hotairballoonist

View File Download a PZ for HotAir.app This video tutorial shows how to delete old files and download new files for the HotAir.app here on HotAirballoonist.com. Submitter hotairballoonist Submitted 07/22/2023 Category Video Tutorials  

View File Download a KML for an iPad This video tutorial is for downloading a KML PZ file for use on an iPad or iPad mini. Submitter hotairballoonist Submitted 07/17/2023 Category Video Tutorials  

View File Downloading KML files for iPhone This is a video tutorial on how to download a KML PZ file to an iPhone. This video is for the iPhone and the HotAir.app Submitter hotairballoonist Submitted 07/17/2023 Category Video Tutorials  

Inflation Fan Frame Drawing View File This drawing is for a 30 inch fan blade with a 9hp Honda motor installed. Fan frame design works great! I have made 5 of them and used them for several thousand inflation's with no troubles. I even had two frames build from aluminum and they are fantastic! Submitter hotairballoonist Submitted 04/07/2014 Category Inflation Fan Information  

I know this newsletter is a few days early but the clock is ticking... Your Ballooning Christmas Gift from the FAA It seems ironic to me that, the day after Montgolfier day (Nov, 21st) the FAA decides to introduce the new regulations on the sport I so dearly love. New regulations that will “I believe” harm our industry in ways we cannot even begin to imagine. The Second Class Medical requirement is now on the books and the 180 day clock is counting. In this newsletter we will try to examine the ins and outs of this new requirement and how it applies to YOU and I. SO HANG ON…. It seems our comments did not matter. According to the press release there were 192 respondents to the NPRM. The FAA broke them down as follows. 15 were considered out of scope. 17 were in favor. 112 were opposed. 142 suggested some sort of change. So what did the FAA do? Exactly what the NTSB recommended. Commercial LTA pilots now must have a second class medical just like other commercial flight certificates. They made no changes or alterations to the recommendation from the NTSB, it seems our comments made no difference at all. Here is a direct link to the press release where you can read the entire 21 page press release. Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 224 / Tuesday, November 22, 2022 / Rules and Regulations It is unfortunate that the FAA felt as they were forced to make this change and it did not matter as to how many respondents there were. They did note that two industry advocates did make strong statements against this proposed rule change. That would have been the BFA and HAB. I personally made 3 entries to the proposed rule from three different viewpoints. One as the Admin for the HotAirBalloonist.com site. One as a fellow balloonist and one as a Balloon Ride operator. In each of the postings I pointed out issues relative to those positions. First as an industry advocate and the potential harm it will do to the industry as a whole. Second as a balloonist and the hardships and additional cost if will create personally. Third as a Professional Ride Operator and how that would affect the operation and costs to the guests. I am unsure if more respondents would have made a difference but is would have been nice to have. I feel saddened that out of 4,869 (Page 9) we were only able to produce 192 postings. Even less than that if you account for the fact that some of us posted more than one! This means that only 4% stepped up to respond! Think about that, the next time you are at a safety seminar with 100 pilots or a balloon event with 100 pilots and realize that in that room full of people, only 4 of them bothered to stand up for YOU & ME. We don’t know how bad this will mess things up but were going to do it anyway. Here is a paragraph directly from the press release. (page 5) “The opportunity cost (including the time and fees) of seeking a second-class medical certification for some pilots may outweigh the monetary gains of operating commercially, resulting in some pilots opting not to seek medical certification. The FAA does not have sufficient information to predict how the supply of commercial balloon pilots would change as a result of this rule.” The FAA admits that there are pilots who COULD fly just fine but may not be able to meet the requirements or may not wish to go thru all the expense and time involved to comply and just, more or less drop out. (page 14) “However, the FAA expects some applicants who would have otherwise been able to operate as commercial balloon pilots may not meet the requirements of a second-class medical certification nor the requirements for a special issuance. Furthermore, the opportunity cost (including the time and fees) of seeking a second-class medical certification for some pilots may outweigh their private gains from operating commercially, resulting in some pilots opting not to seek medical certification. The FAA does not have sufficient information to predict how the supply of commercial balloon pilots would change as a result of this rule.” There will be no Santa Clause Apparently one of the commenters made a suggestion that the current commercial LTA operators should be exempt from the new rule. You could call it the Old Farts Clause. The FAA stuck in the following paragraph to make it clear that there would be no Old Farts (Santa) Clause in it for us. (page 6) “The FAA does not consider the concept of excluding existing commercial pilot certificate holders from having to comply with a medical certificate requirement to be in the interest of flight safety. Existing commercial pilot certificate holders pose a similar medical risk to the NAS as new commercial pilot certificate holders. Such an exception for existing commercial pilots would remove this group from the safety benefit of medical certification without any additional medical risk mitigation.” The FAA has no evidence? There is one paragraph that just struck me as either a huge diversion or an out and out lie. They said the following. “The FAA notes that, as a group, older pilots are more likely to have medical conditions that need additional evaluation. The FAA does not have evidence to support the assertion that balloon pilots are as a population older than other pilots.” (PAGE ? Wait… They can make estimates of the time involved and the costs of getting your second class medical, the overall industry cost (in the millions of dollars) and they cannot look at the actual records they have on file of your birth date? Go ahead and