ncluded in the new photos are the R C M P Balloon and a picture of a Night Glow.
Anyone with good pictures let's see them.

he downside of owning a balloon ride biz is that
you don't get too many chances to get away for
rallies during flight season. I think the closest I'll
get to your neck of the woods this year is
Albuquerque. I'll post something if anything changes
though~!---Jay

OVE YOUR PICTURES...YOUR BALLOON IS REALLY
GORGEOUS! ANY CHANCE YOU WILL BE COMING TO ANY RACES IN THE
SOUTHEAST THIS YEAR? IF SO, LOOK ME UP! LET ME KNOW IF YOU
ARE COMING AND I WILL MAKE IT A POINT TO LOOK FOR
YOU! I AM NOT A PILOT...JUST CREW... BUT ALWAYS
WILLING TO HELP OUT.

i y'all, I just signed up and it looks like a
cool club. But let's see some more pix! I just put a
couple in the club album, 'cause there weren't any. The
ones in the personal albums were great, though.This is
a good way to get the old propane fix taken care of
while we wait for decent weather.

ow serious are you and how much time do you
have?<br>My crew chief built his own chair balloon. It took
about a year of weekends, and around 6 grand in
materials. But he now has a work of art. He even got a local
carpet company to pay for a lot of the materials in
exchange for putting the company logo on the balloon! But
if you don't have the time or patience to build from
scratch ( I know I don't) then you might want to look
into an outfit called Boland. Brian Boland sells
balloons in kit form, and in several stages of completion.
He even has a balloon builders' school, where you
buy the materials, and he helps you build it. He's in
Post Mills, Vermont, and I would be surprised if he
doesn't have a Web page somewhere.. Good luck, ---Jay

have a 1972 Piccard AX-4 with about 5 hrs. TT.
But I'm not looking to "dump" it. It's the oldest
original fabric balloon I know about...I've flown it
twice. It used 11 gallons on a 1 1/2 hour flight. It
flies nicely but for someone who is used to a modern
parachute top, well...you best not overburn. I fly balloons
for a living, I run a ride business in the Seattle
area, and it's fun to pllay with such a little balloon
after spending all summer in a 180. I would consider
selling the Piccard, maybe.For the right price. ---Jay

reat pictures; love to look; thanks to all who can post them.

i,<br><br>I'm looking for old balloons.<br>I'm
trying to get as much as different types and from
different manufactures.<br>So if you're going tu dump your
balloon, please let me know.<br>For the moment I've got 2
balloons. A thunder and a cameron.

i,<br><br>I've made a model balloon.<br><br>You
can find pictures on my internetpage, buth it's only
in
Dutch.<br><br><a href=http://www.geocities.com/CapeCanaveral/Hangar/9143
target=new>http://www.geocities.com/CapeCanaveral/Hangar/9143</a><br><br>I've
also have a special shape page, with lots of
pictures and
information.<br><br><a href=http://www.specialshapes.nu
target=new>http://www.specialshapes.nu</a><br><br>Greetings,<br><br>Bart Ballon

still feel like there are a lot of good hours
left in my Balloon. I also have another plan. My two
sons Age 17 and 14 want to learn how to fly a balloon.
I will probably buy another balloon and then we can
fly together. My tanks are the 3 upright 10 gallon.
Anyone who wants to put on some pictures I always like
seeing other balloons

on't sell your RX-6 short! Mine is still flying
and when I sold it in the early 90s it had 300 some
hours on it. If it's well cared for, that old calendar
fabric is almost bombproof! Yours is still looking good!
I still regret selling mine. I like the old rally
baskets better than the new Aurora stretch basket that
I'm flying now. There's more room, and I had three
upright worthington 10 gal. tanks. What kind of tank
arrangement do you have?<br>Sam

ose anybody know or do any model ballooning
because I am trying to start and build them but it is
proving a little hard to get off the ground! "sorry but
you just can't resist can you!" anyway if anyone dose
know of any light weight material please contact world
of ballooning "that's me" on
world_ballooning@...<br><br>I am looking for something called norlon if
you
could help me? it's surposed to be lighter than nylon
that is used in proper hot air balloons<br><br>ohh and
I am the only english person in this group or what?
and i'm only 15 years old and looking forward to my
PPL training actually i'm more looking forward to
getting my CPL more than anything!<br><br>thanks any way
if you can help me and at the moment I am trying to
get an email rather that real_food on because that is
a friends not mine, I'm doing it because her dad is
a buthcer and they havent got a computer so it's a
great way of ordering meat! on the
internet!<br><br>bye, "I do babble on me. Don't I!"

got my Raven Rally RX6 last year off of a long
time local pilot Dan Balisky. It was built in 1979 and
was his first balloon. He flew it to 135 hours and
then sold it to me. It had limited useas he had
purchased other balloons and the larger(77's) got all the
use as more passinger carrying capabilities. It was
stored pefectly and shows no signs of fabric
deterioration yet( at least nothing abnormal). The balloon is
at 170 hours now and hope to get at least 300 before
it is done as I realize just the age of it has
shortened the overall life.<br>I Trained last year on a
Firefly 7B and did fly a Firefly 8(105) for 1 training
flight.<br>Marvin

ey Marvin,<br> Those are some great pictures you
posted!! I see we have a lot in common. I learned to fly
in a Raven Rally II also! Boy I miss that old
balloon. I flew it from 1983 until about 1991. Mine was an
RX-6 (56k) built in 1978. I'll dig out an old picture
and post it here. Tell me more about yours!<br>Sam

ood to have more members and thank you for the
encouraging words on posting stories. I like to read about
others and thier adventures. I had a look at the
pictures posted by Samwho2 and that prompted me to put
some on also. Great pictures samwho2. Would like to
see a lot more pictures from everyone. <br>Marvin
Schultz

i I have some great pictures of some balloons
from Southamptonr balloon meet (In England I'll see if
I can Get some on the [page for you later!<br>If
you would like to contact me some more don't email my
address that is given email my hotmail one because I go
on that more
frequently!<br>world_ballooning@...

