hotairballoonist

BFA Membership Application View File Join the BFA and help make a difference in the Balloon World. Submitter hotairballoonist Submitted 02/20/2013 Category BFA Applications  

Balloon Club www.bsok.org billyrgreen@hotmail.com

Balloon Rides https://cartercountryflights.com/ (610) 960 7732 info@cartercountryfllghts.com Tell them you FOUND them on HotAirBalloonist.com Currently they are not a member of HotAirBalloonist.com. Encourage them to become a member of HotAirBalloonist.com

Amendment to information regarding the FAA Special Federal Aviation Regulations Dated May 4, 2020 As extensively as we reviewed these Special FAA regulations prior to sending out the information on May 4, 2020, we missed something and there is conflicting FAA information on another. My signature was on the letter and so I will take full blame and hope that we have not created undue confusion. My apologies. Two of our BFA members, Jeff Prestun and Marty Larson took the time to read the FAA SFAR document with the link below. Both caught the same error. https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2020/05/04/2020-09472/relief-for-certain-persons-and-operations-during-the-coronavirus-disease-2019-covid-19-outbreak The Relief regarding the Flight review is limited in scope to the following: Relief granted in this section to certain eligible pilots and crewmembers applies only to persons conducting specific operations for which the FAA has determined relief is appropriate. The relief applies to any operation that requires the pilot to hold at least a commercial pilot certificate. This provision will support the continuity of essential commercial operations, which include aerial observation of critical infrastructure, aerial applications (e.g., crops), and private carriage of medical supplies and equipment, which are conducted under part 91, subpart K, and parts 125, 133, and 137.[25] Additionally, this relief applies to some operations conducted by pilots exercising private pilot privileges, provided the pilot has at least 500 hours of total time as a pilot of which 400 hours is as PIC and 50 of the PIC hours were accrued in the last 12 calendar months. The kinds of operations permitted are those that are: Incidental to business or employment, in support of family medical needs or to transport essential goods for personal use, necessary to fly an aircraft to a location in order to meet a requirement of this chapter, or a flight to transport essential goods and/or medical supplies to support public health needs. We have gone back to the FAA in Washington, DC to request clarification regarding both Private and Commercial as it pertains to LTA, but we anticipate the response will be a narrow interpretation which means that this SFAR actually provides no relief for private of commercial pilots regarding the Flight Review. If you have or will expire between March and June, 2020, you will still be required to conduct a Flight Review prior to exercising your privileges as a pilot. Additionally, the FAA has conflicting information as to when the expiration is for Knowledge exams. Please refer to your Knowledge test results for the actual expiration of the exam. The remainder of the information provided yesterday remains unchanged. Thanks to BFA member Brian Trapp for pointing this conflicting information out. Again, my apologies. I am embarrassed that we missed this information. We continue to work with the FAA folks to keep LTA in consideration as these types of decisions are being made. Please stay safe, Mark West President president@bfa.net

View File What is my Membership Type? On HotAirBalloonist.com your membership type determines a great deal about what you can and can not do. Many areas of the site are only viewable by certain types of memberships. Some areas you may be able to view and read but your membership does not allow you to post or reply. There are many many levels of permission's on the site. Here is a brief explanation of permissions. There is an area on this site for every aspect of the balloon world. Pilots, Manufacturers, Dealers, Equipment for sale, Students, Clubs, DE’s, Insurance, Festivals, Crew, Ride Operators and more. There are different membership levels for everyone. Each membership has a set of permissions customized for that membership. The permissions are as follows. View a topic, Respond to a topic, Start a topic, Upload a file, Download a file. These 5 permissions have been set for each Category and Sub-Category on the site and for every membership. To give you a little feel for the scope of this. There are currently 35 main Categories, 250 Sub-Categories, 12 Modules, and 22 Member Groups. That is a bunch of settings and there are 5 permission settings for each set. Submitter hotairballoonist Submitted 05/06/2020 Category Video Tutorials  