pull out your pilot license, it has your D.O.B. right on the front! They know how old you are and they even stated how many commercially rated LTA pilots there were in the country! (see page 9) They can even tell you how many new commercial pilots are entering the market each year but they cannot figure out the average age of the pilot population? Seems odd to me how they can figure out the complex things that support their actions but gathering the facts that support opposition is somehow something “The FAA does not have evidence to support”. On page 9 they reported this. “2021 data from the Airmen Certification database to identify pilots certificated as commercial balloon pilots. There are currently 4,869 commercial pilots with balloon class ratings. During the public comment period, the FAA learned that most insurance providers have required commercial pilots flying balloons larger than 120,000 cubic feet to hold a second-class medical certificate. FAA sources indicate that of the 4,869 commercial pilots with balloon class ratings, 427 balloon pilots (approximately 8.8% of total commercial balloon pilots) fall into this category.20 Therefore, the updated estimated number of balloon pilots without medical certification in 2021 is 4,442”. The FAA did not divulge how many LTA pilots do indeed have a second class medical. I had hoped that they would have released that information since I am sure they have that data. The Clock is ticking! So when do I need to accomplish my medical? Well, according to the press release (Page ? “The FAA proposed in the NPRM that compliance with the medical certificate requirement become effective 180 days from publication of the final rule. This would provide sufficient time for the majority of affected persons to comply with this rule by obtaining a medical certificate prior to the effective date. For reasons explained below, the medical certificate requirement will go into effect on May 22, 2023, 180 days after publication of this rule.” So May 22nd 2023 is the date! So the next question is how do I get this done? Where do I go? Several months ago I went to this link online and it did not work. I recently returned to the site and this time it seemed to work just fine. Here is the link where you can find a local AME where you can make an appointment to get your exam. https://designee.faa.gov/#/designeeLocator Here is a link to the FAA pages that explain the requirements for a “Second Class Medical” It is a good idea to look over the list and identify any issues BEFORE you go in for your medical so you have an idea of what you will be asked. CFR 14 - FAA Second Class Medical FAR 67 “Subpart C” What is involved? The first thing you need to do is set up an account with the online MedXPress form. Using your email and a password you can set up an account. Then fill in the online form. Once complete you will need to set up an appointment with an AME. They will review the online application and then preform your exam. Sounds simple right?... (From page 10) “To obtain a second-class medical certificate, an applicant needs to complete the MedXPress form and a medical exam with an AME. Because the second-class medical certificate expires 12 months after the date of the medical exam, the FAA assumes that pilots incur these costs on an annual basis. The FAA estimates the opportunity cost of time for each applicant would include 1.5 hours to complete the MedXPress form, 1 hour for the medical examination, and 1 hour of travel time to and from the exam for a total of 3.5 hours.” Here is a link to the MedXPress form. The information required is quite comprehensive so get started right away. Bear in mind that you will need any and all medications you are taking and all the doctor visits you have made over the last 3 years! Here are some of the questions you will be asked. BE PREPARED TO EXPLAIN ANY "YES" response Depending on the medications you are on and the number of doctor visits you have made in the last three years it may take some time and effort to complete the MedXPress form. Start to make your list before you log into the MedXPress Form. Can someone pass me a SODA? So you think there is a problem? You may be able to get an exception. It is called a SODA (see page 7) “Statement of Demonstrated Ability”. Here is A LINK where you can go to read more about what a SODA is and how it applies to your Second Class Medical. How does this affect a balloon event? This is a question that may take an entire newsletter to answer! I have sent an email to the FAA asking for clarification on a few issues, primarily flying banners and or sponsors, but here is what I know so far. If you fly a special shape balloon and are paid to fly at a balloon event that IS a commercial operation, however, if you put the balloon up and stay on the ground it is NOT considered a commercial operation. (see footnote #10 page 4) A pilot (commercial or private) may also be compensated for attending a balloon event and not be required to have a second class medical (also footnote #10 page 4) (See also Comstock-77) That is why many events have what they call “Show Up Money”. At the time of this righting I am still waiting to hear back about flying sponsors at a balloon event and flying banners for event sponsors. My thoughts are this; if you fly a banner on your balloon but receive no extra compensation then it would hard to prove that to be a commercial flight operation. I believe the same could be said for flying sponsors at a balloon event. If you are not required to fly sponsors and/or do not receive any extra compensation beyond what all the other pilots are receiving then it would be difficult to consider that a commercial flight operation. If you do fly a banner and you are paid extra to fly that banner then you are a commercial flight operation and you need to have a second class medical. The Nail in my coffin While I have always hoped that I could return to some form of commercial flying this new requirement pretty much ends my passenger flying days. I hate to admit it but if I had paid closer attention to my medical conditions I may not have had the hemorrhagic stroke that ended my flying. I have made a few flights and did get a flight review this year in August so at least I have that in my log book! It is possible that I could do some flight instruction possibly next spring after my son Noah is done with his cancer treatments for Leukemia. For those of you out there who are still flying, please take care, fly safe, STAY HEALTHY and Thank you for all you do for the Balloon World.

