BalloonLife,January 2000

18

1990s,
A Look
Back

1990

1991

January7-Dennis Brownmakesthefirst
flight of an ammonia gas balloon. The system
is developed by Brown and Tim Cole.
January10-FumioNiwaditchesinthe
Pacific Ocean just six hours after starting on
hissecondattempttocrosstheoceansolo.
Although aliveseveral hours after landing he
is found dead thenext day by rescuers.
January15-PerLindstrandandRichard
Branson take off in Pacific Flyer and become
the first to cross the Pacific by hot air balloon.
TheylandinremotenorthernCanada.Top
speed is 239 mph.
March 26-Balloon FederationofAmerica
turns 30.
March-CameronBalloonLtd.announces
that a Roziere balloon race across the Atlantic
will beheld in late summer of 1992.
April1- Jim Swanstrom,the firstBFA Execu-
tive Directorbegins his job.
August- Jeff Menchhoferwins theNational
Championship.
August-Al Nels wins his second World Hot
Air Balloon Championship.
October- Disney unveils their newest special
shape balloon, a castle, on the October cover of
Balloon Life.
October- Albuquerque International Balloon
Fiesta celebrates its 20th anniversary.
November 6- Per Lindstrand is fired as Man-
aging Director of Thunder& Colt Ltd.

January 7-12 yearold Alex Nicholos sud-
denlyfinds himselfaloneinaballoon.The
pilot has fallen out on landing. Crew member,
and pilot, Dave Hollenbaugh uses radio com-
munications to talk him down.
January- Eagle Balloons closes its doors.
February 24- Malcolm Forbes dies.
March 3- John Petrehn dies.
March- Per Lindstrand isawarded the Harmon
Trophy forhisflightsovertheAtlanticand
setting the absolute altituderecords in hot air
balloons.
May- Larry Newman announces that he plans
to fly around-the-world by balloon. His finan-
cial backer is Richard Branson. Newman ini-
tiallyplanstoliftofffromSanFrancisco,
California.
June-Adams Balloons closes it doors.
July-Balloon Life announces a balloon photo
contestthatwillawardcamera,film, vests,
trips, and books.
August- Steve Jones wins his second National
Hot AirBalloon Championship.
October22-Marks the 30th anniversary of
EdYost’sfirstflightinamodernhotair
balloon.

100th Issue ofBalloonLife

Above:Malcolm Forbes

Above:Per
Lindstrand and
Richard Branson
land on afrozen
lake in northern
Canada after
crossing the
Pacific by hot air
balloon.
Right:Time Cole
and Dennis
Brown design,
build, and fly the
first ammonia gas
balloon.

Left:Mount
Everest is
conquered by
balloon in
October
1991.

19

BalloonLife,January2000

1992

1993

1994

January12-EarthwindslaunchesfromReno,
Nevadaagain.Thistimetheballoonmakes it
outofNevada.Hourslater,withafrozenvalve
in the ballast balloon,the team is forced to
aborttheirflightandlandnearFresno,Califor-
nia.
April- AirborneGroupPLC. announcesthe
pendingsales ofThunder& ColtUS.
May- 100thissue ofBalloonLife.
May-Odysseyannounces its plans for an
around-the-worldballoonflight.BobMartin,
MarkSullivan,andTroy Bradleyplans tofly
above60,000feetinthesummerandflyeastto
west.
May- FiveballoonsflyundergroundinMar-
vel Cave near Branson, Missourito claim a
worldrecordfor subterraneanballooning.
May-FirstExperimentalBalloonmeetisheld
inPost Mills, Vermont.
August- Steve Fossett andTim Colefly the
Atlanticfor sportina Roziere balloon.
August19-JettaSchantzfliesastockAerostar
AX-7 toa newfeminineworldaltituderecord
over ChinaLake,California. Shereaches
32,572feet.
August- Phil Glebewins the U.S. National
HotAir BalloonChampionship.
October-EdYostbecomesthefirstballoonist
tobeawardedElderStatesmanof Aviationby
theNationalAeronauticAssociation.
November 4- AirborneGroupPLC, parent
companyof T&C Ltd., enters receivership.
CameronBalloonLtd.buys T&C Ltd.inDe-
cember.
December31-Earthwindslaunches from
Reno, Nevada. Four hours later it is on the
groundafteritpoppeditsballastballoon.Hilton
will pull its fundingfrom Larry Newman’s
projectin1995.