The following letter is what a new member will receive when they purchase a membership but it is a great overview of the things you can do on the HotAirBalloonist.com site. Hot Air Balloonist Membership. WELCOME ! The Hot Air Balloonist Membership is a great value. As a member you will now be able to see areas of the site a guest cannot see. You will also be able to post topics and replies in many areas of the site. You are now connected and participating with pilots around the country and the world! To give you a great head start, here are a few videos you may want to watch. The HOW TO video. Create your custom Signature. Personalize your Profile. Start a new Topic. Areas and Features you can now access! Full use of the Download Center. As a Member, you have full use of the download center. Download applications to events, Insurance Forms, FAA Forms, and many other items instantly available to you with a click of a mouse. You can also upload any forms you want available for others. The download center can be a very useful tool that allows all your forms to be downloaded by the user who needs those files. No more emailing attachments. Just send them a LINK. They can simply click the link and download your file! Create a photo gallery all about your Ballooning Adventures. Link your photo gallery to your Balloon event topic in the events category! Add descriptions of the photos about where and when they were taken. Create a blog about your ballooning or favorite event! Our Blog center is quite complex and will allow you to be quite creative in sharing your adventures and event. Use the Online Chat Rooms. Stop in and see who is there. Join or start a conversation with other balloon enthusiasts. Write an article about any aspect of ballooning. Share your past experiences with others. Help explain something you have experienced firsthand. Write a short story about one of your balloon adventures. The Current News page is the perfect place to share stories with the entire balloon world. You can also find current balloon events that hit the headlines in the Ballooning in the Headlines section of the Current Events page. Stick a pin in the Member Map. The Member Map is a Bing powered map with pins from members all over the country. Have a look around and see where other pilots and events are around the country. Browse the Equipment 4Sale category. Look for things you may need. Respond to topics started by others and ask any questions you would like from those who have equipment for sale. Start a poll in the Polling forum. Have a question that you want honest answers. Go to the Polling Forum on the topics page and start a topic about your question. Add a poll to your topic for others to choose any of multiple answers you have given. See the results in a real time format and get an honest opinion since the voting is done anonymously. Check on current news on the Current News page. See new articles written by other balloonists. See what ballooning events have hit the news from all over the world with our continuous news feed called “Balloon News”. The Balloon News is located below the articles section. Have a look around the online STORE. Find items you may not find elsewhere. There are many items in our store that have been purchased at special pricing for our members. Load a link to your favorite online balloon video in our Media section on the Current Events page. Insert a YouTube Video Status Updates. Turn on and post your status updates so everyone will hear from you. It is a shout out to others right on the front page of the site. Video Here Look on the calendar and find upcoming balloon events, festivals, safety seminars and many other things listed on several calendars available on the site. The Calendars are now connected to the MEMBER MAP so when you post an event, the calendar will automatically post a pin on the map for you! How to create an event. And there is still more! We are adding more and more each day. Let us know if you need help or have questions. HERE IS THE MOST IMPORTANT PART…. PARTICIPATE.. Use the site and participate. The entire site is designed for BALLOONIST’S. We created this site so YOU can share with your fellow LTA Aeronuts. Log in and USE the site. Once again, WELCOME and thank you for being a part of HotAirBalloonist.com

I feel a little like Rick Jones from the TV show The Walking Dead. I woke up in the hospital and the whole world had gone to shit. I am recovering at home. Besides the hospital and my home I have not been anywhere else in nearly three months. The PANDEMIC and Stay at HOME stuff has not been a change in lifestyle for me since I am under House Arrest from Doctors orders. The stroke I suffered has a very high percentage of DEATH associated with it. I am a lucky lucky man.

