Welcome to July. (July 2nd 2020)

[hotairballoonist]

Some of you are getting this newsletter for the first time.  We hope you enjoy our email.  Our newsletter is designed to help you get more out of your membership to the HotAirBalloonist.com site and keep you informed what we are working on.  Each newsletter also includes explanations on how parts of the HotAirBalloonist.com site works and to inform you about sections of the site you may not even know exists.  Thank you in advance for taking the time to read our information.

UPDATE

As many of you know I suffered a hemorrhagic stroke in late February.   We just had our first follow up with the neurologist to get the results of my MRI and CT scan.  They are still showing some blood on the brain but it is clearing.  I have had some issues with dizziness and some light headed-ness.  I have lost about 40 pounds and gone from a 44 waist to a 40 and still shrinking.  We have already made adjustments to my blood pressure meds and are now making another adjustment.  I have been very active on the web with building and maintaining my 18 URL’s and the 12 sites I currently manage.  I have also been working about the house, doing yard work and making face masks.  So far I have not found any physical limitations from the stroke.  My mental abilities are also in good shape so overall I am one incredibly lucky man.

Equipment 4Sale

I am sure we mentioned this in the last newsletter but it is worth mentioning again.  Our Equipment 4Sale section is now open to anyone who has equipment for sale.  Take a bunch of photos of your equipment then find the proper category and start a topic.  You can include all the text you wish as well as your location, contact information and price.  You can upload up to 20MB’s of photos.  Best of all when you are finished you can check the “Notify me of Replies” button and if anyone posts a reply the HAB system will send you an instant email with the content of the post.  As always if you need any help let me know.  Info@HotAirBalloonist.com and I will help in any way I can.

THE EXCHANGE

This section of the site was created for groups of pilots and ground teams in a specific area.  The Exchange acts like a community bill board for ballooning in your area.  Each exchange has four specific categories.  “Pilot Forum”  “Crew Forum” “Landowner Relations” & “Passenger Exchange”

The Exchange is a great way for you to post stuff for other balloonists in your area.  There are so many fantastic benefits to the Exchange it is hard to cover in a newsletter but briefly.  You can look for crew, fill empty spots in your balloon, find new launch and landing spots or even share landowner complaints.  It is literally a community bill board for your area.  It is not viewable by the public and the “Follow” feature can be used so that everyone in your area gets notified of any new posts instantly by email.  You will also have a written record of anything you have posted so no one can say they did not know!   Remember  The Exchange is a private (Members Only) area of the HotAirBalloonist.com site.

Video Tutorials.

We have continually been creating and uploading new videos in the Download Center under the category “Video Tutorials” WE have been eliminating many of the old (Flash) formatted files and upgrading them to the (MP4) format that can be viewed on almost any device.  The new files are extremely helpful in learning how to use the site!  Have a look at some of them today.  The site is completely virus free and you can download any of the files safely!

Face Masks

We still have some Washable, Reusable and comfortable to wear masks in our store.  We are almost out of the Balloon Print and will let everyone know if we get more in.  There are still some other prints as well as solid colors available.  Things here in Florida are getting worse so face masks are going to be standard practice for a while.  Have a look in the store if you are interested.

Humor

As we could all use a little joke now and then.  We have cleaned up the Balloon Humor category on the Main “Forums” page.  There are a few good ones in there if you care to take the time to have a read.  Remember this forum (as many others) is a private members only area of the site.  You must be logged in to view and read.  Feel free to add some of your own jokes for the rest of us!

THANK YOU.

At this point I am unable to fly.  After over 7,000 flights and 45 years involved in ballooning I am simply heartbroken.  One of our local pilots here called up the other day and said he had a brand new balloon that I could take out and fly if I wished.  He would go along and let me preform in any capacity I wanted.  I was in tears by the end of the phone call.  It is exactly that type of gesture that reaffirms my belief that Balloonist’s are some of the best people on the planet.  Thank you Thank you Thank you!  If you have not read my BLOG here is the link.

All for now.

Jeff A Thompson