I enjoyed very much watching what I could on the internet of the 50th Big One! I was also thrilled to “Not Hear’ about any tragic incidents from the event, other than some soaked balloons. (A big thank you must be made to all the locations that allowed balloons to dry off). A HUGE hats off to all the participants for making this year’s event a safe one! As far as the soaked balloons go, those who have been in that situation know how miserable it is, and how easy it is to damage a soaking wet balloon. I remember one time we had a 105 that was so soaking wet that the lift gate could not get it up into the back of the van. I also remember parking a van with the front wheels up on a curb stop to tilt the van enough so that the water would drain out the back of the van. Hats off to all the pilots, volunteers, zebras, officials, and the ground teams for another spectacular display of man’s oldest and most amazing form of flight. Chasing Pi-Bal’s So, how fast does a Pi-Bal climb? How far up can you see one? How do you know? As part of our continuing Drone Winds project we have done some experiments using a drone and chasing Pi-Bals. Again my amazing father, volunteered (or was drafted) to help. We went out about an hour and a half before sunrise. We took a helium tank, some yellow balloons and some small round LED lights. The experiment was to launch some pi-bals with lights in them and literally chase them. Our goal was to get real world answers to the questions above. How long can you see them? How fast do they climb and how far away are they when you lose sight of them. Well, here are some of the specifics. The latex balloon is a standard 12” balloon. The lights are small ½ inch round LED lights that weight 1.88 grams. The balloons rate of climb was between 300-316 ft/min. See a short video of one of the “Chasing Pi-Bals” Flights. We chose a very special location to perform our experiment. We went to an 8sq mile area with several 250 ft radio towers nearby and directly west of Disney Worlds TFR. This TFR is 3,000 ft tall and 6 miles in diameter. There were several reasons for choosing this location. First, the tall radio tower would allow us to exceed the 400 ft altitude limit for the drone flight. See FAR 107.51 (B) (2) The TFR would add an extra safeguard for other aircraft in the area since they would likely be above the TFR if flying nearby. This means that we would have clear airspace from the ground up to 3,000 ft AGL. Another reason is that this entire area is under development, and at this moment only has roads that are mostly unfinished so there would be very few lights and almost no traffic in the area. This would allow us to chase the pi-bal, till we more or less lost sight of it. We launched a total of three balloons. We timed them and chased two of them till we lost sight of them. We found that with the 14-15 mph winds aloft, we would lose sight of the balloon in just over 3 minutes. When we lost sight of the balloon it was around 800 to 1,000 feet AGL. We also repeated this test during the day time. Using a Black 12” balloon on an afternoon with winds aloft of less than 6 mph we found that the rate of climb was nearly identical but we could see the balloon for just over 6 minutes before we lost it. That would be just around 2,000 feet. This was on a very light wind day with a light overcast sky. Had the winds been higher we doubt we would have been able to keep our eyes on it as long as we did. Our conclusion is that if you are using a helium balloon to test the winds before your flight you are most likely only viewing the first 1,000 feet of wind off the ground. Even in the daylight in the best of conditions you are most likely not seeing the Pi-Bal much past 1,500 ft. Getting a good report. One of the unexpected results of our “Chasing a Pibal” experiment was that we found that the Drone Winds report was skewed. Below are two Drone Winds reports from that same morning. One was done prior to the “Chasing a pibal” test so we would have a baseline of what the winds were and then the report from the actual event of chasing the pibal. Notice how the winds report was somewhat erratic when the drone was trying to chase the helium balloon. The vertical speed was ranging from 2mph to 5mph and sometimes even 6mph as we tried to keep up with the balloon. This translated into varied readings in our wind report. The conclusion from this was that for a Drone Winds report to be accurate you need to take a very steady and smooth ascent and descent. Drones can’t go that high! We mentioned this in one of our previous newsletters. According to 107.5 (B), (1) & (2) If you are within 400 ft of a structure you can go up to 400 ft above the uppermost limit of that structure. So find a radio tower in your area and use it as your structure. If you can find a local Cell Tower (most are 250 ft) you can take your drone up to 650ft if you are near that tower. Just remember a couple of points. Watch out for the guide wires. Make sure you know where they are so you can stay clear of them. Also try to be upwind of the tower. The tower will influence the wind down wind of the tower and can give you false readings. But if you are perpendicular or upwind of the tower you should get good readings. Also remember that 107.51 (C) requires a minimum of 3 statute mile visibility. For pre-dawn wind checks you should have your drone equipped with lights as well. For lighting guidelines see 107.29. If you can answer YES to (a)(b)(c)&(d) then you may be able to operate without a waiver. With the results from our “Chasing Pi-Bal’s” experiment you are getting results from your drone that may be better than your actual Pibal on those pre-dawn flights. Your altitude is slightly short of what your pibal is showing you but the results the Drone Winds flight is giving you is a much more detailed and precise set of data. All of this information is contained in the Drone Winds presentation on HotAirBalloonist.com. Remember Logged in Members can download ALL presentations for FREE! Things Change As we do our research reading winds with a drone we are learning a great deal of valuable information. Here are a few VERY USEFUL items to keep in mind when planning your next flight. Things Change! While the “drone wind” readings do a fantastic job of documenting and presenting the wind direction and speeds at altitudes for your flight planning it does not “Forecast” what the winds will do. Knowing the general weather synopsis of your area and having a good idea of what the future trends are expected to do is still a hugely helpful thing to know. Keep in mind when the winds are expected to increase. Are the winds going to be turning right or left as the flight progresses? Will the winds die down? These are all very important things to consider when planning a flight. Things WILL CHANGE. One of the benefits of using a drone to read the winds is the cost effectiveness of the drone. If you go out and use 5 pi-bals in one morning it will be considerably more costly than if you used one. However, if you make 5 drone flights it does not cost any more. As we discussed above there are ways you can legally get your drone to go a little higher without the need for a waiver and get great results. In this image you see two drone wind reports. Report A was taken at 6:01 am and Report B was taken at 6:21 