View File Start a POLL You can create a poll inside any topic. You can also have as many questions as you like with as many choices as you would like. Watch this video to find out how. Submitter hotairballoonist Submitted 05/06/2020 Category Video Tutorials  

View File Inserting a YouTube Video This Video will show you how to insert a video into a topic. The video must already be uploaded on YouTube. Submitter hotairballoonist Submitted 05/06/2020 Category Video Tutorials  

View File What's NEW When you visit the site you may be unsure what has been added since the last time you were here. You may want to know how to identify the new items on the site. Watch this video to be able to quickly identify the items that have been added since the last time you were logged in. Also a great way to know what you have and have not viewed on the site. Submitter hotairballoonist Submitted 05/04/2020 Category Video Tutorials  

View File Deleting a Post or Topic There are many reasons you may want to delete something you have posted on HotAirBalloonist.com This video shows how to delete a topic from one of the many categories on the site. Submitter hotairballoonist Submitted 05/04/2020 Category Video Tutorials  

View File Custom Signature On HAB when you make a post or reply to one you have the ability to sign your topic. This is called a Signature. If you create a Custom Signature then the HAB system will automatically sign your post or reply for you! Take a moment and view this video then create your own Signature. Submitter hotairballoonist Submitted 05/04/2020 Category Video Tutorials  

View File Status UPdate As a member you have a Status. How are you? "I am great" "Weather looks nasty" "Looking for a trailer" All of these things can be a "Status" There is a container for status updates on the front or main page on the right hand side. BUT!! You must turn ON your updates inside of your personal profile. Watch this video to find out how! Submitter hotairballoonist Submitted 05/04/2020 Category Video Tutorials  

BFA Covid-19 Update Just three weeks ago, we sent a letter addressing the Covid-19 affect on ballooning and the various perspectives with so much of the country on some form of lockdown. This whole experience has been very dynamic if you step back and look at what has happened throughout our country in just a matter of the past 2 months. In the past 10 days, we have seen a strong move from within both the public as well as government sectors to begin opening the country back up. There are strong opinions for those wanting to and those not wanting to, but the first step as been taken in Georgia with other states now at the beginning of May. What is also apparent is that each state is determining it’s own path for this transition and we expect that those paths will be just as dynamic depending on the course that the Covid-19 virus takes. With all of that said, we would offer the following as information that should be considered within the ballooning community for us to play our part in this transition. About two weeks ago, the White House issued the following document that began the discussions. This is a phased approach and offers perspective as to what and how to do, in very general terms, as we move forward. https://www.whitehouse.gov/openingamerica/ Each state has been directing what has been done with all but a handful having instituted some form of “Stay at Home” policy. Equally, the states will be determining their own path forward. We strongly recommend that you all stay informed as to what is happening within your state. Keep in mind some businesses may prefer to take a more conservative approach even more than is allowed under any new “opening” guidelines. Listen to how other businesses are choosing to regard those directions and then do what you believe is right for you and your area within the guidelines. Emphasis is being placed upon the safety of employees and the public both so as to not endanger anyone unnecessarily as well as to continue to control the spread of the disease. There are indications that outdoor activities may be less conducive for the transmission due to effects of UV and warmer temperatures as we look forward to summer’s approach. There are still no clear and absolute answers. You should continue to consider the following as you look to your ballooning activities: The CDC guidelines are still important and can be found here- https://www.coronavirus.gov Can you/your crew/passengers maintain proper social distancing in the course of the launch, flight, chase, and recovery? In the absence of social distancing, can protective measures be employed? What measures are sufficient? Respect landowners and the general public that might be present during launch or landing. Their safety and concerns must be considered. The news media is watching very closely. Remember, this disease can still be spread without yet showing symptoms. As we said before, we all love our sport and our ballooning family and care deeply about all of you. Like you, we are looking forward to returning to the flying we have all known and loved. For the present, please carefully abide by the federal, state and local guidelines. If/when you choose to begin flying, we suggest that you demonstrate great care and concern for crew, passengers and the general public. Remember, while you may be operating within the new guidelines, others may still view your actions as “too soon.” Please be respectful of their concerns and safety, and act as responsible ambassadors for our sport in the continuing difficult days. Stay safe, Your BFA Board of Directors