Monday, July 3, a hot air balloon carrying nine passengers plus pilot experienced a hard landing near Davis, California. The flight had originally been scheduled for Napa Valley but was changed to the Sacramento Valley, launching from the Yolo County Airport, because of fog in Napa.

At approximately 8:30 a.m. the balloon landed hard in moderate winds. Three of the passengers were ejected from the basket. Caroline Kinnear of Dallas, Texas sustained chest injuries and was killed. The other two injured passengers were treated at a local hospital and released. The balloon came to rest approximately 200 feet from the initial impact.

The landing site was a large open field with no obstructions. The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the accident and will make a final determination of probably cause.

Branson and Lindstrand to Try Around the World

On July 25, Richard Branson and Per Lindstrand held a press conference in Grennwich, England to formally announce their planned flight attempt to circumnavigate the world by balloon. As announced in Balloon Life's May edition Lindstrand had signed an agreement with Branson to build a balloon with a planned launch date of this November.

The new balloon, dubbed the Virgin Flyer III, will not be a hot air balloon as Lindstrand had originally envisioned. Instead he will build a Roziere balloon. When asked why the change Lindstrand says, "There are several reasons for this: I don't mind in going in either hot-air or gas—but it's a lot easier doing it with a Roziere."

Lindstrand, who has been overshadowed by Don Cameron in Roziere technology, built his first hybrid balloon for Julian Nott back in 1983. Lindstrand has gone on record as saying that he plans a radical redesign for his Roziere that he promises, "will be unlike any other."

Plans are under way to build several smaller versions of the Roziere balloon for testing and possibly attempting an altitude record. The testing will include different fabric and fuel consumption tests. The Virgin Flyer III will stand 174 feet high and hold 700,000 cubic feet of helium.

Borrowing much of the technology from the Pacific Flyer the gondola will provide more room and more comfortable surroundings. The gondola will be two stories to accommodate the work and rest area for a three member crew. Branson and Lindstrand will be joined by a third crew member for this longer flight. How long will it take? "The absolute quickest is six days," says Lindstrand. He thinks that it can be done in eight which would break Dick Rutan's record for a non-stop around the flight in an airplane. More likely the flight is expected to take 10-14 days. The team is planning to launch from the United Kingdom when the right weather conditions develop in the November/December/January weather window. Admittedly the UK does not provide the best possible location for a launch of an around the world attempt but the team is currently committed to making the attempt from there. And, hopefully landing back in the UK. And what of the competition? The Virgin Flyer III team is focused on their project. Project Odyssey, a planned high altitude summer attempt is still working on raising the remaining funds. Henk Brink of The Netherlands is reportedly ready to go with his Cameron built Roziere balloon this winter. Larry Newman's Earthwinds and Julian Nott's Explorer World appear dead in the air. Burt Rutan also does not appear to be close to raising the necessary funds. The dark horse to be the first to fly a balloon around the world is Steve Fossett.

The GR-R-REAT TONY Balloon

If you live in the Dallas and Denver distribution markets for Kellogg's you will be seeing Tony the Tiger balloon flying the grocery store shelves soon. For a limited six week engagement beginning August 15, The GR-R-REAT TONY balloon will be cover personality on Frosted Flakes.

Kellogg's working with Capt. Phogg, Denny Floden, have developed a specially marked box of Frosted Flakes. One side panel will have Ask "Tony" questions about ballooning. Some examples:

"What is the loud sound we hear hot air balloons make? The burners make a loud noise when activated, but the captain tells all the kids, 'It's just Tony™ letting out a might roar!'"

"How often does Tony Fly? The Gr-r-reat Tony Balloon™ flies about 100 days per year. Even tigers need a vacation!"

The back panel gives additional information about hot air balloons.

At this time there are no other plans to introduce this balloon packaging in other parts of the country or to continue it beyond the six week promotion.

If you would like to encourage Kellogg's to expand the marketing of these specially marked boxes of Frosted Flakes you can call Kellogg's consumer comment line from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Eastern Time at 1-800-962-1413.

Heartsill Wins Worlds

Joe Heartsill won the 12th World Hot Air Balloon Championship held in Battle Creek, Michigan the first week of July. The U.S. team won the top three place with current U.S. Champion Phil Glebe finishing second, and former World and U.S. Champion David Levin finishing third.

In all the U.S. team took six of the top eight places with defending World Champion Alan Blount in fifth, Bill Cunningham in seventh, and Harold Graves in eighth. Of the 12 U.S. entrants only two did not finish in the top twenty.

The championship was contested by 86 pilots representing 32 countries. The competitors flew a total of 25 tasks. Balloon Life's report on the World Hot Air Balloon Championship will appear in the September issue.

Top 20 12th World Hot Air Balloon Championship

 1. Joe Heartsill     19806 points..USA
 2. Phil Glebe        19490 points..USA
 3. David Levin       19295 points..USA
 4. Uwe Schneider     19182 points..Germany
 5. Alan Blount       19041 points..USA
 6. Lindsay Muir      18921 points..UK
 7. Bill Cunningham   18539 points..USA
 8. Harold Graves     18402 points..USA
 9. David Bareford    18260 points..UK
10. Henk Broeders     18143 points..Netherlands
11. Jan Frojdman      17960 points..Finland
12. Bill Bussey       17638 points..USA
13. Andreas Michels   17599 points..Germany
14. Brian Beazly      17386 points..USA
15. Dan Kjellander    16957 points..Sweden
16. Benedikt Haggeney 16816 points..Germany
17. Harold Cliver     16723 points..USA
18. Marc VanDis       16717 points..USA
19. Paul Gibbs        16636 points..Australia
20. Alan Fraenckel    16584 points..Virgin Islands

The Federal Aviation Administration announced the availability of a new edition of the Aviation Weather Services Advisory Circular. Weather services provided by the National Weather Service are periodically changed to provide the aviation users better information. The revised advisory circular provides information on current products and services of NWS.

Major changes have occurred in the following NWS products: Area Forecasts, Inflight Advisories, Terminal Forecasts, Weather Depiction Charts, Significant Weather Prognostic Charts, and Severe Weather Outlook Charts. Major additions to the AC include Automated Surface Weather Observation, Center Weather Service Unit products, and the new METAR/TAF Formats. Most sections of the AC have been expanded to more clearly define and describe the products through the use of examples and illustrations.

The document is sold through the Superintendent of Documents and from U.S. Government Printing Office bookstores. Price is $12.00 and can be ordered from: Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, DC 20402.

Five Years Ago in Balloon Life
* Steve Jones wins his second U.S. National Hot Air Balloon Championship.
* Thunder & Colt US announced it received its FAA Production Certificate.
* National Aeronautic Association honored Colorado balloonist David Hollenbaugh in recognition of his talking 11-year old Alex Nicholos down safely. Nicholos made a solo flight in a balloon when his pilot was ejected from the balloon during a landing (Hangar Flying, March 1990).
* Renaissance Balloons, Inc. celebrated its tenth anniversary of the Chase Commander.