am. They were taken exactly 2 miles apart. I have highlighted similar altitudes in each for comparison. You can see several things happening just in the 20 minute separation between flights. In Report B the winds appear to be shifting more to the left as time goes on. The upper wind speeds seem to be fairly consistent but the mid layer seems to be slowing some and shifting a little to the lower layers. In the area of Florida where we fly this is a very common trend. We often have brisk winds aloft pre-dawn that settle as the sun comes up. As we mentioned in a previous newsletter the timeframe for getting out your drone, launching it and getting a report is nearly the same as using a Pi-Bal. The primary difference is the overall cost. We now have 3 pilots in our area that use drones instead of helium balloons for preflight wind readings and all of them agree that with the cost and availability issues of helium, the drone is the way to go. If you have questions or want to learn more remember we have a very comprehensive presentation available in the Download Center on HAB about using drones to read the winds. How it is done, Costs, Aps and more. Remember to LOG IN, Members can download all files for FREE. I now have over 400 drone flights, months of comparisons to winds aloft comparisons and even side by side flight logs to compare. If you have questions I am more than happy to help in any way I can. Send me an email at Info@HotAirBalloonist.com and I will try to answer your questions and potentially post information for others. For those of you who have recently purchased Helium or found that you are having a hard time getting helium have a read of this article about shortages. Helium Shortage 4.0 HI WIND WARNING! As we continue our research each morning to take our Drone Winds report and compare it to the Winds Aloft forecast we had one morning were we were surprised. The drone we are using has the ability to receive ADS-B signals. It alerts us whenever a manned aircraft is in the area. This is a fantastic feature because it helps us keep our drone out of the way of other aircraft. So any time a warning goes off it startles us a little, especially at 6 in the morning in the dark! But this warning was one I had not seen before. This was a HIGH WIND warning. The Drone had entered a layer of wind at about 600’ that was moving at 29.26 MPH. This prompted us to bring the drone back down. The drones top speed is only 42MPH so it would not have taken much more wind and we would have been flying backwards! Fortunately as we brought the drone back down the winds also became less and losing the drone was not an issue. Had we been out for a flight that morning we would have (most likely) cancelled the flight. If the wind is moving that fast at only 600 feet of altitude then it is not the day to take paying passengers on a flight! We did not launch a Pi-Bal on this morning but it would have been interesting to see if we could have even been able to see the Pi-Bal get into that wind before we would have lost sight of it. More interesting would be if we could have even judged this sort of speed with a pi-bal? Become a Member As always we want to encourage you to support the HAB site. Paid memberships help us pay for the server fees and SSL requirements for the internet as well as hosting fees and domain fees and more. I donate ALL of my time to keep the site up to date, eliminate spam, and answer emails and more. If you do not have a paid membership on the site please consider at least a general membership for $20 a year. Log IN and participate. Ask questions and let me know the kinds of things you want to see on the site as well as in the newsletters. I no longer fly but I am incredibly thankful to the balloon community for all it has given me over the years. Thousands of flights, Tens of thousands of passengers, More friends than I deserve and EACH OF YOU, taking the time to read my rantings and allowing me to stay in touch with you, all I can say is, Thank you for all you do for the Balloon World.

It's Fiesta Time As I sit and write this there are hundreds of balloonist heading to the 50th “Big One” We took our first pilgrimage to the Albuquerque event as a family back in 1977. It was a magical time and we were able to meet so many of the people who would become legends in the world of ballooning. I was a young 17 year old high school student with a poly bucket raven rally. I was new to the sport and had no idea what the event was going to be like. My parents loaded 4 kids into a station wagon and drove from Iowa to Albuquerque for the event. I had never experienced “The Box” and was completely mesmerized when I saw the test balloon come back over our heads. That year there were just over 300 balloons at the event and remember lifting off one morning and thinking that you could almost walk across the tops of the balloons, there were so many. On one flight I made 5 passes at the same target on the field, using the “Box Winds” I later received a personal compliment from Don Picard about doing that. But that is a whole other story… It became a family event that would be remembered for the rest of our lives. In fact my Brother Jon and parents Connie and Jim Thompson are at the event right now. They are now considered some of the really old timers at the Fiesta since there are not many who have been at the even more than 43 years! If you happen to run into them say howdy or give them a pat on the back for me. Above all please be super cautious. It is easy to become distracted with all the excitement and with so many balloons. Keep your head on a swivel. Always remember JOB #1 is to fly the balloon! We want everyone to have a great time but, safety is the first priority. IN THE AIR AND ON THE GROUND! Drone Winds I have been working on the Drone Winds project for several months now and I want you to know we now have a presentation for the FAA that I believe they will approve. If used you will be able to legally take a drone and fly it up to 2,000 feet and read the winds. Real data, onsite, in real time. I have been doing a drone winds reading most mornings. I save the report from the drone, and then compare it to wind forecasts from two different locations nearby. There are many days when the local winds aloft forecasts are conflicting and you would rely very heavily on what the Pibal shows. The only trouble with reading a pibal is even that is just an estimated guess. I LOVE the drone winds report and WISH I had this when I was still flying rides. The data is so precise, even down to as little as every 20 feet! Try getting that from a Ryan Carlton or Sounding. Here are a few things I have learned from this process. The winds change. As we all know, there are days when the wind will change as the sun comes up. The drone winds will not forecast what the winds will do so getting a good idea of what the winds are forecasted to do is still needed. There have been days when I have done a Drone Winds flight each hour for three hours (1 hr before sunrise, at sunrise, & 1 hr after sunrise) and watched the changes in wind layers. We all know it happens but it is interesting to see it documented in real time. The Drone Winds report is right on the money. If done correctly the report you get from the drone is exactly what the winds are doing right where you are at that