hotairballoonist

Often it is very hard to get the air out and the balloon into a bag but, there are many more factors to think about when it comes to a good balloon bag. Temperature outside! Your balloon will pack up differently depending on the time of year. Can your balloon bag compensate for this? In the winter months the air is cold. Cold air is dense and thick and does not want to come out of your balloon so you need a bigger bag. In the summer months the air is warm and warm air is thinner and will leak out of your balloon easier so the balloon will pack up more compact. Therefore you will need a smaller bag. How often do you fly? Does your bag have a vinyl bottom? What about the sides of the bag? Think about this, do only your feet get wet? Or sometimes are your pants wet up to your knees! If you have a bag, and the only part of the bag that has vinyl on it is on the bottom you run the risk of getting the balloon wet when you are packing it up. If you do not fly often you will need to get the balloon back out and dry it out or run the risk of mildew on your envelope. There have been some balloons get wet from the dew on the test inflation at the factory and then show up looking like a tie dyed shirt from the 70’s Can you carry it? How many handles does your bag have? Are they real handles or just a strap that is sewn in a few places? If it does have handles can you get your hand in them? Sometimes the handles are sewn on with a small gap and many men cannot get a hand into the handle comfortably. How many handles does the bag have? 4, 6, 8 or more! More handles means less work for each person who is helping to carry your envelope. How wide is the handle webbing? A “1” inch webbing can hurt your hands where a 2 inch webbing handle with a soft nylon it won’t hurt your hands. Handle Placement! How many rows of handles? One? Where is the row of handles placed? Near the bottom of the bag? Near the top of the bag? If the row of handles is near the bottom of the bag then the shorter crew cannot carry the bag since the tall crew will have the bag too high off the ground for them to help. On the other side of things handles mounted near the bottom of the bag will give your taller ground team a back ache. Another thing to think about is getting the balloon out of the bag. Handles placed near the top of the balloon will cause the balloon to scrape the lip of the bag as you pull it out. Handles placed nearer the bottom of the bag will allow the balloon to flow out of the bag with less resistance. How well does the bag fit the balloon? A loose fitting envelope bag is a nightmare. Many pilots will run the draw string (Rope) thru some of the handles in an attempt to tighten up the bag more on the balloon. A tight balloon envelope bag will roll like a doughnut and not need to be carried. The Balloon Works bag allows the bag to be tightened up very nicely to accommodate the balloon at all times thru the life of the balloon as well as for different ambient temperatures. However, the strap with O-rings can be very clumsy to use and time consuming to lace each time. Do you have a rope in the top of your bag? Is there a loop tied into the end of the rope that the other end of the rope pulls thru when you tighten up the bag? That will break in time. Each time you tighten that rope the rope wears on the inside of that loop and will give out when the crew gives a good pull. When the crew falls over backwards because of the sudden breakage of the rope let’s hope they don’t hit their head on the trailer or truck or tommy lift! At the very least tie a metal ring on the end of the rope that you cinch the bag with. So what is a good bag? • Slightly smaller in diameter and slightly taller. This allows the bag to be condensed downward as needed for the conditions. • Three sets of handles. Two sets of 8 handles located 1/3rd up from the bottom and 1/3rd down from the top of the bag. Then 4 more handles located on the top rim of the bag. You can use the upper set of handles to draw the top of the bag down even tighter. (See Video) • Vinyl bottom and at least 1/3rd vinyl up the side of the bag. The Bottom and first 1/3rd of the bag should be double lined! At least 2 layers thick and with a heavy 18oz per yard vinyl. • A good draw rope on the top. Not a small ¼ inch rope that will hurt your hands but at least a 3/8 to ½ inch rope to make it easier to tie and untie. • The top ½ -2/3rd of the bag should be made out of a heavy canvas that allows the balloon to breath. If you pack up a balloon quickly the balloon will retain some of the heat from the flight. This heat will help “Bake” out some of the moisture the balloon may have picked up from the landing site. The canvas will allow the moisture to evaporate and leave the balloon • Handles located near the bottom of the bag for easy drag out! 8 handles on each row is optimal. Remember when you are pulling out your balloon you want two or three people on the same side of the bag. Having only four handles makes this difficult. We hope we have given you a few things to think about. Remember safety is in the DETAILS. No detail is too small to think about. A good envelope bag can save your back, make things easier on the crew, make it less abrasive on your balloon and keep the balloon dry and mildew free. I am unsure how many people actually think about the bag your balloon goes into but next time you will sure look at yours. If you need a new bag we have them available in the store in the Product Category “The Pilots Flight Bag” Please fly safe and have fun. Jeff.

