Balloon Life,June2000

6

PREFLIGHT

US Nationals
TheUSNationalHotAirBalloon
ChampionshipscheduledforAugust4-
11 in Rantoul, Illinois has been canceled.
TheBalloonFederationof Americaan-
nounced that the Champaign County Bal-
loonNationalChampionshipsdefaulted
on its contracttohost the event.
BFACC Chairman Dan Sherrill says
the reasongiven for the cancellation had
todo with inability to secure the funding
necessary to meet contractual obligations.
Sherrill toldBalloon Life, “We regret
that this cancellation, especially at such a
late date, will cause inconvenienceto many
BFAmembersandInternationalpilots,
officialsandcrewwhohadplannedto
participatein theevent.CCBNC’sdeci-
sion,however, was out of the BFA’s hands,
despite repeated and concerted efforts by
the BFAto aid the organizers in obtaining
the necessaryfinancial support.”
SherrillsaidtheBFACCattempted
to locate anewhost city. Given the limited
amount of time to rearrange schedules for
allpersonnel itwas notpossible tocon-
duct the event this year.
BFACC iscurrentlyinnegotiations
withseveralcitiestohosttheeventin
2001.
The late cancellation affects not only
the U.S. Nationals, but the Women’s Na-
tionalHotAirBalloonChampionships,
theNorthAmericanHotAirBalloon
Championships, andthe WorldCup.
Formoreinformation,contactDan
Sherrill at512-280-2558.

North Pole
OnJuly11,1897SalomonAndrée,
Knut Fraenkel, and Nils Strindberg set off
fromSpitzbergen,aNorwegianisland.
Theirgoalwastoflyaballoontothe
North Pole. Weather and equipment prob-
lemswouldeventuallydoomtheflight.
Until1930, when the aeronautsfinalen-
campment and bodies were found, no one
knew whathadhappened.
In late May British adventurer David
Hempleman-Adamsfloated intothe his-

tory when his Roziere balloon reached the
“polarplateau,” anarea within60miles
radiusoftheNorthPole.Hempleman-
Adams had hoped to fly over the pole, but
weatherconditionspreventedthepolar
crossing.
Britannic Challengedepartedfrom
thesame locationasAndrée flightinan
attempt to accomplish what had been first
triedmore than a centuryearlier.
Hempleman-Adamsreportedlyhad
one close call with deadduringhis jour-
ney. Deprivedof sleep andpushinghim-
self tothe limit in freezingtemperatures,
hetri edtosl eepwalkfro mth e
unpressurizedgondola.Thesafetyhar-
nessthathe waswearingpreventedhim
fromexitingthe cabinandfallingtohis
death.

Junior Balloonist
GoodGrades?
You can get your very own subscrip-
tiontoBalloon LifeMagazineinthe JB
BalloonLife “SchoolDays2000”Con-
test.Send a copy of last year’s final report
card(1998-1999) andthisschoolyear’s
(1999-2000) final report card.If you had
a minimum of a “C” average last year and
younowhavea“B” averageorhigher,
youwillwinasubscriptiontoBalloon
LifeMagazine.If you have a “B” average
last yearandnow have an“A”average,
youwillwinasubscriptiontoBalloon
Lifeand, of course, if you get straight A’s
on your report card this year you will get
asubscription toBalloon Lifeand your JB
membership will be renewed for another
year.
Send a copy of your report cards to:
Tina Reeves, 7600 Wells Fargo Trail NW,
Albuquerque,NM87120.Deadlineis
August 1,2000. Must be aBFA Jr. Bal-
loonist toenter.
If youareanadultandreadingthis
whynotsignupaJr.Balloonistsothat
they can enter thisgreat contestthat pro-
motes the value of an education.Anyone
wanting information regarding the Jr.Pro-
gramcanco nt actTi naR eev es

skyangel@nmol.com
3484.

orcall505 -792-

College Balloonists
CollegeBalloonistsisanew group
that is dedicated tohelping college-aged
balloonenthusiastsstayinvolvedinthe
sport. CollegeBalloonists has been started
by a group of youngpeople dedicatedto
getting and keeping young peopleinvolved
inthesportofballooning.Thegroup
supports everyonein the ballooning world
fromthosewhohavegrownuparound
balloons tothose who have never felt the
leather of the basket.
For more information contact Shelly
Naber, 361Waneta Hall, Brookings, SD
57007,phone605-688-3972,cell605-
35 1-3 0 37 ,em ail :
margaritaasap69@hotmail.com, Internet:
www.collegeballoonists.itgo.com

What if...
... ancientcivilizations inventedhot
air balloons? An artexhibit byJoe Mus-
sulmanwho’s work has appeared inBal-
loon Life. See the possibilities at the Tuc-
sonMainPublicLibraryfromJune16
through July 31, 2000.

NOTAM
Inthe Mayissue anincorrect email
addressinMarketPlacewasgivenfor
“katydidit”design.Thecorrectemail
address is katydidit3@juno.com