Balloon Life,January 2000

6

PREFLIGHT

Uliassitotry RTW
KevinUliassihaskepthisdream
alive through the summer months, and is
nowready to attempt the first solo balloon
flight aroundthe world.Withadditional
support fromnew sponsorsandthe con-
tinued hard work andsupport of cohorts,
theballoonisreadyfor alaunchoutof
LovesPark, Illinois thisJanuary, Febru-
aryor March.
TheJ.Reneé’snewmeteorologist,
LouisBillones,isnowmonitoringthe
weatherfromhiscenterof operationin
Omaha,Nebraska.HoekstraBuilding
AutomationinHomewood,Illinois,is
providing facilities for the J. Reneé com-
munication center, and the IllinoisInsti-
tute ofTechnologycontinues toprovide
su pp ortfo rt heJ.Ren eéweb sit e:
www.j.renee.itt.edu.
“With the constant support of family,
friendsandwifeReneé,Kevinwillat-
tempttocomplete thefirstsolocircum-
n av i ga ti on .
Notsurpris-
i ng ly ,after
th esuccess-
fulBreitling
fl ig ht ,t he
co mpeti tion
fro mbi g
n amesand
c o r p o r at e -
s p o n s o r ed
t eamsh ave
disap-
pe a r e d, ”
ToddLittle,
team spokesman,toldBalloon Life. “Other
balloon pilotshave shown interest in vy-
ingfor the title of first soloflight around
the world. Indeed, Steve Fossett is assem-
blingequipmentfor another attempt this
summer in the Southern Hemisphere, but
Kevin will be the only pilot ready to make
anattemptthisseasonintheNorthern
Hemisphere.
“Asyouknowtheamazingpartof
thisstoryisKevin’sabilitytokeepthis

project going without underwriting from
a major sponsor. The project continues to
befueledbyKevin’sownknowledge
ability and enthusiasm along with volun-
teered efforts offellowballoonists and the
accumulatedsupportfromvariouspri-
vate donors and company sponsors.”
Kevin’sd ecisiontocontinuethe
projectwasmadeearlierthissummer
after Praxairpledgeditscontinuedsup-
port.Praxairwillbesupplyingtheoxy-
gen,nitrogenandethaneaswellasthe
helium for the flight thisyear.
This season, the team has gained the
supportof several new sponsorsinclud-
ingEmeryAirCharterwhohavebeen
housingtheballoonandrelatedequip-
ment in their hanger at the Rockford Air-
port, and Meggitt Avionics who provided
the redundant burner control.
To monitorthe flight preparation visit
the J.Reneé website: www.j.renee.itt.edu.

Maurer-Noel Agency
The Maurer-Noel agency announced
the selection of HCC AviationInsurance
Groupasthe new underwriter for itshot
airballoonprogrameffectiveimmedi-
ately, replacing Generali-US Branch who
recently decided to cease all operations in
theUnitedStates.HCCAviation’sas-
sumptionof the hot air balloonprogram
applies to all Generaliinsured except for
full time commercial ride operators. Mark
Noel toldBalloon Life, “We are continu-
ingourägarchforareplacementinsur-
ancecompanyforthatsegmentofthe
ballooning industry and will make an an-
nouncement when we have a company on
board.”
HCCAviationhasbeen arespected
leader in aviation insurance in the United
Statessince1974andenjoysaBEST
Guide Ratingof A+.The companypro-
videscoverageforfixedwingaircraft,
helicopters,andnowhotair andhelium
gas balloons, as well as insuring airshows,
includingballoon events.
“Balloon clients of the Maurer-Noel

Agency will experience a smooth transi-
tionastheirexpiringGeneralipolicies
renewwithHCCAviation,”saidNoel.
“For the immediate future coverages will
remainthe same and possibly more com-
prehensive, thoughwritten on a different
policyform,andrateswillremainun-
changed. During the next few months we
will be reviewing the hot air balloon policy,
itsrulesandrateswithHCCAviation
looking for ways to improve the program.
Formoreinformation contact Maurer-
NoelAgencybycallingtheirtoll-free
number 1-800-783-5963.

The Schantz Agency
TheSchantzAgency,Jacksonville,
Florida, hasannouncedthattheyare ex-
pandingballooninsurancecoverageto
include balloon sizes by to 210,000 cubic
feet and $100,000 per passenger for up to
ten passengers.
TheSchantzAgencyrepresentsan
“A”rateddomesticinsurance company,
writes individual balloon insuranceas well
asofferingeventcoveragethroughsev-
eral different underwriters.
For more information or a quote call
toll-free1-800-359-6342,or904-246-
1018,fax904-241 -178 0,ore mailto:
e balloonmeister@juno.com.

The Balloon Works
TheBalloo nWorks,Statesville,
North Carolina, will sponsor a Repair and
Maintenance Seminaron Continuing Air-
worthinessforrepairmen,repairmen-in-
training and FAAand NTSB inspectors in
Statesville on February 3 and 4. The class
canaccommodate20FAA/NTSBper-
sonal and 20 repairmen. Thereis no charge
for participationatthe seminar.
Some of the seminar topics and dem-
onstrations include: TheFireFlyballoon
system;system designand placement of
id entificationoncompo nents;aircraft
maintenanceresponsibilities; aircraft cer-
tification;recommendedequipmentfor
repairofFireFlyBalloons;acceptable

Balloon Life,January2000

8

damageof components; annual inspec-
tion procedure discussion and more.
To register call Alison at 704-878-
9501,fax704-878-9505,ore mailto:
e firefly@abts.net.