time. There is no guessing how fast that Pibal was moving or exactly what direction it got around to. Your Crew can do this. No the ground crew won’t be able to go up to 2,000 feet for you but they can go up to 400-500 feet at the landing site and give you an idea of what the winds are doing for your approach for landing. Readings can be made in less than 10 minutes. From the time you stop the truck to the time you have a drone winds report on your phone is less than 10 minutes. Now that seems like a long time but next time you go to fly, time the process of getting out a helium balloon, filling it up, launching it and watching it with your compass and taking readings till you cannot see it any longer. I bet you spend nearly that same time with that process. Best of all the drone winds are done without using expensive helium or balloons. We did a very comprehensive cost comparison in our Drone Winds presentation about “PiBal by Drone” available for download in the Tutorial Presentations section of the Download Center. If you have not downloaded that presentation it is worth your time. We currently have a Drone Winds Waiver application pending with the FAA using our latest presentation. We should know by the next newsletter if that has been approved or denied. If it has been denied with the 157 pages of documentation and 4 videos provided we will expect a detailed explanation as to why. At this point we do not expect it to be denied. We wish to thank ALL of you out there who made a donation to our Drone Winds project on the website to help us continue this project. We could not have done this without YOU. Follow This Do you take advantage of the “Follow” feature on the HAB site? One of the greatest abilities built into the HotAirBalloonist.com site is the Follow feature. If you find something on the site that interests you the odds are good that you can “Follow it”. Find a topic you want to know more about, Follow it. Find a piece of equipment you’re interested in, “Follow it”. A balloon Event, Topic, Map File, even an entire category like the “Hot Topics” can be followed. When you “Follow” an item the HAB system will send you an instant email notifying you of any new changes or new postings about the item you are following. Remember when you visit the site, LOG IN. If you do not log in you are only seeing a small portion of the site. There are thousands of files on the site that may be of interest to you! Speaking of the FOLLOW FEATURE, don’t forget the “Balloonetin Board” There is a category on the HAB site called “The Nylon Telegraph” There are several forums within that category, however one of them, the Balloonetin Board is followed by over 770 members! This means that if you log in and post a topic in that forum the HAB system will send out emails to over 770 fellow Balloonists. When you are logged in you can include photos, website links, emails, phone numbers and as much text as you want. If you have a question or a concern or even a need have a look at the section on the site called “The Nylon Telegraph” and post a question on the Balloonetin Board. Balloons-andBeyond A while back we created new balloon cups for your after flight champagne ceremonies. The updated cup featured many real life balloons from all over the country. When I was running my own company here in the Disney World area we had custom cups of our own that we would let the passengers keep after the flight. They turned out to be one of the souvenirs that the passengers loved the best. The 10oz plastic cup was the perfect size to use after the flight and because it was plastic there were no worries about broken glass in the chase rig or passengers getting cut. If you go to Balloons-andBeyond.com you can still order some of the cups if you wish to get some for your after flight traditions. You will find that there are now other items available at that site as well. There are more items being added to the site all the time. If you have balloon related items you would like to see made available to the Balloons-andBeyond list please let us know. You can email me at Jeff@Balloons-andBeyond.com and tell me what items you would like us to find or build for you! As many of you know I have retired being a full time Ride Pilot. I now do whatever I can to help balloonists enjoy the sport safely. My wish is to help spread knowledge, (not just my own) and share my many years and thousands of flights of experience in hopes that there are a few mistakes I have made that others need not. Trust me I have made many over the years and some of them more than once, (Just to make sure they were mistakes). Fortunately, I have never hurt anyone and that should be the ultimate goal of every pilot. Please use the HotAirballoonist.com site for this purpose. There is a private (Members only) side of the site for a reason. Yes we want to promote ballooning to the general public and we want sites where average people can find out more about ballooning and how it works and where they can go take a flight and see a festival or a mass launch. The front side (Public Side) of HotAirBalloonist.com does that fairly well. However, we also need a place where we (Balloonists) can share ideas and ask questions and use our combined experience and knowledge to help grow the sport and enhance our safety and image. I am on the site most days. I keep a very close eye on what is posted and who is logged in and on the site. There is an internal email system as well as a message system built into the site. You can use this to send messages directly to other members or to me. There is also an Alert button where you can report content that you find that should not be on the site. Should you find something that has slipped thru all of the safety protocols just let us know. We have several moderators who can remove items from the site and as I mentioned I am on the site almost every day too. If you have ideas about things we can put on the front side of HotAirBalloonist.com for the General Public please “Jump in” If you offer balloon flights make sure you are listed in the Balloon Rides section of the site. If you are a member on the site you can create your own listing with as much content and photos as you like. Post something on the “Balloonetin Board” or check out the Equipment 4-Sale section. Just remember the site was built for YOU! You are getting this email because you are a member on the site. LOG IN and see all of the hundreds and hundreds of files and topics on the Member’s Side of the site. BE SAFE I know that many of you are participating in the 50th ABQ. I hope you are having the time of your life. It is a BIG DEAL! I wish I could be there with so many of you. I enjoy very much the postings I am seeing on Facebook. I also realize that many of you may not get to see this newsletter till after you get finished with Balloon Fiesta but if you get the chance to read it please be safe! I know firsthand how exciting flying with that many balloons can be. Stay alert and if you are not comfortable with the conditions stay on the ground. Tell everyone you know as they lift off “BE SAFE” and let that be the mantra for the event. I want everyone to be able to tell stories about the 50th for years and years to come. Just remember that it takes everyone to make a safe event and THANK YOU for all you do for the Balloon World.