You are invited to attend the 39th Annual Midwest Hot Air Balloon Continuing Education Seminar. Mark your calendars for March 25th, in Waukesha, WI, If you haven't found just the right continuing education seminar, this is still time to join us for this exceptional Hot Air Ballooning Educational Opportunity. The Wisconsin Balloon Group is proud to again offer a full day of presentations in accordance with the BFA Continuing Education Program. Our presenters include: Andy Baird - Maintenance Jepardy/NTSB Hearing Ryan Carlton – Weather Larry Konash – Insurance -focusing on propane accident in Colorado Sam Parks – Propane - NFPA-58 information/NTSB Hearing Harold “Bubba” Cliver – Decision Making/Making Competition Fun Jurg Grossenbacher - FAA and the FAAST Safety Team Dean Carlton – BFA Updates/NTSB Hearing Gordon Schwontkowski - Flight Risk-Human Factors & Safety Highlighting our seminar this year will be a round-table, interactive discussion regarding the NTSB investigation and accident that occurred in Lockhart, TX last July. Here is your chance to discuss face for face with our BFA representatives that were present at the NTSB hearing. The cost for the safety seminar for pilots will be $75.00 and crew members will be $35.00. Hotel accommodations for the seminar attendees will be provided by Wildwood Suites in Pewaukee, WI. The hotel is located conveniently just off of I-94, within a short 10 minute drive to the seminar location. Attendees will receive a reduced room rate of $91.00. You can make your reservation by calling (262)506-2000 <(262)%20506-2000>. Please indicate that you are attending the Wisconsin Balloon Group Continuing Education Seminar to receive this special rate. Please book your rooms by March 15th, 2017. Check out the hotel at www.thewildwoodlodge.com/pewaukee/ We look forward to your participation and attendance at the 2017 Midwest Continuing Education Seminar. Please extend this invitation to your students and crew as well. Additional seminar information and applications are available at wiballoongroup.org or feel free to contact me at any time. Best Regards: Ken Walter Wisconsin Balloon Group Continuing Education Chairman _______________________________________________ Balloonmail mailing list Balloonmail@interaeroleague.com https://pairlist2.pair.net/mailman/listinfo/balloonmail

http://havasuballoonfest.com/schedule-of-events/

The Connecticut Lighter Than Air Society (CLAS) invites you to our 14th Annual Ruth Salzberg Memorial Safety Seminar, to be held on Saturday, February 25, at the Yale University Divinity School, in New Haven, CT. The focus of this year's seminar will be on crew activities. Further details and a registration form will soon be available on the CLAS website: www.lighterthanair.org . If you would like me to email you the seminar info, let me know at mdsand@snet.net .

Rio Grande Balloon Camp Albuquerque New Mexico Don Boyer Director. We are happy to announce that registration for the 2017 BFA Junior Balloonist Camps will start on March 1, 2017. We will have 3 camps this year, each hosting around 20 campers. If you or your club is interested in sponsoring a camper or making other contributions, contact BFA Youth Director Mike Shrum. To learn more about the BFA Balloon Camps CLICK HERE

Sierra Nevada Camp, Reno/ Truckee California- Jeff Haliczer director. We are happy to announce that registration for the 2017 BFA Junior Balloonist Camps will start on March 1, 2017. We will have 3 camps this year, each hosting around 20 campers. If you or your club is interested in sponsoring a camper or making other contributions, contact BFA Youth Director Mike Shrum. To learn more about the BFA Balloon Camps CLICK HERE

Oshkosh Wisconsin EAA Academy Jeff Trzebiatowski Director. We are happy to announce that registration for the 2017 BFA Junior Balloonist Camps will start on March 1, 2017. We will have 3 camps this year, each hosting around 20 campers. If you or your club is interested in sponsoring a camper or making other contributions, contact BFA Youth Director Mike Shrum. To learn more about the BFA Balloon Camps CLICK HERE

The Illinois/Indiana Continuing Education Seminar Illinois/Indiana Continuing Education Seminar is scheduled to be held on Saturday, April 1, 2017 at the Bremer Center at Danville Area Community College, 2000 E. Main Street, in Danville Illinois. This is a joint venture between the Montgolfier Society of Indiana and the Balloon Association of Greater Illinois. This year the seminar will also serve as the Balloon Federation of America's OnLine seminar, and will be broadcast LIVE across the nation. With that come a spectacular line up of national-grade speakers! Register here: http://bagiballoon.org/seminar.html Speaker List: Brad Temeyer - Weather Andy Baird - Accident Review and Analysis Katie Griggs - Propane Safety John Griffin & Larry Konash - Insurance Panel Discussion Joe Zvada - Aeronautical Decision Making Tony Sandlin - Commercial Ride Operations Gordon Schwontkowski - Ground & Crew Safety Seminar Fees: BFA Pilot - $70.00 Non-BFA Pilot - $75.00 Crew - $35.00 Check-in will begin at 8:00am Central time. Classes will run until 5:00pm. A great lunch is included in the registration fee, as well as snacks and drinks. Dean Carlton BAGI

"Learning from the Past, a Bitter Lesson" Good afternoon, The Balloon Society of Kentucky is hosting their 2017 safety seminar "Learning from the Past, a Bitter Lesson" on Saturday, February 11, 2017 in Louisville, Kentucky. The seminar will begin at 7:30 am and end at 5:00 pm, lunch is included on-site and the cost is $45 for BSOK Pilot members, $55 for Non-BSOK Pilot members, and $20 for Crew (cost includes lunch). Our speakers for the day will be: Michael Montgomery Weather and SKEW-T Meteorology John Griffin Insurance & legal matters Andy Baird Accidents, Lockhart Texas and the NTSB Brian Beazly & Wayne Gerding Flight Operations, the interaction between the pilot & crew Scott McClinton Answering the NTSB, checklists & record keeping Sam Parks Propane, NFPA-58 information and updates Tony Sandlin Flight Operations Matthew McClinton FAA - moving forward after Lockhart Space may be limited as the registration process moves forward, so please let me know if you are interested in attending. Please email me at Scott@skycab-balloons.com if you would like a registration form and we hope to see you in Louisville soon. If we have enough interest on Friday evening we may arrange a visit to 4th Street Live and a nice bourbon bar, the cost of which is not included in your registration. Scott McClinton SkyCab Balloon Promotions, Inc. 4900 Olde Creek Way Prospect, KY 40059 (502) 228-8955 office (502) 267-5004 fax (502) 445-5271 mobile www.SkyCab-Balloons.com skycabalon@aol.com

Great Reno Balloon Race September 7-10, 2017

Pahrump Balloon Festival February 24-26, 2017