January7-9- BalloonistsgatherinPhiladel-
phia to celebrate the 200th anniversary of
Blanchard’sfirst flightinAmerica.
January12-Earthwindsgetsairborneforthe
firsttime.InNovember,afteramovetoReno,
Nevada, a launchwas foiledwhena portable
hangar becameunzipped instrong winds.
Within30 minutesLarry Newman’s balloon
hitsa mountaintopandtheballastballoonis
damaged.Thearound-the-worldflightisover.
June 16- DickSmithand JohnWallingford
become the firstto fly aballoonnon-stop
across Australia.
July- WallyMillerisnamedExecutiveDirec-
torof theNationalAeronauticAssociation.
August- Harold“Bubba”CliverwinstheU.S.
NationalChampionship.
August-AlanBlountwinstheWorldHotAir
BalloonChampionship heldin The Nether-
lands.
November6-Earthwindsagain runsinto
troublewhen an anchorboltsnaps outof the
groundduringinflation.This sets the project
backseveral months.

January- Henk Brink,Holland,announces
hisplanstomakeanaround-the-worldballoon
flight.
February14- TheAtlanticis crossed east to
west.ThomásFeliúandJesús GonzálesGreen
fly a Cameron Roziere from the Canary Is-
lands to LaEspenranzia, Venezuela to cel-
ebrate the 500th anniversaryofColumbus’
voyagetothenew world.
February 21-Earthwindsmakesitsfirst
attemptat around-the-world asis unable to
inflate the balloon in Akron, Ohio dueto
winds.
March 6-37 balloonsinflate in Toronto’
SkydomebestingtheTexasStadiumrecordof
34set in1989.
April5- TheBFA fires JimSwanstromamid
allegationsof financialmisconduct.
July- SoukupandThomasInternationalBal-
loonandAirshipMuseumopensitsnewfacili-
ties in next to the Corn Palace in Mitchell,
SouthDakota.
August-JoeHeartsillwintheU.S. Nationals.
September 5-Oct12- ChristopherColumbus
Rediscover AmericaBalloonQuesttravels
fromOlympia,W ashingtontoSt. Augustine,
Florida.
September- FiveballoonsliftofffromMaine
ina race across theAtlantic.W imVerstraeten
andBertrandPiccardarethewinners.Richard
Abruzzoand Troy Bradleylandin northAf-
ricaandestablishanewdurationrecordof144
hoursand52minutes.
September-DavidLevinwinsboththeCoupe
deGordonBennettandtheWorldGasBalloon
Championship.

Left:Five Roziere
balloonsat the
startinglinein
Mainerace across
theAtlantic.
Below:The BFA
holdsa member-
shipdrive. A new
balloonis given
away.

Below:The 500th
anniversaryof Columbus
sailingto thenew worldis
commerated as a groupof
balloonists trek across the
countryfrom Washington
to Florida.

Right:Earthwindstries
one more timeto fly
around-the-world by
balloon.
Below:Serena’s Song
travels around thecountry
giving handicap kids a
tetherride.

Below:Dick
Smith and John
Wallington
become thefirst to
cross Australiaby
balloon.

Below:A mile of balloons amile high,
Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Lef t:
Aerophile
flies the first
modern large
tethered ride
balloon in
Fra nce.

Left:Ed Yost

Right:Five
balloons set an
unofficial record for
subterranean
ballooning near
Branson, Missouri.