MillenniumChallenge
Theorganizers ofthe Millennium
Challenge International Hot Air Balloon
Race have announced that they have signed
initial sponsors for the event. Jeff Cable,
president of the California-based North
American Lighter Than Air Association
said, “We are pleased that corporations
are starting tosee the value of our event.”
The Millennium Challenge willtake
place on Saturday, May 20 withup to 100
balloons expected to takeofffrom the
island of Bimini in the Bahamas at high
noon. Cable toldBalloon Life, “Thetradi-
tionallimitationsplacedon balloonistsof
terrain and wind speed have been elimi-
nated for this first of its kind event. The
course isrigorousasbrisktrade windsand
shiftingweather patternswillpresenteach
competitor with an extreme test of skill.”
Similar races were held from Bimini
to Fort Lauderdale in the mid-1970s.
Safetywill be oneofNALTAA’s
primaryconcern.Only qualified pilots
will be allowed entry into the race. Strict
on-board safety conditions must be met.
Chase boats will track each of the 100
balloonswithadditionalrescuewatercraft
provided in case of splashdown.
A four-day festival, starting May 17
intheBahamas,isbeingplannedaspartof
the Millennium Challenge to showcase
Caribbean culture and the balloon activi-
tiesthatareavailableontheislands.
Nightfire Balloon Glows willlight upthe
skies in the Bahamian cities of Freeport,
Nassau andBimini.Island residents,tour-
ists and cruise ship passengers will be
able tojoininthe preparationandcelebra-
tion of this event. Pleasureboaters and
private aircraftfrom localmarinas aswell
asfrom theFlorida coastwillalso have an
excellent view of the race as balloonists
make their 50-mile foray toward the east-
ern coast of the United States.
For more informationon the Millen-
niumChallenge,contactthe NorthAmeri-
can Lighter Than Air Association at 877-
367-0001orontheInternetat www.
millenniumchallenge.com,.

School Days 2000
Once againBalloon Lifegets involved
in theBalloon FederationAmericaJr.
Balloonist Program.Oneof thethings
that the Jr. BalloonistProgram promotes
is the value of an education andBalloon
Liferecognizesthat we needto encourage
ouryoungpeopletostriveformore knowl-
edge that they can use in aviation as well
aslateron intheir adultlives.Balloon Life
“School Days 2000” will give Jr. Bal-
loonists somerecognition fortheir ac-
complishment.
Details of contest: You can get your
veryownsubscription toBalloon Life
Magazine in the JBBalloon Life“School
Days 2000” Contest. Send Tina Reeves,
JBChair, a copy of last year’s final report
card (1998-1999) and this school year’s
(1999-2000)final report card. If you had
a minimum of a “C”average lastyear and
you now have a “B”average or higher,
you will win a subscription toBalloon
LifeMagazine. If you have a “B”average
last year and now have an “A” average,
you will win a subscription toBalloon
Lifeand, of course, if you getstraightA’s
on your report card this year you willget
asubscriptiontoBalloon Lifeandyour JB
membership willbe renewed for another
year.
You must be a BFA Jr. Balloonistto
enter and deadline for entries is July 1,
2000. Senda copy of your reportcards to:
Tina Reeves, BFA Youth Programs, 7600
WellsFargoTrail,NW,Albuquerque,
NM 87120.Ifyou haveanyquestions
contactTinae-mail
skyangel@balloondispatch.com
orcall 505-792-3484.
“Shoot forthemoon...even ifyou
miss you’ll land among the stars!”

eBounce
Dot-Com companies bought adver-

tising space in 1999 as if the Y2K bug
wasn’tgoingtoleaveanyadvertising
space for the year 2000. In the rushto get
noticed these companies caused the cost
of advertising space in all media to rise
dramatically last year.
ForthisyeareSavingsCenter isfloat-
ing part ofits hot airon helium.The
promotion usesoneofthenewpara-
bouncepersonalheliumballoons.The
one person joyride is a publicity stuntthe
dot-com unveiled to separate itself from
online competitors.
“We wanted to break out of the clut-
ter fromwhat everyoneelse is doing,”
said EveTetzlaff,product managerat
eSavingsCenter,LosAltos,California.
“You don’t have tospend millions on
marketing. If you have a sense of humor,
youcanmake a splashwithconsumersfor
a lot less money.”
The company isofferingjoyridesina
giant helium balloon at shopping malls.
Wonder how manyparticipantsare show-
ing up with their logbooks.

Rare flown cover from Don Piccard’s
1947 solo flight to earn his civilia n bal-
loon pilot rating. An auction to raise
funds for the Balloon Feder ation o f
America Junio r Balloonist program will
be held on the Internet auction site eBay.
Bidding begins February 16 on eBay.
Once beginning begin s a direct link to the
aucti on will be a va ilab le at ht tp://
www.balloonlife.com/