Migration is Complete (July 2019)

[hotairballoonist]

Hi Friends and Fellow Ballooners.

It has been a while since our last newsletter.  We have been very hard at work on the HotAirBalloonist.com site.  The biggest accomplishment of the last few months has been the Migration to a new hosting platform.   Our old hosting location was not upgrading our server to meet our expanding needs so we moved.  As you can imagine the task of moving a site the size of HotAirBalloonist.com was daunting to say the least.  We moved more than 4.6 Gigabytes of data in over 5500 folders and 43,500 files including all the member information for over 900 members!  I am happy to say we did not lose a single file.  We are also happy to say that the entire migration took place with very little front end disturbance.  We basically did it smooth enough it was hard for the users to know it had been done.  Our new hosting provider and server environment gives us faster load times, more site security and many more options for expansion of the site and has enhanced the user abilities.  We now can move forward on things that were restricted before.  Go and have a look around the site when you have time.

Balloon Camps, 

Once again we were privileged to be the provider for the BFA Kids Camps Name Badges.  A super shout out goes out to the Camps, Directors, Staff and Kids who make those balloon camps such a fantastic event in the lives of our future balloonists.   “Creating priceless memories is a priceless endeavor”

Maps, Files and Apps.

We recently did a post for the Orlando area pilots and realized that this would be helpful for all balloonists where ever you are.  Here is a link to the post in the Orlando Pilots Exchange.  NOTE*

Do you use Motion X?  Do you use the HotAir App?  We have files for BOTH!.  Here is a screen shot of the National Balloon Classic flying area as seen on the HotAir App.

 

We can create these types of maps for your flying area too!  Do you have a GPX file of your flying area?  Do you want to share it with your other pilot friends?  Send the file to us.  Tell us a little about your area and we will create a download for your fellow pilots to download directly into their phone or tablet.  We have also created some fantastic KML files for use with the HotAir App.

 As a member you can download all the files on the site for FREE.  Log in and go download the HotAir App tutorial.  If you have never used the HotAir app you will be surprised by all the features of the app.  Even if you currently use the HotAir app you may learn something.  The app is free for download for members.

Many do not realize the huge database of downloads in our Download Center.  Keep in mind that there are areas of the Download Center are not for the public.  If you go to the download center and you are not a logged in member of the site you are missing most of what is there.  Log in and go back to the Download Center and you will see entire categories that you did not see before. 

Chat Rooms,

We have now added Chat Rooms to the HotAirBalloonist.com site.  Some of them are public chat rooms and some of them are private (Member Only) rooms.  We have found them to be very useful for pre-flight chatter among the pilots in our area.  Many smart phones and tablets now have a dictation feature.  So you can go to the chat room and just talk.  The nice part of this is that you do not have to text several people at one time.  Just have them all go into the chat room and talk as a group.  If you wish to have a chat room set up for your flying area just let us know.  As a member on the site you can also set up a flying club in your area.  You can create your own PRIVATE chat room for only the members of your club.  Keep in mind there is NO EXTRA charge to start a club on HotAirBalloonist.com so start one for your flying friends today!

The Follow Feature.

I know I have touched on this in past newsletters, but, I cannot express how fantastic a feature this is on the HotAirBalloonist.com site.  You can choose what you want to hear about.  Imagine there are 5 topics you see posted in one category.  Three of those you could care less about but two of those topics are about things you would like to know more about or things you have questions about as well.  The “Follow” feature allows you to check the items you want to hear more about.  Then when an answer or comment is made about that topic the HAB system will send you an instant email!  You can also UN-Follow when and if you choose.  Currently we have a forum inside the Hot Topics category called “HAB Walkie Talkie”.   This forum will send out 267 emails to balloonists all over the world when any new topic is posted.   Have a question you want answered?  Post it!  ** Remember you must be a logged in member to create new topics in any of the forums. 

HalfOff

From now till the end of this month, you may purchase a membership and get half off.  Choose any of the following memberships.  Ride Operator, Pilot, Ground Crew, Equipment Seller, Manufacturer, General Membership, Event Organizer or Student Pilot.  Choose the Yearly option and during checkout use the coupon code HalfOff and receive a 50% discount on the membership of your choice.  A General Membership is only $20 a year!  So from now to the end of this month you can get a General Membership for an entire year for only $10.  Don’t wait.  This offer will expire at the end of this month.

I will try to hang out in the chat room as often as I can to answer questions and connect with fellow balloonists.  If you have time come visit in the HAB Chat rooms!  Only a logged in member can go into the HAB Member chat room.

All the best.  Please fly safe.

Jeff A Thompson.

NOTE* You must be logged in.  If you are not logged in you will see an error page when you click on the links in this email.