BalloonLife,January2000

20

1995

1996

1997

January-Steve Fossett becomes the third
around-the-world balloonisttolaunch this
month.StartinginSt.Louis,Missourihemakes
it half wayaround beforehaving to land.
AlthoughLibyahassled him regardingover-
flightpermission,hewas usingfuelata higher
ratethananticipated.
February-Michio KandaandHirosuke
Takezawa of Japanset a new AX-10 through
15durationrecordof50hoursand38minutes.
Theylaunched nearCalgary,Canada and
landedinMontana.
February- Oscar LindstromofSwedenflew
anAX-2tonew distanceanddurationrecords
of135kilometersin a timeof fourhours and
tenminutes.
February- Balloonists in the UnitedKing-
dominflate172balloonsinonedayinsidethe
CardingtonAirship hangar. They claim an
unofficialrecordformostballoonsatonetime
inflatedwith93.
April- The Federal AviationAdministration
issues its longawaitedfinalrule for 14 CFR
Parts1, 61,141& 143.Morethantenyears in
review, comments, writing,the ruledoes not
includeaninstructorratingforballoons. FAA
issues new, tougherPracticalTest Standards
ofa commercialballoonrating.
April- SkyBalloonsreceivesUS TypeCerti-
fication.
May-Experimental Balloon and Airship
Museumis dedicatedinPostMills,Vermont.
August- Joe Heartsillwins the US National
HotAir BalloonChampionshipheld in Co-
lumbia,Missouri.
September-UweSchneiderofGermanywins
theFirstW orldAirGamesballoonevent.The
contestwas heldin Turkey.
September-Brazil hoststheFirstWorld
NatureGames. Ballooningis oneofthedisci-
plinescontested.
November- David Bareford, UnitedKing-
dom,wins theWorldHotAir BalloonCham-
pionshipheldinSaga, Japan.
December-RichardBransonandPer
Lindstrandwatch,helplessly,as theiraround-
the-worldenvelopefliesaway withoutthem.
December- OnNew Year’sEveballooning
hasa realaround-the-worldrace as SteveFos-
settand KevinUliassi liftoff withinhoursof
eachother. Uliassi’senvelope burstssoon
after reachingcruise altitude.Fossettcalls it
quitsnear theBlack Sea.
Below:JohnNinomiya
flies thefirst modern
PiccardPleiades Seven
balloon.

January- Steve Fossett takes off from the
StratobowlinSouthDakotainan around-the-
worldattempt.Set lands in New Brunswick,
Canadawithnumerousequipmentproblems.
February-Bill Bussey and Jetta Schantz
teamsupandflytwoseparatehotairballoons
toworlddurationrecords. Bussey set an AX-
6 recordof 14 hourand14 minutes,Schantz
feminineAX-7through15recordsof15hours
and11minutes.
March-Wally Miller becomes the second
ExecutiveDirectorofthe BalloonFederation
ofAmerica.
March-FédérationAéronauticInternationale
votesMontgolfierDiplomasfor BillBussey,
Steve Fossett, Alan and VicFraenckel and
JohnStuart-Jervis.
August-Harold ”Bubba”Cliver of Texas
wins hissecondUSNationalHotAirBalloon
ChampionshipheldinColumbia,Missouri.
September-ThomasFinkandRanierHassold
ofGermany win their second consecutive
World GasBalloon Championshipheld in
Germany.
October- Karl Stefanbecomesthethirdbal-
loonist tobe awarded theElderStatesmanof
Aviationaward bytheNAA.
October- KodakAlbuquerqueInternational
BalloonFiesta celebratesits 25anniversary.
January- RichardBranson, Per Lindstrand,
andAlex Richtielaunchfrom Moroccoinan
around-the-worldattempt. Arushed launch
leavessomesafetyringslocked.Richtierisks
hislifetounduethem.None-the-less, thebal-
loonis caught in rotors. Eventuallyenough
ballastis expendedthattheflightis aborted.
January-BertrandPiccardandW im
Verstraetenlaunchnextfrom Switzerland.A
50 cent hose clamp fails fillingthe capsule
withakerosenesmell.The flightis abortedin
theMediterraneanSea.

