November Newsletter 10/20/2021

[hotairballoonist]

We are looking for a good name.

 

We want your suggestion of what to call our monthly newsletter.  Think of something catchy.  If you have suggestions you can post them for all to see!  We will present the winning suggestion with a membership for a year!  Here is how you can enter.  Go to HotAirBalloonist.com.  On the front (Main) page in the Forums scroll down to the “Welcome All” category and look for the Sub-Category “Past Newsletters.  Click on Past Newsletters and you will find the first topic is “Name our Newsletter”.  This topic is open for anyone to post a reply.  You do not need to be logged into the site to post a suggestion, however, if you are not logged in include your email so we can contact you if you win.  As suggestions come in you can check back and see what has been posted.  Then next month we will conduct a poll where everyone can vote for their favorite name!  It should be fun so please participate.  Take a moment and give us your ideas!

 

Looking for equipment?

 

Did you know you can use the Follow Feature to have the HAB system send you an email when something new is posted?  In the Equipment 4Sale section there are dozens of Sub-Categories you can follow.  Let’s say, you are looking for a Burner or a Fuel Tank?  Just log in and go to the section of equipment you are interested in and simply click on the “Follow” button.  Once you “Follow” a specific category the moment a new item is listed you will get an email from the HAB system.  Be one of the FIRST to find out when a new piece of equipment (you are looking for) goes up for sale!  There are all sorts of areas you can follow.   When you have found what you are looking for simply Un-Check the “Follow” button and you will no longer receive notifications. 

 

We believe the HAB Equipment 4Sale section offers the best of all worlds!  The seller can post all the photos and descriptive information they want.  The buyers can ask questions and make offers right on the site.  Sellers get instant emails when a potential purchaser asks a question.  The Seller can easily edit, add and change their ad at any time.  All equipment is listed in easy to find categories, for both the seller and the buyer.  If you have something to sell or are looking to purchase give the HAB Equipment 4Sale section a chance to work for you. 

 

Did you know there is an equipment posting monitor in the right hand side column of the front page?  Just scroll down the (Main) forums page and look in the right hand column and you will find a side bar called “Latest Equipment Postings”  This is another way to quickly see what has been added recently.

 

THERE IS NO COST TO POST EQUIPMENT for sale. ALWAYS INCLUDE your contact information!!! Remember we are always here to help too!!

 

Getting a Medical

 

Well, it looks like the medical requirement is coming for commercial operators.  I know many of the big ride companies have already started requiring their pilots to get 3^rd Class medicals and the insurance companies are ahead of the regulations as well.  I know my own brother Jon has passed his so he could begin work for Scott Appleman.  As many of you know I suffered a pretty bad stroke.  I have been recovering for quite some time.  I am finally at a point where I may be able to pass a 3^rd class medical and resume some commercial flying.  We have many small operators in our area that could use an extra pilot from time to time.  I am hopeful that they may be able to use me.  I will be writing about the process in a future newsletter.

 

DRONEWINDS

 

We have completed our Drone Winds Project.  Spending nearly 4 weeks on this presentation we have covered all of the most common questions you may have about using a small drone to read the winds like you would use a helium balloon.  I will be the first to say I learned a TON during this process.  We have the complete presentation available in the Download Center on HAB.  The “Drone Winds” presentation covers,

 

• Program’s you will need

   

• How it works

   

• Types of Drones

   

• Setting up your Accounts

   

• Downloading your drones app and viewing the files

   

• Viewing the wind reports

   

• Cost comparison (Helium/Drone)

   

• Amount of time to get a wind report

   

• Can you trust the results?

   

• Registering your drone

   

• Getting your 107 rating added to your LTA certificate

   

• Altitude Limitations, (Waivers and applications)

   

• Night Lights

   

• Overall Review

   

• Operational Videos

   

• Tips and tricks we have learned

   

   

So as you can see we have covered a bunch of topics in this presentation.  There are over 80 pages of documentations, images, illustrations and links to dozens of additional pages with more helpful information.  If you are interested in how to read the winds with a drone this is your complete guide to “How To” Go to the HAB “Download Center” today and get your copy.  DON’T FORGET to check the “Follow” button at the top of the topic so when we load updates you will get an email notification about updates. 

 

NOTE:  The last couple of days there have been lots of chatter on Facebook about this topic.  We became interested in this almost 2 months ago when we sold one of our bottom ends to Max Moerles.  All of the investigation and documentation presented was done completely independent of any other studies or documentations.  Our release of this presentation is purely coincidental to the other information provided from other sources.  We posted on our Facebook Page a notice of upcoming presentation release nearly two weeks ago!  We have invested nearly 200 hours of time using 4 different drones, researching, flying, testing and even registering drones with the FAA and getting our sUAS rating.  The 80+ page presentation is FREE for all members of the HAB site.

 

Membership has its Benefits.

 

We have talked about this many times before and feel we should do so again.  YOU are getting this email because you have a membership account on the HotAirBalloonist.com site.  As a member you can interact on the site in so many ways.  YOU can create NEW topics and posts in many of the areas on the site.  YOU can SEE areas of the site that guests (visitors) cannot.  YOU can download any of the files on the HAB site for FREE.  YOU can start a balloon club!  YOU can upload files (map files, photos and more) for other Balloonist.  YOU can FOLLOW any items you wish and you can UN-FOLLOW when you wish as well.  The Follow feature is the single greatest feature on the site and we suggest EVERYONE view the Video Tutorial about that feature.  If you have forgotten your password you can use the password recovery system built into the site or simply send me an email.  Tell me what you want to use as a password and I will set that up for you.  Remember, the entire HotAirBalloonist.com site was designed for YOU the member to be able to participate and share with each other.

 

Till next time, cherish your friends and family at this time of year. Enjoy Halloween and Thanksgiving. Stay safe and..

 

Thank you for all you do for the Balloon World.

 

Jeff A Thompson