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POST IRMA


hotairballoonist

Post Irma

WOW, WHEW, YIKES, HOLY COW and more.  I have lived in Florida for nearly three decades.  8 years over on the gulf coast and 22 years here in the Central Florida area.  I have been thru a few hurricanes but this one was something completely different. I say that, but when I think back, each hurricane is unique in its own way.   The first thing about Irma was the sheer size of the storm.   Coast to coast, the hurricane was drawing strength from both the Atlantic side and from the Gulf of Mexico at the same time.  We are located just west of the Disney World area.  The Eye of the storm came right at us until the last minute when the eye wall just blew apart and became the biggest down burst you could imagine.  WE had 64 mile per hour sustained winds with gusts over 9sm_IMG_5527.JPG0 for 6 hours!  We did not sleep for more than 40 hours. The anxiety level was horrible.

The next morning we crawled out for our first look.  As tens of thousands of other people were doing the same thing, as we viewed our properties.  We lost power about 8pm that night and would have no power for the next 4 days. We live out in a very rural area and have no city water so without electric our home is nothing more than a very fancy tent.  Shingles missing, fences down, debris everywhere,  BIG BIG 120 year old OAK trees down over our drive way with no way out.  No place to go anyway since everything was under a curfew and many had no power. 

The Good news was that we are all safe, our home is still in one piece and we can live in it.  The trees missed our vehicles (by less than three feet).  To our surprise our neighbor and one of our best pilot friends showed up when they heard we were trapped and brought chain saws. sm_IMG_1099.JPG Three of us with Chain saws and 5 others spend nearly 5 hours cutting our way out.  The three of us with chain saws were joking that we were playing a big kids game of Jenga.  Cut the wrong branch and very bad things could happen.  Carefully and very surgically we cut the branches down to the main trunk. We then used a floor jack to support some of the last cuts managed to free ourselves from our blocked in status.  sm_IMG_1107.JPG

We did have a generator but it was a very small one.  Years ago, I wired in pig-tails into my electrical box.  This would allow me to use what is called as a suicide cord to plug the generator directly into the house.  The generator was one I had purchased back when I was a single man and did not need A/C or all those extras.  This was a generator that would keep the refrigerator, freezer running.  It would also provide us a few fans, a few lights, TV and satellite and enough power to run my office to provide internet to the house.  We had to shut down my office and the fans so my wife could vacuum before bed.  A ritual that not even a hurricane would stop.  sm_BurnCan.jpg

The next five days were spent mostly outside.  I had two 55 gallon drums that had been converted into burning cans.  We had then running for more than a week straight.  We had literally a ton of debris from the trees all over the property.  Rake and rake and then rake some more.  Load the wheel barrow and take it back to the burn cans.  At one point we had a pile in the back yard the size of a 15 passenger van.  Two weeks later and we still have a pile bigger than that out in the front of the house.  We did do a tremendous amount of work preparing for the storm and ALL of it was worthwhile in the end.  Over all we were very fortunate it sure could have been much worse and for many it was and our hearts go out to those who have lost their home or still have no power. 

When our power came back on we immediately loaned out our generator to a retired couple sm_Gen.jpgwho were living in a mobile home with no power.  We had heard thru a friend of a friend that the husband had just been released from the hospital for heat exhaustion and severe dehydration from being in the mobile home for 4 days with no AC.  They were able to run a small room air conditioner and the fridge with a few lights and a fan.  Their daughter could not thank us enough and we knew firsthand how the heat had taken a huge toll on us. The heat here in Florida is no joke and after a hurricane moves thru it draws all the water and clouds with it.  So we were baking in 92 degree heat and 90% humidity and perfectly clear skies.  Anyone exposed to this kind of heat can easily, for even the healthiest of us, become very overwhelmed with that.  I know when Gina and I hit day 6 we were both suffering from exhaustion and we had our power back and A/C so we could go inside and relax a little.sm_IMG_5606.JPG

My parents were extremely fortunate.  They never lost electric and had virtually no damage to their home at all.  In fact they were part of the cleanup crew the morning after, when we had to cut and clear two huge oak trees from our driveway.  My father told me that I should not be carrying such big logs with my bad ankle.  I continued to cut and carry because the job just had to be done.  A few minutes later my brother told me to tell dad to stop carrying such big logs and I told him that dad had said the same thing to me and I did not listen so I don’t think he would listen to me either.   sm_IMG_5623.JPG

Our evening ritual became a trip to grandma’s house. My wife and I and our two small children would go to grandma’s house each night for some AC and showers till we got our power back on.