Dear Fellow Balloonist Please forgive me but this newsletter is going to be a tribute to the people of Iowa and the town of Indianola. I drove from Florida to Indianola Iowa with my parents to attend the Hall of Fame induction ceremony for my father Jim Thompson. First let me say that spending two days driving with my parents was a pure joy. Time I will forever treasure. When we arrived in Indianola we were greeted by so many smiling faces and old friends, it was simply overwhelming. I cannot describe how amazing Balloon People are! YOU Reading this right now are a treasure, you are one of Ballooning’s best assets. Balloonists are a special group of people and because of YOU ballooning is an amazing FAMILY activity! Over the weekend dozens of Thompson’s descended on the little town of Indianola to be witness to the induction of one of their own. I even had old high school wrestling buddie (Tom Schulz) show up for the event! Walking around inside the National Balloon Museum was a real treat for us all. Many of our family members had never been there and were in awe of the displays. I told Tom it was like someone came to a balloon event that we were attending 45 years ago and scooped up all the equipment and transported it here for this day. If you have never been to the National Balloon Museum you need to put it on your list. Becky Wigeland (The Museum Curator) has done a magnificent job of creating a fabulous showcase of balloon memorabilia and a wealth of historical information. John Davis Thank you so very much goes out to John Davis for his fabulous introduction for my father’s induction. He had me in tears when he mentioned my son Noah. Unfortunately my wife daughter and son Noah stayed at home to continue Noah’s Leukemia Treatments and to keep him safe and John was extremely thoughtful to mention Noah at the beginning of his introduction. If you are interested in watching the video of John you can click on this link INDUCTION VIDEO If you wish to see my father’s BIO just click here. That was just the beginning. As the week went on I kept busy meeting and talking with old friends and keeping the map files updated for those who were using the hot air app. As I sat working on the maps one day an old friend Bill Griffin sat down across the table with a couple of other pilots and said “Do you guys know who that is?” “That’s Jeff Thompson, He’s a legend!” Terrified of what he might say next I said “WAIT, Whatever he is going to say next is purely hearsay and rumors.” To which he replied “*#@% that! I was there and saw some of the stuff you did” So yes there were some embarrassing moments for me but most of all I was witness to some incredible skillful ballooning including a clip I posted on Facebook of 8 balloons all jockeying their way into the main target while rubbing nylon the whole way. I have said it before and will again. The skill level of the pilots at the National Balloon Classic is the best in the world. If you can hang with these pilots you can do well anywhere! Rubbing Nylon Facebook LIVE On Thursday August 4th my father and I went out on the main field just a few feet away from target and did a live broadcast for over an hour on Facebook while over 100 balloons flew in and peppered the target with markers. The flight was a 7 marker drop day. First target that morning was a single marker drop. That first marker was a gravity drop. Second target was a two marker target (one marker in a triangle nearest to the X and as second marker on the X) The Third target was a two marker drop with one marker on the X, and a second marker dropped as far away from the X as you could while staying inside a scoring area marked on the main field. The last target that day was also a two marker drop target with one marker on an X and a second marker inside a triangle as close to the X as you could. OVER 100 Balloons flew this 7 marker course and what a thrill to be able to watch and broadcast it live! Here is the link where you can watch that video. Then to top it all off! I got to FLY! I had several pilots who offered to take me up during my visit to Balloon Heaven (Indianola) On the last morning Mr. AL Appenzeller said, come show me how to get to the targets! Show me how you would do it.. I agreed and jumped in with his crew. First I must say that they made me feel comfortable and very much part of the team. They were all eager to go and excited for the mornings adventure. We had three targets to hit and this would be the last three targets for the event. AL flies a Racer envelope for the morning competitions and when I got on board I fired up my HotAir.app on my phone. I noticed very quickly that our rate of climb was 785 fpm. After the lump in my throat cleared I pointed out the line I thought we should take to the first target and we settled into a nice layer heading just to the right of the target. The target was on a small residential road between two bodies of water. Anything not on the road did not count. The target was down in a valley and hidden by tall trees till you were just about directly on top of it so navigation was done mostly via electronics. We had many balloons off to our right side but I told Al we will spend way too much time working our way back left if we go too far right, and that lower left in this valley will be unpredictable. So we stayed on our line at the target. Later I counted the balloons there were in the before and after photos taken on that first target and realized that we passed 17 balloons just on that first target with our “Straight IN” approach. As we cleared the trees and started to descend to the target we were directly online to pass right over the target. Al gave me the marker and said “Here you make the toss” So I made the best shot I could and it landed just about two feet past the end of one of the legs of the X. Normally I would have been thrilled with that drop but it was about 6 inches off the road and did not count. I was shattered and apologized whole heartedly to Al. I screwed up a great run on the first target. Somehow Al was thrilled. He said he was so very excited to actually fly directly over a target like that and he did not care that the marker did not count. He said, “You have done exactly what I asked you to, you showed me how to fly to the target”! So on we went to the main field for our second target. On the second target, we pretty much did the same sort of approach and managed again to drop our marker just at the end of one of the legs of the X. A very respectable score and now it was time