Balloon Life,July 2000

6

PREFLIGHT

Cameron/Lindstrand
Inmid-Juneaconsolidationtook
placeintheLighter-than-Airindustry
whenCameronBalloonsLtd.,Bristol,
England, bought65percentof the Ordi-
naryshare capital and 100percentof the
Preference shares in Lindstrand Balloons
Lt d. ,Oswes try ,Eng lan d.The
shareholding belonged to McCarthy Cor-
poration, London,England, who needed
to raisecash,and placed their shareholding
on the openmarket.
Rory McCarthy, along time friend of
Per Lindstrand, is head of McCarthy Cor-
poration and was one of the original flight
crewmembersinLindstrand’sVirgin
Global Challenger. McCarthy became ill
atthelastmomentin1997andwasre-
placed inthe gondola byAlex Richtie.
Per Lindstrand toldBalloon Life, “The
two largest balloonmanufacturersin the
World, have come together to join forces.
Althoughithappenedveryquickly,in
manywaysaconsolidationwithinthe
ballooningindustrywasinevitablewith
toomanymanufacturerschasingare-
ducedmarket.
“Everyone in the industry hopes that
theamalgamationofthewealthof skill
and experience of the two companies will
bring a new stability to balloon manufac-
turing.Welookforwardtoalongand
fru itfulrelationshipwithth eteamat
CameronBalloons.”
InapressreleaseDonCameron,
ChairmanofCameronHoldings,parent
company ofCameron Balloons,said, “The
dealhadonlybeen agreedfollowing the
decision by Lindstrand Balloons to make
10 staff redundant and to put a significant
number on part-time working. We did not
seektogaincontrolofLindstrandBal-
loons. Theownerof the shares approached
Cameronbecausetheybelievedthatthe
futureinterestsofstaff,customersand
suppliers would bebest served if the com-
panycameunderourmanagement.We
will certainly do out utmost to justify this
faith.”
Mr. Cameronadded,“Althoughwe

nowownthemajorityofthesharesin
Lindstrand Balloons this does not give us
animmediate sayinthe management of
thecompany.Certainlegalformalities
havetobefollowed,butafterthose are
completedweexpecttoco-operatewith
their management so that together we can
formulateastrategythatwillprovidea
successful future for Lindstrand Balloons,
itsemployeesanditsclients.”
Phil Thompson, president Lindstrand
BalloonsUSA,issueda pressreleaseto
clarifythestatusofhiscompanyasa
result of Cameron’s purchase. Thompson
said,“Wh enIstartedth iscomp an y
(A.R.B.C., Inc.d/b/aLindstrand Balloons
USA)in1994,itwasimportantthatI
maintained autonomy in all aspects of this
business.Separationofownershipand
financeswasinthebestinterestofboth
companiesfromtheonset.Lindstrand
BalloonsLtd. has never ownedanypor-
tion ofLindstrand Balloons USA. Norhas
LindstrandBalloonsUSAeverhador
reliedon any outside investors. We were
grantedUStypecertificateB00010CH
andhave complete designandengineer-
ingcontrol oftheballoons wemanufac-
ture.
“Ourgoalhasalwaysbeentocon-
tinue expanding our manufacturing capa-
bilities here as the increased demand has
dictated. Salesfor 1999 and the first half
of 2000 have greatly exceeded our expec-
tations. Weare scheduled to break ground
for a new production facility in July in the
Galena, Illinois Industrial Park. This new
building is more than 3 timeslarger than
ourcurrent facility, and has been designed
toaccommodatealargebasketproduc-
tion area, increased envelope production,
and burner assembly. Our continued suc-
cessandgrowthisa directresultof the
effortsofour dealernetwork, dedicated
employeesandloyal customers. We will
continue to manufacture the highest qual-
ity aircraft available inour industry. Bal-
loonsbuilttostandardsthatyouexpect
fromLindstrand USA.”
Formo rein form ati onco nt act

Cameron Balloon Ltd ., St. John St.,
Bedminster, Bristol BS3 4NH, UK, Inter-
net : www.cameron balloons.co.uk,
Lindstrand Balloons Ltd., Maesbury Rd.,
Oswestry, Shropshire SY10 8ZZ, Inter-
net: www.lindstrand.co.uk, or Lindstrand
Balloons USA, Box 686, Hanover, IL
61041 , 815-591-2200, Internet :
www.lindstrand.com.

The Big Jump
A French team has announced that at
the endof the year 2000 Michel Fournier
is going to try the Big Jump. Fournier, 56
yearsold, isamulti-disciplinaryathlete
andanex-parachuteofficer,withmore
than8,000jumps.Hewillattemptto
freefall through the sound barrier from the
stratospheric heightof more than 40,000
meters, more than131,000 feet.
Fournier holds the French record for
free-fallflightfrom12,000meters(ap-
proximately40,000feet).Hisperfor-
mances have earned him the Gold medal
for Youth and Sport andthe Aeronautics
Medal as well as the title of Officer of the
National Order of Merit.
This project has been in planning for
more thantenyears. InNovember1987
the French Ministry ofDefensedecided to
support a project fora free-fall flight from
38,000meters.After twoyears of study,
work,groundandflighttests,including
the launch of a model, tostudythe feasi-
bilitytheprojectcameundertheEuro-
pean space project, which was abandoned.
Fournier,a fanatic ofaerospacead-
ventures,decidedto“personallydefend
theproject.” Tohelpraise the estimated
20.5millionFrenchFrancstofundthe
planshesoldhishouse,hisarmsand
insigniacollections, and his furniture. Ad-
ditionalfundinghasbeenraisedfrom
private companies.
Fournier has been conditioning him-
self withintensephysicaltrainingman-
agedbya teamof specialists ledby Pro-
fessorPaulVanusen(scientificdirector
of the project).
Jean-FrançoisClervoy, anastronaut