January- Ray Johnson,former Presidentof
the BFAand long-timesupportedby youth
aviationeducation,is awarded the Frank G.
BrewerTrophybytheNAA forhismanyyears
ofeducationalwork.
February-Bill Busseysetsanewworld
distancerecordflying892miles inan AX-6.
His flightiscut short when he reachesthe
Atlanticcoast inGeorgia.
February-SteveFossetttakesofffromSeoul,
SouthKoreaandfliesacross thePacificOcean
solo in aRoziere balloon.His flightestab-
lishesanewabsolute distancerecordof
8,748.11kilometers.
March-BalloonLife becomes thefirst bal-
loonpublicationtogoon-line.Homepagecan
befoundat http://www.balloonlife.com/.
April-PerLindstrand with backing from
Richard Branson announces that heisthe
latestentrantintherace tobe firstaround-the-
world in a balloon.Lindstranddevelopshis
ownRoziere system.
June- MarkSullivan,Troy Bradley,and Sid
CutterwinthefirstU.S.TeamHotAirBalloon
ChampionshipheldinGwinnett,Georgia.
July- Joe Heartsillwins theW orldHot Air
BalloonChampionshipheldin BattleCreek,
Michigan.
August- Pat Cannonwins theU.S. National
ChampionshipheldinColumbia,Missouri.
August- The FAA release the longawaited
NPRMforFARPart61.Itcontainsaninstruc-
torratingfor balloons.
September- Twoballoonistsrepresentingthe
VirginIslandsintheCoupedeGordonBennett
Gas Balloonrace are shotoutof the sky and
killedin Belarus.Alan Fraenckel and John
Stuart Jervis wereordered shot down when
theyventurednear two militaryinstallations.
September- Two Japanese pilotsset a world
durationrecordforAX10-11inAustraliastay-
ingaloftfor 41hoursand 29minutes.
October- Joe Kittingerbecomes the second
balloonistto beawardedtheElderStatesman
ofAviationawardby theNAA.
October-CarlEidsnessbreakstheAA-4 (gas
balloon)distancerecordlastset in1937when
heflies his ammoniaballoon1132miles.
December- BillArras liftsoff ina homebuilt
balloonin Antarcticabecomingthefirst per-
sontopilotaballoonoverallsevencontinents.
Right:Steve
Fossett answers
questionsbefore
soloPacific flight.

Above:In December
1995BillArras
becomesthe firstperson
toflya balloononall
sevencontinentswitha
flightover Antarctica

Above:Boise River
FestivalCrew Olympics.
Left:Karl Stephan
Below:BillBussey and
JettaSchantzteam up to
tackletwo worldrecords.

Left:Bill Bussey flies
892miles in an AX-6
before runningoutof
land.