to focus on the last target for the morning and of the event. This is where things took a twist that I did not see coming. Al looked at me and said, “Why don’t you fly us to the last target”. Have you seen the movie Top Gun, MAVERICK? Remember the scene where Maverick decides to fly the course himself to show the other pilots it can be done. That is what this felt like for me. I had only flown a balloon once in the last 30 months but flying competition is my favorite type of flying. So hang on,,,,,, here we go!!! So I jumped in as PIC. A quick review of the systems of his balloon, instruments fuel qty, vents ect… I flew into my sweet spot for the approach to the last target. After about 10 minutes Al asked, "Have you ever flown a Racer before?" I said, “Al I have never been this close to one and you should have asked me that 10 minutes ago before you let me take over flying your balloon”! We both had a good chuckle. I lined up on the target and flew directly over a couple of other balloons trying to make a lower approach and dropped down to about 20 feet off the ground and nearly center over the target. Al was able to toss his marker on the X like throwing your dirty socks in the bedroom cloths hamper. Here is a link to a very short video showing that drop. Nailed IT After we dropped on that target I gave the controls back to Al and just sat back and enjoyed the views of 100 balloons in the morning sky dancing on the winds. What a fantastic way to finish my week at the National Balloon Classic. I cannot thank Al Appenzeller and his amazing team enough! Their teamwork, enthusiasm and efforts were fun to be a part of and a thrill to watch! I was taken to the airport by my parents for my direct flight home and the whirlwind trip was over. I quarantined at my parents’ house for the next 4 days just to be safe and make sure that I did not bring something home from the trip or the plane ride home. The last thing we wanted to do was for me to come home and infect Noah during his cancer treatments. As it turned out I was fine and able to come home from my parents’ house to a loving and dearly missed wife and kiddos. To my ballooning friends thank you for putting up with my hijacking of this newsletter to tell you about my trip. I promise we will get back to more ballooning related information next newsletter. I just received a new book from Kevin Cloney called “It’s More Than HOT AIR” and I will talk more about it in the next newsletter but I will say that I did not put it down. I read it from cover to cover in one sitting. Here is a link to the Kindle version on Amazon. Get it. Overall I wish to say thank you to everyone who is a part of the National Balloon Classic. From the Executive Director to the Balloon Meister to the Weather people, Scoring teams, Rural Relations Landowners and the 100’s of volunteers and pilots and crews that make this event so special every year. Just WOW and… Thank you for all you do for the Balloon World. Jeff A Thompson To all my friends who took the time to stop and say hi. You have no idea, after my stroke, how much that simple act has touched my heart. There was a long period where I thought I may never get to see you all again. To my wife who held down the Thompson Compound while I was away. Thank you dear, you are amazing and we will all return here next year so Noah can fly with these amazing people we call our balloon family. We love you all! Jeff

Aerostar burner blocks. Complete with mounting bolts and the three Allen screws. Asking $75. Includes shipping anywhere in the US. Reply below with questions. 407-670-5000

The HEAT of the summer! August is one of the months of the year we dread here in Florida. As with many parts of the country the temps are getting tough on a balloon. Not only is the heat of an afternoon flight tough on a balloon but the UV of mid-summer is damaging as well. Here are a few things to remember when flying on those Hot Summer Flights. Make sure you have WATER. A cooler full of other goodies is nice, but water is the best for keeping you, your crew (and your passengers) hydrated. Heat Stroke is no joke! Make sure you do your load calculations carefully. Loading a balloon to the limit can not only damage your fabric but your balloon will be slow and sluggish. We all know how “Springy” a balloon gets in the winter because of the cold temps, well the exact opposite happens in hot summer conditions. The balloon will be much slower to respond! Being a little under loaded gives you the benefit of being able to give the burner that slightly longer blast needed, if you are “Coming in Hot” on a tight spot for landing. Pack up quickly. Every minute your balloon is out in that intense UV, it is aging. Remember you don’t have to be flying a balloon to take life out of the envelope. If you doubt me, take your balloon out and lay it in the yard for a few hours each day, by the end of a month it won’t pass inspection. UV KILLS YOUR FABRIC! With reguard to the above point. Hurry up & take your time, if you do not have enough crew to pack your balloon up in short order do not over heat yourself trying to stuff it in the bag in a hurry. Yes you want to put it away as quickly as you can but not at the expense of YOU! Stay Hydrated and have extra crew if possible! Watch your fuel. When it is hot out you will burn fuel at a faster rate. Keep an eye on it. Do not pass up a good spot to land because that fuel may not last to the next spot. Time the tank. Take a moment and use your smart watch and actually time your fuel usage. This will give you a good idea of how much fuel time you have left on board. Watch your envelope temp, especially the first few moments of the flight. When you lift off you are at full load, you are full of fuel and passenger weight. After about 10 to 15 minutes of flight you have started losing weight from the fuel you have burned (and sweat) and your envelope temperature should start to fall some. But the first 30 minutes of that summer time, evening flight can be an envelope scorcher. I am on the way to IOWA! Yes, As you are reading this I am about to hit the road with my parents. We are heading to Iowa for the National Balloon Classic. The primary reason for the trip is so I can attend my father’s induction into the National Balloon Museums Hall of Fame. There will be lots of proud tears for sure. While I am there it is my hope to be able to say HI to so many old friends and families that, quite honestly I never thought I would be able to again. My Wife Gina and children will be staying here