Lightweights Fly Again - Experimental Balloon Meet

Balloon Life,August2000

Avoidingtheoutrageousairlinecargo
chargesmakestakingyourballoonon
vacationanideawithgreatappeal. And
being able to walk upto the counter and
checkingyourballoonthroughtoyour
finaldestinationoffersmanyexciting
opportunities.Anenvelope that weights
inat just 70-pounds andthebasketeven
less can make itall possible.
Itwaswiththisideainmindthat
pro mp tedJ ud y
Rowlee to orderplans
from well-known ex-
perimentalb allo on
makeranddesigner,
BrianBoland.After
mon thsofcu tti ng
fabric, accumulating
partsincluding500-
yardsof lightweight
fabric,th eb allo on
begantotakeshape.
During construction,
ideasweretos sed
aroundofattending
balloon meets or vis-
iting friends andtak-
ingour new balloon
along.
The first chance
todothiswaswhen
wereceivedtheno-
ticefrom theBolands
abouttheir7thAn-
nualExperimentalBalloon&Airship
Meet,tobeheldMay12-14.Withan
excitedanticipation we signedup. It was
whenwearrivedattheUnitedAirlines
counterthatrealitysetin.Unitedpilots
were refusingtoworkovertimeforcing
cancellations of a huge number of flights.
After reconfirming our flights we arrived
at the airport onlytofind our flights can-
celled.Ahh,Untied,thefriendlyskies

startedtocloud.
After many delays and much anxiety
wewere re-booked on different flights out
ofdifferen tcities .Afters lowd own s
throughout the Unitedsystem we arrived
nine-hourslate...onlytofindthe enve-
lope had not arrived with us. Without this,
we obviously would not be able to fly the
firstday.After a songanddance bythe
carrier that amazed event this travel agent/

writer the balloon arrived the next day. It
hadbeensittinginChicagobecausean
agent didn’t know what to do with it. So,
firstflightmissed,weheadedtoPost
Mills,Vermont,tryingtosalvagewhat
wasleftof our shortweekendevent.
WhenwearrivedattheBoland’s
airport we were greeted by balloon build-
ersfromaroundtheworld.Therewere
small 21,000 cu. ft. balloons and full-size

balloons,JulianNottwastherewithhis
one-manballoon,there werebasketsof
rattan, of wood, of metal, or combinations
of materials. There were even a couple of
basketsmadefromstreet-sidegarbage
dumpster withtanksstrappedtothe out-
side,awoodenfloorandcabling.Not
only was there room for the pilot but, after
flight, the lid could be closed to provide a
coveredstorageareafortheenvelope...
and the wheelswere
stillattachedsoit
couldberolledout
for launch.
Limitedflyin g
actuallytookplace
duetopoorweather
conditionsthistime.
Many of the balloons
werestoodupb ut
only a few decided to
maketheshortlow-
levelflightstothe
nextfield.Eachday
wewouldwatchthe
weather,anticipating
the opportunity to fly
the new “baby.”We
wanted conditions to
beperfect.Unfortu-
nately for us,the only
good flighttook place
while we were fight-
ingwithairlineem-
ployees in an attempt to find our balloon.
Imagine thefrustration and angerofspend-
ingsomuch time building a balloon only
tohave it lost.
Exciting,fun and educational discus-
sions took place during the next couple of
days. Hearing the difficulties andthe fun
others had in building their balloons, dis-
cussing the meritsof differentmaterials,
the travel todistantparts of the worldall

by Mark Rowlee

Lightweights Fly Again

The 7th Annual Experimental Balloon & Airship
Meet, Post Mills, Vermont

With Boland Hangar/Museum as the back drop several homebuilt balloons inflate
during a break in the weather

Balloon Life,August2000

served tokeep spirits high. And whenthe
weather didn’t cooperate, there was al-
ways the tour of the Ben & Jerry’s plant.
The PostMillsAirport isawonderful
location for flying. Grass covered, wide
and long, nestled between rolling hillson
all sides and adjacent to a beautiful little
lake, the airportis the perfect location for
an event that is restricted to homemade
balloonsand airships of the experimental
variety.
Thetwo-storyhangar/museum /
manufacturinglocation is awonderin
itself. Builtto look like a ship at one end
the structure extends back over 200-feet.
The firstfloor isan eclectic assemblage of
old balloons,unique basket designs (a
rattan VW minibus,horse saddle ona fuel
tank, etc.) and collections of seemingly
unrelated antiques.The second floor is
devotedtothe creationof the lighter-than-
air craft Brian Boland is known for, with
sewing machines at one end and a swing
looking out floor-to-ceiling windows at
the airstrip and the rolling V ermont hills
in the background at the opposite end.

After listeningtootherstalkingabout
attending events around the world, shar-
ing ideas on transportation, manufacture
and materials and animated discussions
onthe funderived from thisform of flying

we were hooked. All of these ideas are
what prompted us to get involved in this
activity in the first place. So now, with
tickets in hand, we will be shipping our
48,000 cu. ft., 12-gore “mini-balloon” to
theLadies World Cupin France this sum-
mer with a stop in the famous Loire Val-
ley to fly over some of the world’s most
beautiful castles.
Lessons will continue to be learned.
Of course, the educational aspect is the
primary goal of building your own bal-
loon. But, additionally, lessons about the
shippingof a balloon via commercial air-
linerswere beinglearnedaswe traveland
talktoothers. Avoidcertainairlinesknown
for poorservice, avoid connectionswhen-
ever possible (easier to have parts lost)
and,for added peaceof mind, buy the
baggageinsuranceoffered,notby the
airline, butby a reputabletravelinsurance
provider. And also, know your rightsas a
travelerand consumerso asnot to be
takenadvantageofbythethoughtless
actions ofunderpaid airline employees
(you get what you pay for!).

A 1-person balloon “basket” was con-
structed from this medium-sized garbage
dumpster.The look on the FAA examiner’s
face when he first saw this must have
been priceless!