Joe Kittinger, who started his ballooning career with high altitude research balloons in the 1950s, becomes the second balloonist to be awarded this great honor. The citation reads:
Joseph W. Kittinger, Jr.-Kittinger’s aviation career began in 1949 when he was accepted into the U.S. Air Force aviation school. After graduation, he flew as a NATO test pilot in Europe until 1953, where he flew experimental jet fighters and became an expert in survival and bailout techniques. Through his association with John Paul Stapp, who was conducting rocket-sled experiments for which Kittinger flew air tracking missions, he was assigned to Project Manhigh. Manhigh was designed to study cosmic rays and high altitude hardware and pilot-escape problems using a high altitude balloon with a pressurized gondola. Kittinger piloted Manhigh I to an altitude of 96,000 feet. Lessons learned from Project Manhigh would later be largely utilized in Project Mercury. Kittinger then headed up Project Excelsior with the goal to solve the peculiar problems posed by bailout at extreme altitudes. Kittinger piloted Excelsior I to a height of 76,000 feet and parachuted to earth. Excelsior II reached 74,700 feet before Kittinger left the gondola. Excelsior III rose to 102,800 feet. Kittinger jumped from the gondola and became the only man to exceed Mach 1 in freefall.
In Vietnam, Kittinger flew three tours as a combat fighter pilot before being shot down in 1972. He served as Flight Operations Director for Ed Yost (1994 NAA Elder Statesman of Aviation) during his attempted balloon crossing of the Atlantic in Silver Fox. He received the Gordon Bennett Trophy for gas balloons four times, and has set several world records for balloons.
For more on Joe Kittinger’s accomplishments read Balloonmeister on page 41.
Coupe Gordon Bennett
The annual Coupe Aeronautique Gordon Bennett, sanctioned by The Fédération
Aéronautique Internationale, launched from Wil/SG, Switzerland September 9. Fifteen
teams representing seven countries took part in the oldest, long distance gas balloon
race. The winner is the balloon that flies the greatest distance.
Hosted by Switzerland, who’s 1994 team won the event, the 1995 race had ideal meteorological conditions that permitted long flights. Several balloons were able to fly three nights before having to land. The German team of Wilheim Eimers and Bernd Landsmann won the event landing after 91 hours and 1628.1 kilometers (1011 miles). Their flight broke the record for the longest duration flight in the Coupe Gordon Bennett, which was set back in 1908. They also broke the current world record for duration in a gas balloon in their size category. Eimers and Landsmann landed near Ludzasrej, Latvia.
Second place was won by Mike Wallace and Kevin Brielmann of the U.S. They was forced to land by the Belarussian military soon after entering Belarus airspace. Wallace and Brielmann travelled 1403 kilometers in just over 69 hours. Third place went to Furstner and Sturzlinger of Austria with a distance of 1395.4 kilometers.
The event was marred with tragedy when Alan Fraenckel and John Stuart-Jervis, representing the Virgin Islands, were shot out of the sky by a Belarussian military helicopter. Both were killed when their gas balloon, D-CARIBBEAN, plunged to the forest floor near Bereza, Belarus. For more on this international incident see Tragedy in Belarus page 14.
On Saturday, September 16, a memorial service was held in Wil/SG, Switzerland followed by a ranking presentation. The awards ceremony and banquet were cancelled. Jacques Soukup, President of the International Ballooning Committee and the Virgin Islands Aero Club, read St. Paul’s Letter to the Corinthians on love at the service.
Balloon Federation of America
The Balloon Federation of America has announced the results of elections for three
seats on the organization’s Board of Directors as well as results for the Competition
Division and Gas Division.
In the Competition Division, Ed Vande Hoef won in the North Central Region, Bert Carollo in Southeast Region, and Jim Dieball was elected from the Observers.
The Gas Division elected two members at large, Richard Abruzzo and Fred Gorrell.
In the BFA Board election, Beth Wright-Smith retained her seat in the Southwest Region with 287 votes to 60 for Al Muir. Allen Yost replaced David Lowe, who was not eligible to run, in the Great Lakes Region gaining 157 votes to 70 votes for Mike Murphy.
The biggest race was for the At Large seat held by Bill Murtorff of Houston, Texas. Rob Schantz, Jacksonville, Florida, beat Murtorff in one of the most hotly contest races ever for the BFA Board. Schantz received 857 votes to Murtorff’s 715. The vote total for the At Large seat is the most votes ever cast for a single BFA Board seat election.
Murtorff, who encouraged Schantz to run for the seat, was a target of the Competition Division. Murtorff has been one of the Competition Division’s most vocal and outspoken critics.
Members of the Competition Division raised a war chest and spent several thousand dollars in an effort to defeat Murtorff. With Rob Schantz’s permission, a flyer extolling Schantz’s contributions to ballooning and his long ballooning career was printed and mailed first class. The mailing was timed to arrive just before the BFA official ballot. Balloon Life spoke to Schantz about this flyer. Schantz told Balloon Life that members of the Competition Division approached him about developing, printing and mailing the flyer for him. Schantz said, "My only stipulation was that the flyer could not attack or say anything bad about Bill Murtorff. He is a good friend of mine." The flyer did not mention who Schantz was running against and was mailed to all BFA members that were eligible to vote.