ey Marvin,<br> I'm new to this club but I've
been flying balloons for about 16 years. I enjoyed
reading your message. It sounds like you really had a
good time in Vernon! The first rally you fly in is
always something special. I also like the attitude I
hear in your story. We never stop learning from other
pilots. You talked about learning something from more
experienced pilots and I'd just like to take it a little
further and say that they/we can also learn things from
you. Don't ever lose that thought. A lot about being a
good pilot has to do with our attitude towards
learning from others. I look forward to flying with you at
some future event, somewhere down the road!<br><br>Sam
Blackburn

his looks like it'll be fun! Come on you guys, I can't be the only one around
here with any pictures! This could be a great place to hang out! Let's talk it
up!

e do a lot flying around Lake Tahoe, Loyalton,
and Nevada. I might suggest a lesson or two before
buying a balloon system, I have about five students now
that don't have a balloon and they then can decide
what system would meet there needs.

aybe this weekend I can get time to scan & post.  Thanks for your interest. 
Sharon

have never found anyone in the chat room.  If anyone wants to plan a chat at a
certain time post it on the page.  If you find me on the aol instant messanger
my buddy name is GPBalloon.

ould like to see your Hershey pix; Are they posted?

M I THE ONLY MEMBER IN THE MISSISSIPPI/LOUISIANA
AREA??? LET'S SEE IF WE CAN GET SOME MORE FOLKS TO
JOIN....SOUNDS LIKE A REALLY GOOD WAY TO KEEP IN TOUCH AND MEET
NEW FRIENDS INTERESTED IN BALLOONING.FIRST BIG EVENT
OF OUR SEASON HERE IS IN GREENWOOD MS, JUNE 17-20.
ANY OF YOU BE THERE??? WOULD LIKE TO MEET YOU IN
PERSON!

f you don't mind, I'd like to post some photos for club members to view of the
Hershey (PA) Balloon Classic last October.

ust got back from my first ever Balloon
competition. It was in Vernon B C Canada. I have been involved
in ballooning for a number of years and have been
involved in the planning of two events including an
Alberta Championship. Last year I earned my Pilots
licence and flew as much as I could last fall. I entered
the event in Vernon. The Balloons kick of the start
of a winter Carnival.<br>Fourteen balloons (limited
entry) were there and we flew three flights out of 4.
THe city of vernon is mountainous(not large ) and
lakes are close and the only place to fly is up the
valley. Very light winds greeted us<br>For me it was an
opportunity to fly and learn from some of the best as most of
the pilots who go to vernon every year have been
Canadian Champions and have also done well at other U S
events such as Billings and Albequerque as well as
others.<br>All in all I had a great time. The sunday morning
Flag Grab was the first time I have flown where I
landed the same place I took off from. I did manage to
get about a quarter mile from takeoff but with 3/4
mile to go and 15 minuits to get there I gave up and
caught a higher wind back to the launch
spot.<br><br>Hope to see more flying real soon<br><br>Marvin
Schultz

hen budgeting, don't forget that you will need
lessons to achieve your certificate. Consider a balloon
school for this.<br><br>Don't be intimidated by cost.
Yes, it's expensive to fly a balloon. So is owning a
boat or a fancy car. Used is definitely a way to get
into affordably. I'd recommend you start by finding
someone in your area to crew for, get a little experience
around balloons & see what the different types are
like.<br><br>Attend a safety seminar. I see you're in No. CA. The
Pacific Coast Aeronauts seminar is at Moffatt Field in
March, that's a great chance to meet people and see a
variety of balloons. The Balloon Excelsior seminar is
coming up in Oakland.<br><br>If you can get down to the
Modesto/Tracy area, we fly most every weekend that the weather
is good (and some weekdays, like today!) and would
be happy to see you--email me if interested.

hat were here a month ago or longer when I
joined. Could even be back in Nov that I joined. Doesn't
anyone have any interesting stories to tell about their
flights? Just heard on the news today there was another
balloon accident in chicago I think. I'm sure there's
lots of stories to be heard.<br>When's the next big
balloon rally near PA? Did anyone make it around the
world in a HAB yet? What happened to the guy from
Chicago, was his name Kevin? How far did he get?

retty good list of used balloons of all sizes for
sale.<br><br>As for budget, consider splitting a balloon amongst
a group. This is what my father did and it worked
out very well. You'll need crew anyway so if you go
in on a balloon with others you will have a built in
crew. In my father's case, 3 was a good number (that
way you usually get 2 out of the 3 willing to fly).
This is also what I am planning on doing. I have found
one partner and am looking for a third if anyone in
Northern Vermont is interested (please contact
me!)<br><br> ...Lance

t was INCREDIBLE!<br><br>My budget,
unfortunately, is NOT incredible.<br><br>Can someone on a
teacher's salary get into ballooning? Where should I start
to look into used balloons? What about one of those
really small "single seat" balloons?

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