in Florida. Noah is still under treatment for Leukemia and we do not want to take him away from his medical team. I am hoping to get a flight while I am at the National Balloon Classic and maybe a Flight Review. It has been over a year since I have made a flight. I will also be available to help any Pilot with the KML map files for use with the HotAir.app. I will be updating the files from last year and placing them on the HAB site in the download center for anyone to use if they wish. Those files are most likely already online and ready for you to download. I will be keeping them updated all week long and we will again be using the “Follow” feature on the HAB site to keep as many pilots informed of all the changes to the map. If you are attending the National Balloon Classic and would like to be set up for the “Follow” feature, just find me (I will be hanging around the Pilot Compound most of the time. For those who do not know what the follow feature is CLICK THIS LINK and watch the video. Found some nifty apps Last month we talked about a couple of apps we have found while doing our research for the Drone Winds project. For those who would like to review any of our past newsletters can be found in the “Welcome All” category on the front page of the HAB site. For a link specifically to last month’s newsletter CLICK HERE. I am interested if anyone has downloaded and tried out those applications. Specifically the “ALOFT” app. It seemed to me that the information bar with weather and other items at the bottom of the screen would be very helpful for pre-flight information. I was wondering how it has performed out in the field. If anyone has tried it please post your review or comments in the COOL APPS topic inside the Hot Topics sub-cat. HAB on YouTube Many of you may have spotted the banner running on the HAB site about our new account on YouTube. We now have a YouTube account! We are adding various videos to the account and more each day. We have created several “Play Lists’ where you can choose the items you wish to view. We have started to load our Video Tutorials about how to use many of the features on the HAB site and other balloon videos. One of the benefits for the HAB site is that we can embed our YouTube videos directly into the topics on HotAirBalloonist.com and they will play for you without having to leave the HAB site. For example: We have a tutorial about how to start a topic in the Download Center. In the past you would go to the Download Center and download that video to watch it. Now you can go to that topic in the download center and watch it right in your browser without having to download anything! This applies to any topic a member may start anywhere on the site! If you have a YouTube video you can post the URL inside your topic and it will play for others just like the How To Start a Topic tutorial CLICK HERE to see what we mean. National Balloon Classic PILOTS! If you are flying in the National Balloon Classic and would like to be subscribed to the Map Files for the event on the HAB site please send me a note. I will make sure your account is following the 2022 maps and you are informed anytime a new file has been uploaded. For those who were not part of the event last year. The HAB site has a feature called the FOLLOW FEATURE. It can be used to follow just about anything on the site. When you follow something on the site and there is a new post or file uploaded you receive an email notifying you of the change. This feature is extremely helpful for event maps that may change daily. Last year we had 45 pilots who were following the map files for the classic. Many received their email updates before the pre-flight pilot briefing ended. Updating your map files takes about one minute! (We timed it) Here is a short video that shows you the process. That is a pretty easy way to make sure you always have an up to date map while you are flying and especially for an area with a complex PZ map like the National Balloon Classic. Text me your name & email at 407-670-5000 or send me an email with your information and I will make sure you are “Following the Classic Map files for 2022. The Hot Air app Just a reminder to all of those pilots who use the HotAir.app. There is a 107 page tutorial on the HotAir.app available in the Download Center of HotAirBalloonist.com. If you are new to the app the tutorial presentation is a must. Even if you have used the app for a long while there may be things in the app that you did not know it could do. Did you know you could place a waypoint on the fly or AirDrop your KML file to someone? Yes there are 107 pages of great information and best of the entire download is FREE for HAB members. Just log in and go to the Tutorial Presentations section of the Download Center. We have pinned the HotAir.app tutorial on the top of the list so it is easy to find. OR JUST CLICK HERE. Remember membership has many rewards, encourage your fellow pilots to consider becoming a member of HAB. One of the cool features of the HotAir.app is the Glympse is the Public Hastag. During the National Balloon Classic include the Hashtag #NBC in your To: section of the Glympse bar. This will allow others to watch you fly by entering the URL WWW.Glympse.com/!NBC into any browser. I promise I will be watching!! Another new feature on the HotAir.app is the inflight “Long Tap” This feature allows you to place a waypoint on the map while you are in flight. For example if you have just dropped your marker on a target and want to see the track you need to the next target all you do is place your finger on the next target and hold it there for a few seconds and the HotAir.app will place a waypoint in the map and draw a line from your position to that target! You now have a “Road to Follow” to your next target. You can view the Distance, Bearing and ETA at the top of your map screen and simply hit the “Clear” button to delete. Check out page 7 in the HotAir.app tutorial for more information. As I have said several times here in this month’s newsletter I will be at the National Balloon Classic most of the week. I am happy to help anyone I can with not only the HotAir.app but with downloading files and using the HotAirBalloonist.com site. Just seek me out and use me! There is no doubt it will be a very emotional time for our entire family and a super special occasion for us all. I want all of our friends and ballooning family to know how much you are each appreciated by all of the Thompson Clan and…. Thank you for all you do for the Balloon World.