In a separate mailing sent only to members of the Competition Division, the Chairman of the Division, Dick Rudlaff, attacked Murtorff. Written on Competition Division stationary, but paid for by private funds, Rudlaff blasted Murtorff and encouraged the Division’s members to vote to get Murtorff off the BFA Board. Although the letter endorsed other candidates in various BFA elections, it only attacked Murtorff.
Contacted after the election, Murtorff felt that Schantz would do a good job for the BFA. Neither Schantz nor Murtorff spent any money to campaign for the position. Rob Schantz has been actively involved in ballooning for many years. Among his commercial ballooning interests he and his wife, Jeta, run Balloon Tour America, a series of balloon events held around the country. All of Schantz’s events are officially sanctioned events of the Competition Division where pilots can compete and earn points in the national ranking system making them eligible to compete for the U.S. National Championship.
Maurer-Noel Agency
Roth Insurance Agency, Maumee, Ohio, announced that effective September 1,
balloon insurance coverage that the company wrote was transferred to Maurer-Noel
Agency of Phoenix, Arizona.
Jay Roth said that a mutual agreement was reached by Generali (the underwriter), Maurer-Noel, and Roth Insurance to continue the balloon insurance program through Maurer-Noel. Mark Noel and Paul Maurer had served as brokers through Roth Insurance for balloon insurance.
Roth expects that the transition will be a smooth one. Maurer-Noel will use the same toll free number (1-800-78-FLY ME). In addition Suzi Stewart, who had been with Roth since the inception of the balloon program, will transfer to Phoenix, where Maurer-Noel is located, to help with the transition.
Roth Insurance Agency will carry on from its office in Maumee, Ohio as a general insurance agency, placing auto, homeowners, commercial insurance, and will still place cold air inflatable insurance and special event coverage. Roth Insurance can be reached at 325 Gibbs St, Maumee, OH 43537 or phone 1-800-783-5963.
Mark Maurer told Balloon Life, "We promise to continue providing comprehensive coverage at competitive prices with timely professional service and to be responsive to the ever changing needs of the balloonists."
For more information contact Maurer-Noel Agency, Inc. at 5134 North Central Ave., Suite 102, Phoenix, Arizona 85012. Phone 1-800-78 FLY ME or (602) 277-2821, FAX (602) 277-2846.
Solar Scooter
Thinking about flying solo? That’s solo-as in no chase. Whether you are an
experimental aeronaut with a one-person balloon or just do not have enough crew to
chase the balloon Edgetech, LLC may have the answer for you-the Solar Scooter.
The Solar Scooter was designed primarily with fun in mind. Because of its size, weight, power and highly efficient motor and batteries, the Solar Scooter is also a very practical means of primary or secondary transportation.
Since it is light weight, 45 lbs., and foldable, the Solar Scooter easily fits into almost
any car trunk. Just plug it into an auxiliary 12 volt cigarette lighter outlet to keep the
batteries charged, and you have up to 15 miles of secondary transportation available
anytime.
The Solar Scooter is equipped with a high torque motor that can easily carry up to 350 pounds at speeds up to 20 mph. Solar Scooter gets its name from the interlaminated solar panel located in the deck. Just park it in the sun and the batteries will maintain their charge.
Fold it up and hang it on the outside of the basket, fly off, and scoot back to get the chase vehicle after the flight. If you will be attending the Kodak Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta Edgetech will have the scooter on display during Fiesta. Suggested retail price $849.
For more information contact Edgetech, LLC, PO Box 1104, San Andreas, CA 95249. Phone 1-800-780-9995 or (209) 754-5233, FAX (209) 754-3553.
Five Years Ago in Balloon Life
* AOPA and NAA oppose the FAA’s plan to create a new pilot ID that would include a
photo of the pilot on a new two part pilot certificate.
* Bill Arras of Oregon announced his plan to travel to different countries around the
world on all seven continents. His plan was to use a hot air balloon as a diplomatic tool
to encourage people the world over to work for the common good of our planet.
* FAA issued a STC for Galaxy/FireFly which allowed the mating of two Galaxy
carriages under two FireFly envelopes.
* FAVIA, First Air Voyage in America, announced plans to hold a convention/celebration
in Philadelphia to mark the bicentennial of Jean Pierre Blanchard’s first flight in
America, January 9, 1793.
* Balloon Life broke the news that the FAA was planning on issuing a
NPRM for drug testing of pilots that would include balloon pilots who exercised the
commercial privileges of their pilot certificate.
* Balloon Life’s Special Report looked back at Ed Yost’s historic flight 30
years earlier of the first modern hot air balloon on October 22, 1960.
