hotairballoonist

SAVE THE DATES! The Second Annual Pahrump Balloon Festival will be held on March 20th, 21st, & 22nd at Petrack Park in Pahrump, Nevada. This years balloon festival promises to be BIGGER and BETTER than ever! We will be posting our schedule of events on this page so be sure to check back soon!

Once again, the Albuquerque Aerostat Ascension Association Education Committee will present a Commercial Pilot Ground School April 24, 25 & 26, 2015. Students completing the course will be awarded with my autograph in their logbook endorsing them to take the FAA Commercial Pilot written exam. Space is limited so register early and often! Commercial Pilot Ground School Registration deadline April 15 before April 7 th - $155* AAAA member, $175* non members after April 7 th - $200* members and non members AAAA ground schools meet Friday evening and all day Saturday and Sunday at the AIBF Office at 4401 Alameda Blvd NE in Albuquerque. Click here of On-line Registration Don Boyer Belen, NM

The Connecticut Lighter Than Air Society (CLAS) is pleased to announce it's 12th Annual Ruth Salzberg Memorial Safety Seminar. The seminar will be held on March 28, 2015, at the Eversource (formerly Connecticut Light and Power) facility at 107 Selden St., Berlin, CT. The seminar will be CORE, with topics to include weather, maintenance and equipment repair, pilot and crew safety, aeronautical and pilot decision making, balloon accidents, FARs, does your pilot support you?, and balloon photogarphy with new technologies. A light breakfast, lunch, and mid-mornng and afternoon snacks will be served. Further information and a registration form are posted on the CLAS web site: www.lighterthanair.org We hope to see you there.

Registration is open for the 36th Midwest Continuing Education Seminar! Saturday, March 21st, 2015 Waukesha, WI 7:00am – 5:00pm Central Time Registration forms can be found at: www.wiballoongroup.org SPEAKER SCHEDULE – subject to change. We Energies – Power Line Safety Jeff Trzebiatowski - Sectional Charts – symbols and airspace Mark McGinnis – CBS 58 Chief Meteorologist – Weather Larry Konash – “Balloon Insurance, what am I buying” Tim Cloyd – “The Long Jump, a flight into the unknown” And more TBA Pilots - $75 Crew - $45 Pilot/Family (1 pilot, 1 crew) - $110 2 Pilot Family - $130 Registration includes – Continental Breakfast, Lunch and WBG Membership. _______________________________________________

The 2015 BFA Online Continuing Education Seminar Webinar will be presented live from the BFA Convention in Reno, Nevada on Saturday, April 18th. If you can't make it to the convention, you can catch part of the action! The BFA Seminar Webinar is designed for those balloonists that can't get to a face-to-face seminar, but still want to maintain their education, especially regarding flying safely. The user will need a computer and a stable Internet connection to access the site. To attend "on-line", you will need to register in advance of the session. Once payment is received, you will receive a registration number by email that will be used on the day of the event to check-in. You will be provided information on how to access the site where the Seminar Webinar will be hosted. After the Seminar Webinar has completed, you will need to complete a short, on-line test to verify your attendance. The seminar will be broadcast from the Silver Legacy Convention Center in Reno, Nevada from approximately 7:30 am to 5:00 pm Pacific Time. The Seminar Webinar is fully sanctioned by the BFA and should qualify for most insurance company discounts. Complete information and registration at http://www.bfa.net/cgi-bin/dada/mail.cgi/r/bfa_all_members/329815338478/CaptJeff/Thompsonaire.com/ Dean Carlton Great Lakes Regional Director On-Line Registration Guy Balloon Federation of America 217-304-2365

The 2015 BFA Online Continuing Education Seminar Webinar will be presented live from the BFA Convention in Reno, Nevada on Saturday, April 18th. If you can't make it to the convention, you can catch part of the action! The BFA Seminar Webinar is designed for those balloonists that can't get to a face-to-face seminar, but still want to maintain their education, especially regarding flying safely. The user will need a computer and a stable Internet connection to access the site. To attend "on-line", you will need to register in advance of the session. Once payment is received, you will receive a registration number by email that will be used on the day of the event to check-in. You will be provided information on how to access the site where the Seminar Webinar will be hosted. After the Seminar Webinar has completed, you will need to complete a short, on-line test to verify your attendance. The seminar will be broadcast from the Silver Legacy Convention Center in Reno, Nevada from approximately 7:30 am to 5:00 pm Pacific Time. The Seminar Webinar is fully sanctioned by the BFA and should qualify for most insurance company discounts. Complete information and registration at http://bfa.net/seminar/ Dean Carlton Great Lakes Regional Director On-Line Registration Guy Balloon Federation of America 217-304-2365