Right:Joe Kittinger

21

BalloonLife,January2000

1998

1999

January-RE/MAXfunded high altitude
around-the-worldattemptbyBobMartindoes
notgetfavorableconditionsinAustralia.Frus-
tratedbya numberofproblemstheteamcan-
cels for theseasonandreturns home.
February-Andy Elson and Colin Prescott
launchinSouthernSpaininan attemptto fly
around-the-worldbyballoon.Havingtonavi-
gatearoundthesouthofChinaandthentryto
fly north to catch the Pacific Jet proves to
difficultandtheyditchintheOceanoffJapan.
February- KevinUliassiandSpiritof Peace
canceltheiraround-the-worldattemptsforthe
winterseason.BreitlingOrbiter3calls apress
conferencefor earlyMarch toannouncethey
are steppingdownfor theseason.
March-BreitlingOrbiter 3 meteorologists
callthe team back toChateauxd’Oex,Swit-
zerland.Afterlengthydiscussionsitis decided
to makean around-the-world attempt. The
balloonlauncheson March 1. 20 days later,
missionaccomplished, BertrandPiccard and
BrianJoneslandinEgypt.
April- Cheju, Korea hosts a balloonevent
withquestionableequipment.The first flight
inmarginalweatheris a disaster.Theeventis
canceled.
June-Ed Y ost is presented with the Cabot
Award by theAero Clubof England.
August- JoeHeartsillwins his thirdUS Na-
tionalHotAir BalloonChampionshipheldin
Rantoul,Illinois.
September-BillArras ofBend,Oregonwins
the World Hot AirBalloon Championship
heldin Austria.
October- Baron Hiltonreceives the NAA’s
ElderStatesmanaward.BaronHiltonhasbeen
a staunchsupportingof ballooning.
November- RE/MAX CupGas Balloonrace
hasastonishing sevenballoons exceeding
flightsof 1471miles. The winningteam of
RichardAbruzzoandCarolRymerDavismight
havebeatJoeKittinger’scategoryrecordifnot
for havingtolandat the edgeof the Atlantic
Ocean.
December-Boise,Idaho counts down the
final 60 seconds of 1999 with a 60 balloon
glow, stretchingfrom the oldtrainstationto
the State Capitol,in one of the most unique
celebrationson New Year’s Eve.

January-Dick Rutan and David Melton
launchfrom Albuquerquein an around-the-
worldattempt.Withinhourstheirballoonen-
velopebeginstocomeapart. The pilotspara-
chuteto earth in New Mexico. The balloon
comes toa fiery rest inTexas.
January- BreitlingOrbiter2 withBertrand
Piccard, W im Verstraeten, and Andy Elson
takeoffinanewballoonsystem.Theyloseone
thirdoftheirfuelovertheMediterranean,have
troublegettingoverflightfromChinaandsettle
foran endurancerecord, landinginIndia.
February- EagleBalloonsTypeCertificates
are soldandthecompanyopensfor business
again.
March- FédérationofAéronautiqueInterna-
tionaleawarded the MontgolfierDiplomato
MarkSullivanofAlbuquerquefor his contri-
butionsto thesport.
March- CompetitionDivisionoftheBalloon
FederationofAmerica mailschecks to se-
lectedmemberstotalingapproximately
$80,000.BytheendoftheyeartheBFA board
andmembershipvotes toeliminatethe Divi-
sion.
April- UltraMagicBalloonsofSpainreceives
USTypeCertificationforitsballoonsystems.
August- WallyMillertendershisresignation
to the BFA effective in October.The Board
votestomake iteffectiveimmediately.
August-JohnnyPetrehn, Kansaswins his
firstUSNationalHotAirBalloonChampion-
shipheldinRantoul,Illinois.
August- Steve Fossett makes his fourthat-
tempttoflyaround-the-worldbyballoon.This
time in the SouthernHemisphere takingoff
fromArgentina.500milespast theAustralian
coasthecannotclimbovera thunderstormand
crashes intothesea.
October-Don Piccard becomes the fourth
balloonist to receive the Elder Stateman of
Aviationaward by the NationalAeronautic
Association.
December-ICI GlobalChallengerwithRich-
ardBranson,SteveFossett,andPerLindstrand
liftsoff from Morocco,bluffsits way across
China,but can notoutrun a fast developing
lowpressuretroughandlandsinthewateroff
HawaiionChristmas Day. This is firstof six
teamssetforthewinteraround-the-worldrace
togetoff theground.

Above:BertrandPiccard (r) andBrian
Jones(l) winthe Budweiser Cup whenthey
becomethe first fly a balloonaround-the-
worldin March 1991.
Below:DonPiccard, circa 1940s, cel-
ebrated50years of civilianballooningin
1997.

Above:In April
disaster strikesthe
Cheju,Korea
balloonevent.

Below:Bill
Arras of the US
wins the World
Hot Air Balloon
Championship

Left:Pacific Coast
Aeronautshost a
balloonsafety seminar
withindoorflying.

Right:
Danville,
Illinois, Les
Nesman
TurkeyDrop.