Over all we were blessed.  It is sad to see the 100+/yr old trees come down and there will forever be a whole in the sky in our front yard.  The wind was from the east and we have a large lake directly east of our home so there was no stopping the wind and the gusts that were pounding us all night long.  Cleanup will go on for weeks and it will be a very long time before the scars heal and normalcy creeps its way back in, but it will. 

THANK YOU to all our friends who called, texted, emailed and more.

WOW, WHEW, YIKES, HOLY COW and THANK GOD…     Jeff

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    1. This is a very sad blog.

      As many of you know I suffered a massive stroke at the end of February 2020.  I spend most of march in the hospital starting off with 6 days in a coma.  I have now come out of the hospital Weak, Dizzy, Light Headed and unable to fly.   I am now on medication for high blood sugar. (Diabetes). I am on Medication for nerve pain,  I am on medication for High Blood pressure and a few others that I am unaware what they do but my wife puts them in my pill box and I take them.  I am on the phone (Virtual visit) with my doctor about every other week.  Only 1 in 4 survive the stroke I had and about 60% of those who do survive have permanent disabilities.  I do realize how incredibly fortunate I am just to be here. My family (including the balloon world) has been an inspiration to me and kept my drive to continue alive.  In reality, I have managed to come thru reasonably unscathed.  I still have (after being home two months) issues with my strength and equilibrium.  I get very dizzy or lightheaded (I feel like I am on a boat in the ocean) but my mental acuities and physical aptitude are unencumbered.  I have managed to loose enough weight that my medication for High Blood pressure has been reduced once already.  I continue to work each day on the internet, projects in the shop and other house hold chores to keep me busy and build my strength. 

      tissue2.jpgI am slowly coming to grip with the realization that I will never fly commercially again.  After nearly 7,000 flights and who knows how many tens of thousands of passengers I will never again be able to share my joy with those who have never experienced the amazing bliss of a Hot Air Balloon flight. 

      I started my balloon adventure at the age of 13 when my parents took me to see the National Balloon Championships in Indianola Iowa.  I went home and began to build model hot air balloons out of tissue paper and cellophane tape.  At tissue3.jpgfirst they were very crude and I burned up a few before I perfected my aircraft.  Eventually I created a tissue paper balloon with its own burner fed by 50 feet of plastic hose.  The burner was made out of a syringe from a hospital and tin foil.  My "Burner" was clipped in the mouth of the balloon where I would turn the fire, up and down, from the ground with a propane regulator stolen from my fathers Coleman camp stove.  One of my favorite tissue paper balloons was the balloon (on the right) I built for my high school.  It was Blue and White (School colors) and about 9 feet tall.  In the photo I am demonstrating it for my old Jr. High school in the Gym.  Try doing that now a days. I would fly that balloon in the end zone at school football games.  I would continue to fly that balloon even after I had my pilots certificate and my own real hot air balloon. 

      I started my training to become a Hot Air Balloon Pilot in the fall of 1975.  At that time I was 15 years old.  I completed my training and solo flew a balloon while I was 16 years old.  At 17 years old ( With my parents help) I was able to purchase the balloon I had trained in 549484_10151575146373424_1255794086_n.jpgand began my ballooning adventures.  I finished in the top 10 in the Iowa State Championships in 1977.  That same year I flew as a non-comp pilot in the National Balloon Championships in Indianola Iowa.  The same place, where just a few short years before I was a wide eyed 13 year old watching over a snow fence at balloons launching and floating directly over my head from the Simpson Collage campus.  Over the years I have had the privilege to meet and fly with many of the balloon world's "Hall of Famers".  I was able to fly with, (what today are considered) the legends of the sport.  As Capt Phogg would say, "I learned to fly balloons back in the day's when ballooning was dangerous and sex was safe"  (1)

