Balloon Life,
May 2000
This is a story about Reach for the Stars,
a balloon with a heart and a balloon with
a mission. It is the second FAA certified
wheelchair accessible balloon in the US,
with Seren a’s So ng being the first.
Through Reach For The Stars, Inc., a not-
for-profit foundation we are currently es-
tablishing, we hope to make hot-air bal-
looning available to special need children
around the world.
Concept
The idea for the Reachfor the Stars
balloon started with our summer visits to
a week-long camp for children with can-
cer called Camp Reach for the Sky. It is
located in the mountains east of San Di-
ego. Ten years ago, Istarted as a volunteer
to support the computers and printers pro-
vided to the camp by my company Hewlett
Packard. I soon realized there was enough
room to bring my balloon to the camp.
The following year, we offered the kids
tethered rides in the morning and before
sunset each day. The balloon was a huge
success and the kids loved it. Since then,
Reach for the
Stars!
by PatMurphy
HurdlestoOvercomeandDe-
sign Considerations
Some ofthechallenges we faced were:
acquiring insurance, figuring out the best
way to adapt a basket for wheelchair use,
lack of experience consistent with being a
pioneerinthefield,relianceonvolun-
teers, and balancing the cost and schedule
withmy familylife.
Insurance:Totake ourprojectbe-
yondthedreamphase,wehadtohave
insurance. Wewere disheartenedto find
that, with the exception of IMC, none of
themajorinsurancecarrierswereeven
willingtoconsiderus. Nowonderthere
aren’t more people working with the dis-
abled.Because IMC felt this kind ofproject
was goodfor society, they offered insur-
ance forReach For The Stars. Not surpris-
ingly,theyalsoinsureSerena’sSong.
Having cleared that major hurdle, we pro-
ceededwithpreliminarydesignsfor the
envelope and the basket.
Basket Choice: Thebasket‘s design
and implementation took the longest time
tocomplete. We triedto findthe biggest
basketwe couldput under a 105balloon
andhaveroomforthepilot,the wheel-
chair passenger and up to two more stand-
ingadultpassengers.Wealsodidnot
wanttostartfromscratch becauseof the
huge task of getting a new basketdesign
approvedthroughthebureaucracy.In-
stead, we wantedtoperform a 337 modi-
ficationtoanexistingbasketwhichfo-
cusedonthechangeswemade,rather
Balloon Life,May 2000
than duplicate the entire process. Fortu-
nately, to the north of us, Dave and Kim
Lynch were selling a 60 by 72 inch Gal-
axy basket and were gracious enough to
extend financial terms that allowed me to
obtainit. AlthoughGalaxy Balloons, like
most businesses we encountered, did not
want to risk any liability and wanted to
stay clear of the project, they were kind
enough toshare some of their basketdrop
testinformation. That helped convince us
that this basket was a good choice.
WheelchairDecisions/Designs:Af-
ter contacting pilots in the US, Canada,
andEurope aswellas medical profession-
als, wheelchair suppliers, and wheelchair
van conversion businesses, we found a
wide variety of opinions as to the “right”
methodtouseforsafelyflyingwheelchair
bound people. With all this information,
we decided on the following simple de-
signpath. We wouldtake the people up in
theirownwheelchairs.Inmostcases,
their wheelchair isconfigured to them by
their doctor. By not moving them from
one chair to another, wecould prevent
accidentallyinjuringthem.Thisalso
means we have to limit our flightsto very
calm conditionsthatwouldallow standup
landings with the crew present. Because
of this choice, we could also finalize our
wheelchair securing system. More than
90 percent of wheelchairs in current use,
rely on their lower frame rails for their
major structural support. We bolted four
quick release tracks into the basket floor.
These tracks are similar to those used in
aircraft andin wheelchair van conver-
sions. Mike Prentice made four custom
setsof quickrelease tie downsthatsecure
the wheelchair rails to the tracks in the
floor. We also replaced the standard one
inch basket support poles with four inch
wide oak boards. This allows us to push
the wheelchair against theoak boards,
apply the wheelchair brakes, and attach
thestraps.Thewheelchair issecuredin all
possible axes of movement. Flight pas-
sengersare responsiblefor their ownsup-
port (such as a seat belt) to secure them-
selves totheirwheelchair. Fortethers, we
provide a wide, soft, foambelt that at-
taches aroundthepassengerandtheir
chair with velcro.