Saturday, March 28th Danville Area Community College - Bremer Center Danville, Illinois 7:00am - 5:00pm Central Time Register online at http://bagiballoon.org/seminar.html SPEAKER SCHEDULE Ryan Carlton - Crew Decision Making Gordon Schwontkowski - Accident Investigation Brian Trapp - Repairs & Maintenance Tony Sandlin - Pilot Decision Making Gordon Schwontkowski - Landowner Relations Scott McClinton - Flight Operations & Tethers Tony Sandlin & Laurie Givin - Balloon Ride Operators And more TBA BFA Pilots - $70 Non-BFA Pilots - $75 Crew - $30 You can pay by check or credit card. :)Dean Carlton CaZoo Hot Air Team Danville IL USA

*2015 Sioux Falls Hot Air Ballooning* *Continuing Education Safety Seminar* Put on your NTSB hat to solve the mystery of a MOCK balloon accident that occurred near Sioux Falls. Mark West has offered to share his expertise and experience in accident investigation and will lead us through the process. We are meeting on March 7th, 2015 to interview witnesses, analyze wreckage and hopefully learn enough to avoid another tragedy like this. So far we have found these witnesses for you: · Brad Temeyer from the NWS has weather information from the day of the accident · Mark West runs the repair station that performed the last annual inspection · Kay West is the FAA representative with information about the pilot, the balloon system and data from the GPS recovered at the crash site. · Jon Kolba is a firefighter from the accident site · Tom Sharpee is the sheriff who first responded to the 911 call · Stan Burgers is the LP delivery guy who last refueled the balloon There will be landowner, crew and any other witnesses to fill in all the details of the MOCK Accident . *Details for our seminar:* This is a BFA sanctioned seminar. All profits go to LifeScape (formerly SD Achieve) to support community involvement for adults with Disabilities *When? *Saturday March 7th, 2015 Registration 0730, Introductions 0800, Done by 1700 *Where? *LifeScape (formerly South Dakota Achieve) Conference Center, 4100 S Western Ave, Sioux Falls, SD 57105 Located on the east side of Western Ave, just north of I-229 *Cost? *$50 for Pilots & $20 for crew/family members We are limited to 80 registrations this year so we encourage you to register early. Lunch, Snacks, Coffee & Soda are provided for those who register by February 20th Send a check made to *LifeScape* Additional Donations to LifeScape are welcomed *How? Reply to this email and I'll send you a registration form!*Complete the attached registration form and send with payment. Jeanne Anson BFA Seminar coordinator -- Jeanne Anson Brandon, South Dakota, USA

[/right] The High Sierra Balloon Camp will be held in Reno, Nevada on the campus of the University of Nevada. Campers will be in the dorms with 24/7 security, food service, transportation, etc. provided. This is the ultimate experience for those 13 to 18 year olds who want to learn more about hot air balloons, crew for balloons or hold a student pilot certificate. No need to worry if you don’t have experience handling balloons. Balloon tethers are scheduled throughout the camp (weather permitting) under the leadership of certified pilots. We are planning on visiting the local balloon repair shop, Lake Tahoe and Virginia City. We have pilots attending from Nevada, California, New Jersey and Colorado. Campers will train on Aerostar, Cameron, and Firefly balloons. We will have a balloon inflated so the campers can “explore” the inner workings of the envelope. Weather permitting there will be daily, hands-on, training with balloons. In addition there will be classroom sessions covering a variety of balloon related topics including: -Pilot Training -Flight Planning -Safety -Repairs and Maintenance -Federal Aviation Regulations -Propane -First-Aid -Airspace -And more . . . Transportation will be provided to and from the airport for campers flying into Reno. Attire for the week is casual, balloon friendly. The BFA balloon camp program has been rated as one of the top camps in the nation by MSN.

[/left] Great Eastern Balloon Camp July 12-16, 2015 Millersville University Millersville, Pennsylvania Are you a teen (or know of one) aged 13-18, interested in hot air ballooning and willing to join us for five fun filled action packed days/evenings? Camp starts Sunday afternoon and ends Thursday afternoon at the Millersville University campus. Come and share 5 days with up to 20 teens living and breathing ‘ballooning’ . PREVIOUS BALLOONING EXPERIENCE is NOT REQUIRED as our campers will be joining a volunteer staff of FAA certified pilots and experienced crew who will be acting as their mentors and counselors – making sure everyone benefits. Enjoy the company of others sharing a passion for ballooning, in this unique and different camp experience! Please register for our camp by clicking on the "Sign Up" link above. Between our hands-on work with various balloon systems (including rigging, tethering and pack-up), and our interactive class sessions, our campers will learn quickly. They will learn what is important to pilots and crew, all while in a fun and safety oriented environment. [/left] You will find the tuition for this camp includes all that, plus meals and housing in the secure campus dormitories at the University. When camp ends, you will leave as a more valuable crew member, better prepared for becoming a safe pilot, and a chance for lasting friendships. Our camp is centrally located with easy access to/from the following airports: Philadelphia International, Harrisburg International, and Lancaster Airport. Twenty lucky teens will have the opportunity for an experience others only dream about.