      I am sadly coming to the horrible realization that my commercial flying days are over.  Even now as I recover I am starting to realize that in my condition just flying a balloon could be dangerous for me even if I were alone.   If you are reading this and have been one of 3rdplace.jpgmy past passengers you will undoubtedly realize the passion I had for balloon flying and the love I had for the intricacy of flight and how to "ride the wind". There is simply nothing in life I loved better than the artistry of flying a balloon.  It did not matter to me if I were flying passengers or training students or even flying competition I loved to fly.  I also loved passing along the knowledge of the art form.  I have an old testimonial page from our original Jeff78Natioinals.jpgwebsite years ago that has HUNDREDS of guest book entries. If you read them you will notice that most of them talk about my passion for flying. As one of my passengers said, "Your passion is hard to hide and very infectious".  Even my own father would comment on how I would amaze him with my desire to fly, even after all of these years.  So the idea that I can no longer fly is more than heartbreaking.  At this time there are things I still want to do in Ballooning.  I want to win the National Classic!  I want to take my son for his first flight!  I want to finish training my last two students!  I want to fly more passengers and share the AWE, that is balloon flight! There is so much more I want to do but I simply can not.  There is too much risk for me and for anyone I take along.

      Never told anyone this before.  I was at the National Balloon Championships in Battle Creek Michigan with my father.  We were on the last day of competition and the flight weather was marginal at best.  I had borrowed a balloon from Dave Sullivan (2).  It was a 90K balloon and we were sent out on a GO for flight.  My father made the decision that he would not fly because of the wind.  The conditions were well beyond what we would take passengers flying in, but, this is the National Championships and we are flying with the best of the best.  I was in go mode until my father came up to me and said " I am not going to fly but I will ride with you if you want.  In these conditions you will need the weight".  The balloon, I had borrowed was large enough to carry a pilot and three adults.  In windy conditions and without the proper weight load you are more or less flying a garbage bag in a hurricane.  The winds will toss you around like a rag doll since you do not have the proper load onboard.  So technically my father was correct.  I would need the extra weight on board to help with the performance of the balloon.  BUT....  Father was well into his 70's at this point.  There was a good chance that w35789_401582233423_3999749_n.jpge would be beaten up good on landing, even a good landing at those speeds.  When you land a balloon, you land at what ever the speed of the wind is.  In a balloon that is under loaded you will never get the balloon stopped.  You simply do not have the weight to stop the balloon as the fabric catches the wind and acts like a sail.  I told my father "I am going to stay on the ground too".  I simply could not take the chance of hurting my father at that age.  A broken bone in your seventies may not heal for years.  I wanted to fly in the competition but did not want to do it at the risk of my fathers health.  I shed several tears on the way back.  I hope some day to become half the man my father is.

      I am now going thru decades of balloon equipment trying to evaluate what is trash and what could be worth something to someone.  I have so much stuff.  Radios, Tanks, GPS, Go-Pro cameras, compass's, Baskets, Fans, Vans, Trailers and more.  Trying to sort thru all the stuff is a daunting task.  Slowly we are listing the items here on this site.  Hopefully the items will find a new loving home and continue the task of creating amazing memories for those who fly.

      EYMasterPilottn.jpgAt this point all I can do is reminisce about the past 45+ years and the wonderful people I have met and the amazing things I have been able to do while involved in ballooning.  I may need to sit down and tell a few stories over the next few years.  Many fun stories and some scary ones as well.  Most of all I need YOU!  I need you to continue to use the HotAirBalloonist.com site.  Become a member and help me spread the wisdom, knowledge, advice and more to the next generation of balloonists.  I no longer have the ability to earn my living from balloon flying.  It is my hope that I can earn a living with my abilities on the web and mostly this site.  Please tell your friends about this site.  Go get a membership right now and start a club.  Ask me if you need something built.  TonyT.jpgWhat features do you want to see on the site?  I have been involved in every aspect of the balloon world.  From repairs to competition and Cold Air balloons to entire envelope rebuilds.  I have flown in many locations and built 100's of inflatables.  I have built custom inflatables, from standard style inflatables to Lemon aid cups to propane tanks to Tony the Tiger head to an airbag on a billboard and even a 68ft tall Christmas tree.  I have a ton of knowledge and experience and I feel a strong desire to pass this along to as many as care to listen.  This website is my vehicle and you are the driver.  Without paid members I can not continue to support this site. 

      Thank you to everyone whom have touched me and my family.  The balloon world is such a fascinating and fantastic place to be a part of.

      Jeff A Thompson

       

      (1) Thank you Capt. Phogg for your quip's that I still use.  AKA Dennis PHloden  He will understand.

      (2) Dave Sullivan is a dear friend and mentor.   I was privileged to fly with him in the Harley Davidson Balloon at the National polegrab.jpgBalloon Classic in the Key Grab event.  Dave actually got the ring off the top of the pole in front of more than 10,000 screaming fans!

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