Since lifting a wheelchair over the
sideof the basket wasout of the question,
we needed somesort of door orentry.
Because the floor of the basketis only1.5
down, I tried to use as much volunteer
help as possible. I’m very proud of and
thankful for the people who assisted with
this project. But, I quickly learned that
volunteers, no matter how well intended,
often don’t have as much time to help as
they initiallythinkthey will. So, in work-
ing with volunteers, I learned that 1) a
project willtake longer than expected, 2)
thatI willhave tolearn to doa lotmore of
the work myself than initially planned,
and 3)increase my budget, so I can pay to
have some of the work done.
Balancing It All: Life is always a
jugglingact, but anybodywhohastried to
balance a full time job, marriage, and a
two year old along with a project of this
scope, knows thatI was doingan awfullot
of juggling! Many thanks are due to my
wife Carol and son Riley.
Above: Basket interior with wheelchair
strapped down.
Inset: Basket door.
Right: Drop test of the basket.
Balloon Life,May 2000
Uncharted Territory: Beforewe
started to tear into the basket, we needed
to have a basic design path. This would
need to be reviewedby anFAA approved
engineer. MikePrentice,of PacificSouth-
west Aerostats, facilitated this, by work-
ingwiththe localFSDOto locate a highly
respected and trusted aviation engineer,
Hillyear Prentice(norelationshiptoMike).
It was obvious by going through these
initial steps that we werein uncharted
territory. No one involved had ever been
through thistype of projectbefore, but all
were enthusiastic about making it hap-
pen. Mike’sguidance and excellentrepu-
tationwiththeFAAhelpedkeeptheproject
on track and moving forward. His skill,
knowledge, andmany yearsof ballooning
experience wasthe source for many ofour
key designs.
EnvelopeDesignand Manufac-
turer Selection:The envelope designwas
developed from a black and white draw-
ingby a Camp Reach for the Sky camper,
Robbie Medina. He created a young boy
in high top tennis shoes, shorts and shirt
reaching into the skygrabbing a star. Our
request to use his design on our balloon
wasenthusiasticallyendorsed.Fortu-
nately, I workatHewlettPackardandhad
access to some great equipment to help
me colorize Robbie’sdrawing. Througha
contest I held at work, co-workers and
their families helped develop the color
scheme using stock, primary colors. The
winnergotafreeballoonride.From
Robbie’s artwork, I also created a figure
of a young boy in a wheelchair and now
the two boys adorn opposite sides of the
envelope. Since we assumed we’d be do-
ing a lot of balloon glows, it was impor-
tant that the artwork be inlaid rather than
over-laid to allow the true colors to show
through. Because of limited space at a lot
of the camps, we decided on a maximum
envelope sizeof 105,000cubicfeet.David
Bradley of California Dreamin’ and the
U.S. UltraMagic distributor, helped tre-
mendously in making recommendations
thatwouldenhance the life of the balloon
andingetting themostvalueformy
limited dollars.Wethen sent drawings
and specifications out to the major bal-
looncompanies and requested a quote for
a complete system. The best pricing and
value came backfrom a company thatwas
yet to be certified in the US, UltraMagic
of Spain. As an engineer specializing in
quality and reliability testing, my stan-
dards are fairly rigorous. I decided to
check out the operationfirsthand. A visit
to the UltraMagic manufacturing facility
outside of Barcelona left me thoroughly
impressed withtheir people and products.
I considered them a great value and de-
cided to take the risk that they would
receive their US certification by the time
mynewballoonwouldarrive. Asitworked
out, our balloon was the first non-com-
mercial UltraMagic balloon in the US.
The envelope is a M-105 and is 100 per-
cent Hyperlast fabric with two turning
vents and the FDSdeflation system. The
conventional basket is a C-4, high top
with MK-10 burners. We cried when we
first inflated the balloon. Ultra Magic
builtitexactlyaswe plannedand dreamed!
Summary
I know some of you are interested in
the cost figures. Our envelope with cus-
tom artwork and two complete baskets
Pat Murphy is a Systems Engineer
and has been withHewlett Packard for 20
years. He became a commercial lighter-
than-air pilot in 1992. He met his wife
Carol while both were volunteering at
Camp Reach for the Sky. They live in
Encinitas, California with their young
son Riley. You may contact Pat through
www.reach4thestars.org or by writing:
Pat Murphy 433 Villa Blanca Court,
Encinitas, CA 92024.
