Postflight

Bumps
Editor:
Eau Contraire Mr. Stumpf! In the February Repair Station (Things That Go Bump in the Knee) Paul Stumpf wrote "none of the balloon manufacturers seem interested in putting padding in the smaller ride or sport sized baskets."
At Thunder & Colt, interior pads for all of our T-partitioned baskets (large and small) have been available as optional equipment for several years. Additionally, we do offer pads for our standard 48" sport baskets. These are designed to lace or tie-wrap into the basket on the "up" and "down" sides of the basket. They are patterned with entry steps that align with those of our baskets so as not to impede ingress or egress. If the customer wishes they can also be customized with pouches suitable for holding radios or competition markers. In fact, I ordered my first such pad for the basket of my first balloon in 1990 after seeing one installed in a display basket at the T&C tent at Albuquerque.
While a majority of professional ride operators exercise their option to add this extra margin of safety to their balloons, it has been my experience that most sport balloonists are willing to risk the knee injury rather than suffer the cost of the extra safety.

Glen Moyer
Director of Sales & Marketing
Thunder & Colt US

Patents
Editor:
Both letters in the PostFlight section of the February, 1995 issue expressed concern over some patents that might affect ballooning. In the past, I have also seen other features of balloon systems discussed in relation to some type of patent protection which might prevent others from using these features. As a commercial balloon pilot and a retired patent attorney, I would like to offer some insight into the patent system and perhaps calm some fears that the patent system is somehow going to hamper our sport.
Just because someone files a patent application does not mean that it will issue and become a valid patent. The patent office looks at the "prior art" in the field and make a decision about the novelty of the "invention". If it has been done by others before, then the application should be denied. The biggest portion of the application often does not even say what the invention is. The application (or patent if it is granted) may be titled "Hot Air Balloon System" and describe various construction or design techniques in a balloon system, but that has no real bearing on what the patent protects. The claims at the end of the patent are the only legal description of what the patent covers. Many times they are very specific and are changed and limited during the application process to allow a detailed patent to issue. Patents often issue with claims so detailed and specific that they are essentially worthless.
The bottom line is that, until one sees a valid patent and studies the claims section of the patent, it is not worth worrying much about the impact of a patent. In discussing a patent, the exact coverage claimed by the patent must be taken into consideration, not just the subject matter to which the patent pertains. Indeed, even if a patent issues, it may be unenforceable if there is proof that it had already been done by someone else.

Bob Hanway
Charlotte, North Carolina

Farm Aid
Editor:
We enjoyed your article on the Great Lift Revisited, February 1995). We were crewing then, but were unaware of the event when it occurred. In the interest of fairness to Willie Nelson, however, we have to differ with Glen Moyer in his comment about Farm Aid.
Willie Nelson’s Farm Aid, later know as Farm Aid I, was held at Champaign, Illinois in September, 1985, apparently two years before the BFA Great Balloon Liftoff in 1987.

Vince Koers
Danville, Illinois