Balloon Life,July2000

8

for the European Space Agency, is spon-
soring the challenge said, “You will, in a
way, carry out one of my fantasies as an
astronaut—that of coming back to earth
on foot. There is no doubt that this jump
willgodownin thehistoryof aeronautical
and space adventures and will contribute
to the development of the techniques and
security of future stratospheric flights.”
The feat willtake place in France, on
the Crau plain.The day of the jump a
weather probe willbringinthe last details
needed toplanthe exact trajectory for the
stratospheric balloonwhichwillbe taking
Fournier up.
Lessthan50minutesbeforethe
launch,theballoon will befilled with
helium. The pod willbe helddownon the
grounduntilthelastsecondbeforetaking-
off. The balloon will take off for a climb
lasting about 2 hours 30 minutes.
Forsafetyreasons,incasethere
should be a problem during the climb, a
remote-controlled canopy liberator, link-
ingthe balloon tothe flightchain, willbe
operated by the ground computer in order
to parachute the pod back down to earth.
A machine in the pod will regulate the
pressure.
Once at the ceiling height, Fournier
will unpressurized the pod and pressurize
his suit, open the glass door and finally
accomplishhis life’s dream—admire the
roundness of the Planet Earth before plung-
ing out to break the wall of sound. It will
only takehim30secondsto hearthe
double“bang”and51secondstoreachthe
speed of 1,782 km/h (1.67mach), a speed
never achieved by man so far.
After a free-fallof sixminutes and 25
seconds,hewill open his parachute at
1,000meters andwill beable totake
advantage of the remaining four minutes
needed to reach the ground.
It will be the accomplishment of ten
years of preparation for a few historical
minutesandthesettingoffourworld
records.

French to Attempt Atlantic
Two aeronauts have announced their
plan to be the first French team to cross the
Atlantic Ocean in a balloon. Their launch
windowwillopenAugust7,2000in
Canada. The flight crew is comprised of
two pilots.
Laurent Lajoye, 48 years old, is a hot
air balloon pilot instructor, as well as a

lightplane pilot.Thisformer rugbymanis
first and foremost a manager. He crossed
theAtlantic Ocean in1983, ona self made
sailing boat. In preparation for the flight
his responsibilitieshave included human
resources,organizationandeconomic
management. On board, hewill be re-
sponsible for flight and navigation.
The second aeronaut is, Christophe
Houver, the youngest pilottoattemptthis
crossing. He is only 26 years old. He is a
hot air balloon pilot and an engineer. He
has worked at Cameron Balloons in En-
gland. His preflight duties have included
logistics andmaterial organization. On
board, he willbe responsible for material
checking and use of avionics.
The team expectsto fly around 5,000
kilometers landing inEurope somewhere
betweenScotlandandMorocco.The crew
will receive the aid of Luc Trullemans,
BreitlingOrbiter 3met team, whoisexpe-
rienced with Atlanticballoon crossing.
He willhelp the pilotsto choose the win-
dow for the take off and will ensure the
routing of the balloon during the flight.
Theaircontrolcenter,basedin
France, willensure the flightfollowingby
satellite transmission, and will assure a
possible deployment of a rescue plan, if
necessary.
TheRoziere-typeballoonof2200
cubic meters, willflytoa cruisingaltitude
between 4000and5000 meters. The team
hopes to break some national and world-
widerecordsofdistance andspeed.French
national records include duration of49
hourssetin1928 and distance of 2191 km
set in 1912. World records include dis-
tance in categoryof 5340 km by Abruzzo
and Bradley set in1992 and the unofficial
speed record across the Atlantic in 2200
cubic meter Roziere of 75 hours by Fos-
sett and Cole in 1994.
The flightwillhonor France, the na-
tive country of aerostation and pay hom-
age to Jean-FrançoisPilâtre de Rozier, by
using a balloon based on his invention.

FAA Database
TheFederalAviationAdministration
has mailed letters to “active” (emphasis
ours) pilots regardingpartofrecently
passed Congressional legislation. Not all
balloon pilots may receive this notifica-
tion, especially ifthey used tohold a
medicalcertificateforheavythanairflight,
but no longer have a current medical.

Therecently enactedAviation In-
vestment andReformActfor the21st
Century, Section 715 allows the FAA to
again make airmen’s addresses available
to the public. The pertinent language of
the Act can be viewed on the FAA Civil
AviationRegistrywebsiteat
www.registry.faa.gov. Under the Act,the
FAA will makean airman’s name,ad-
dress, and ratings available 120 days fol-
lowing its enactment, scheduled for Au-
gust 4, 2000.
The Act requires the FAA to notify
airmen that they may have their address
withheld.Ifyou wishtohave your address
available to the aviationindustryand oth-
ers, no action is required on your part. If
youchoose nottohave your addressmade
available, you may not receive important
aviation information from aviation asso-
ciations and industry concerning safety,
flying techniques, new products, legisla-
tive andregulatory positions, aviation-
related events, or other junk mail.
You will continue to receive infor-
mationproduced andmailedby the FAA.
If you do not wish to have your address
available,sendwritten indication with
your complete name, permanent mailing
address, and FAA certificate number to:
DepartmentofTransportation,Federal
AviationAdministration,AirmenCertifi-
cationBranch,AFS-760,POBox268872,
Oklahoma City, OK 73126-8872.
The notification letter stresses that
onlyyour name, address, and ratingsheld
are made available no matter what you
choose to do. In addition, you may also
choose tohave a mailingaddressdifferent
thanyour home addressmaintainedbythe
FAA.