the 2020, 64th Gordon Bennett competition in Poland and how it affects the teams who were scheduled to attend. Since the Gordon Bennet was postponed, not cancelled, the Board decided, at their June 11, 2020 meeting, that the teams that qualified and had accepted to attend the 64th Gordon Bennett will remain the teams to represent the U.S. at the 64th Gordon Bennett in Poland in 2021.

Since the 2021 teams are now in place, the next step is to determine the teams to represent the US in the 65th Gordon Bennett to be held in Switzerland in 2022. Since we now have two years to select those teams, the Board voted to accept results from BOTH 2020 and 2021. For 2020, this means the finishes from the 2020 AC or, if that event is not flown, the best ‘long jump’ finishes per our published rules. Although the 2021 qualifying event has not yet been determined, we anticipate the same scenario will be used in 2021. See the BFA website for current rules. Details of how the two years will be combined will be published later.



Sincerely,



Barbara Fricke

Gas Board Chair

From The Official YouTube Account of the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta

SUBSCRIBE for the latest Balloon Fiesta videos and information. Join us for "Time Flies" October 2-10, 2021.

The world's most prestigious gas balloon race | DW English

Enjoy this footage of the launch of the 2017 Gordon Bennett Race from Switzerland.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qt0lAvVqfXw

The oldest gas balloon world championships were held in Gruyère, Switzerland. Internationally acclaimed balloonists were on hand. The goal of this sport is t...

Company plans space tourism flights in high-altitude balloon

There is a new adventure coming... read on to learn more about plans to use helium balloons to take people 30 miles high!

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/space-tourism-space-perspective-balloon-ride-earth-atmosphere/?ftag=CNM-00-10aag7e

cbsnews.com Want an out-of-this-world wedding? Space Perspective plans to offer "gentle" flights to the edge of Earth's atmosphere.

The True History of the Aeronauts Who Transformed Our View of the World Above

Some gas balloon history!

smithsonianmag.com For early balloonists like James Glaisher, the sky was uncharted—and dangerous—territory

Get registered for the Campinar today! www.bfa.net/campinar

We’re excited to have you join us for a virtual summer camp! July 13-16, 8:00am-12:00pm (mst). Space is limited. Attendance is FREE. Tell a ballooning friend and register today. #summercamp #youngballoonists #youngguns #ballooncamp #balloonfederationofamerica

Gas Members, check your email - The Trail Rope is out!

Gordon Bennett 2022

Im Herbst 2019 konnte das Team von Laurent Sciboz und Nicolas Tièche aus Freiburg (Fribourg Freiburg Challenge) das Gordon Bennett für sich entscheiden. Die Langdistanz-Weltmeisterschaft im Gasballonfahren startete im französischen Montbéliard. Das Schweizer Team gewann nach einer Fahrt bis ans Schwarze Meer mit 1’775 Kilometern Distanz vor dem zweitplatzierten Team der Thurgauer Kurt Frieden und Pascal Witprächtiger (Gordon Bennett Gasballonteam Frieden / Witprächtiger) . Die Ballonfahrernation Schweiz hat nach einem hochspannenden Wettkampf einen Doppelsieg errungen.

Dritte Austragung in der Ostschweiz
Die Nation des Gewinnerteams kann diese prestigeträchtige Weltmeisterschaft der Gasballonpiloten jeweils im übernächsten Jahr austragen. Aufgrund der aktuellen Pandemie wurden die Anlässe 2020 und 2021 zusätzlich um ein Jahr verschoben. Die 65th Coupe Aéronautique Gordon Bennett wird deshalb im Spätsommer 2022 in der Stadt St.Gallen stattfinden. Damit findet die Langdistanz-Weltmeisterschaft bereits zum dritten Mal in der Ostschweiz statt. Im Jahr 1995 starteten die Ballone in Wil und im Jahr 2012 in Ebnat-Kappel im Toggenburg.

Faszination Ballonsport verbreiten
Mit dem Gordon Bennett 2022 soll ein internationaler Anlass der Sonderklasse in der Stadt St.Gallen stattfinden. Das Gordon Bennett wurde seit 1906 bereits 63-Mal durchgeführt und gilt als ältester und prestigeträchtigster Anlass in der Luftfahrt. Ein zentrales Anliegen der Organisatoren ist es, die Bevölkerung der Ostschweiz einzubinden. Die Faszination an der Aviatik und dem Ballonsport soll in möglichst breite Kreise herausgetragen werden.

www.gordonbennett2022.ch

Stadt St.Gallen St.Gallen-Bodensee Kanton St.Gallen FAI - World Air Sports Federation Coupe Aéronautique Gordon Bennett Aero-Club der Schweiz Schweizerischer Ballonverband SBAV - Fédération Suisse d'Aérostation FSA

alifeofballooning.com

FROM GERSTHOFEN TO RÜCKHOLZ... part 1

Unfortunately, as almost any other events this year, the Gas Balloon Cup at Gersthofen (originally scheduled for this weekend) has been cancelled.
Nevertheless, we decided to take off from there yesterday, with the plan to fly home to Seeg with our Gitzenweiler Hof Bodensee Ballon - and that worked very well, as you will see! 😊

Sadly the 64th Gordon Bennett will not be held until 2021.

Due to the actual pandemic situation, it is difficult to foresee the duration of the actual restrictions. Taking into consideration all problems relating to ATC, teams' travel and access for the public, we have decided to postpone this year's 64th Coupe Aéronautique Gordon Bennett FAI World Long Distance Gas Balloon Championship until 2021 ....still in Poland!

After a lot of consultation with Wroclaw City, Aero Club of Poland and especially FAI (International airsports federation) and its Ballooning Commission, we have decided to postpone the event to late summer 2021. Switzerland, the organzier of the 65th Coupe Aéronautique Gordon Bennett, has agreed to move their event to 2022. The new dates will be communicated before the end of September.

Balloon Federation of America Youth Program

Love this Nancy!

Please enjoy Albuquerque author Nancy Abruzzo read her children's book, Pop Flop's Great Balloon Ride! We appreciate that Nancy took the time to make this video for all of us to enjoy!

Hi all,
If you run an event or know someone who does please share this information with them

The Balloon Federation of America, (BFA) and Chair of the Hot Air Competitive Division, (HACD) are reaching out to balloon event planners and Executive Directors to offer resources, information, and assistance to help you navigate through these unprecedented times. Regardless if you are a BFA member or BFA sanctioned event, we are here to help you.

We have created a private group to connect with others who are facing many of the same challenges and decisions regarding their local ballooning events. To ensure the page remains true to its intended purpose, and benefits everyone, this is a closed group and you must be invited to join.

HOW TO JOIN:
1. Email Jason Jones, HACD ([email protected]) with the following information:
a. Name, location, and duration of your event
b. Website or page of your event
c. Your name on Facebook where the invitation can be sent

Photo courtesy of Jana Kelly