We had joy ,we had fun, we had seasons in the sun...
We had joy ,we had fun, we had seasons in the sun...
While the lyrics of this one time pop hit song are not the official theme song of our June Balloonmeister - they well could be. Spend some time talking with Carol Weiner, chief pilot and owner of the Seasons balloon team and you'll understand why.
It was 1981 and Carol Weiner was entering her "next life; when the kids are getting older" that she began to search for something new. An adult education course on hot air ballooning rekindled a youthful interest in the sport, spawned by a grandfather who had been a gas balloonist in the 1950's. Upon completing the course, Weiner spent two years crewing for a friend and went on to join the Akron (Ohio) Balloon Club. The club had 15 members and a balloon available for member training.
"My first flight was my first lesson," recalls Weiner, "and it scared Bob (Zanella-club instructor) to death when he asked how many times I had been in a balloon and I said this was the first. He said Ôno, not lessons, how many times have you been in a balloon?' to which I again replied this was my first time. He then asked, ÔWell, are you OK?'"
Weiner was more than OK. After just two lessons in the club balloon she decided she would need greater access to a balloon and soon bought her first - an Aerostar Rally. That first summer with her balloon Weiner flew every chance she got. She would go from student to commercial ratings in a few short months. "I flew so often," she says, "that I remember my instructor saying ÔIf you get up there and don't see any other balloons-don't worry, just keep telling yourself you're better than them.'"
Weiner was in such a hurry because she wanted to open a ride business, Unlimited Ballooning Adventures, located in Medina, Ohio. "Of course then I thought 35 hours was plenty of experience, but I know differently now." The company continues to operate today from its five acre site that features a clubhouse, showroom, offices, balloon hangars, and a picnic pavilion complete with fireplace, Bar-B-Que, and a 1,000 gallon propane tank, "the best part of it," says Weiner. (Today her son Kenny runs the ride business.)
In 1987 Weiner was preparing to take part in the Trans-Australia balloon race and chose to build a new balloon called Seasons. It was purple and featured a daisy, sun, pumpkin and snowman representing the seasons spring, summer, fall and winter. Little did she know that this would be the beginning of an entire new balloon team, and a fleet of special shape balloons.
Summer 1992, five years after Seasons' maiden flight, and more than a decade after her introduction into ballooning, Weiner was feeling a bit "burned out." Attending the US Nationals in Middletown, Ohio, Weiner was somehow inexplicably housed with the special shape pilots. "We just started hanging out and talking with them and I discovered that this was an aspect of ballooning that I hadn't thought about and wanted to pursue," says Weiner. "And it was actually that quick. That week I walked into the Aerostar tent and announced that I wanted to build a snowman."
Following the snowman came the pumpkin which has become a sort of signature balloon for Weiner's son Kenny, whose birthday is October 30th. Next came the sun and yes Virginia, there are some preliminary drawings for the daisy.
"The original Seasons balloon won't be flying much longer," explains Weiner. "Built in 1987, it has 400 hours on it. I'd like to do the fourth shape while the first three are still flying, so if I do it it's going to be relatively soon." (Daughter Carrie, a 17-year old private pilot is a driving force behind the future of the daisy.)
The Seasons team tries to fly about 15 events per year and beyond Carol, son Kenny, daughter Carrie and 9-year old Kelsey the team includes crew chief (and brother-in-law) "Uncle Paul" as the only paid member of the team. "Aside from that they are mostly just people who wanted to be involved in ballooning," says Weiner. "I learned early on it was easier to recruit crew along the way than it is to try to convert your friends into crew. So, I took the crew and made them friends."
That statement says a great deal about Carol Weiner and why she was honored by the BFA for her efforts to bring newcomers into our sport. "I am very proud of that award," says Weiner, "because there are so may people I come across that don't want anyone else to share their sport and I really find that attitude strange. If we don't bring new people into our sport, our sport will die. Especially the teenagers - I think there's a real potential for bringing teenagers into ballooning - it gives them a sense of responsibility that they just don't get many places today."
The future, says Weiner, is uncertain. "A lot of it depends on where the kids go with it. There have been many times when I would not have done something, because my life has become complicated at times (Weiner is now a partner is Celebration Aviation, a commercial venture which flies and/or markets the Seasons shapes as well as those of Walt Disney and Arkie.) But it has been such a good sport for the kids and I to do togetherÑso as long as they're involved, that's as long term as it's likely to be."
When that day comes, look for a large group of friends in purple satin jackets. And if you listen closely you just might hear, "We had joy, we had fun, we had Seasons in the sun....."
Important dates:
1981 - enrolled in hot air ballooning class
1983 - 1st flight/commercial rating
1987 - Built original Seasons balloon.
1992 - Built first Seasons' shape - snowman
