Sues Cameron
Kavanagh Balloons Pty. Limited. of
Australia has started Patent Infringement
actionintheUnitedKingdomagainst
CameronBalloonsLimited.
Kavan aghBalloo nsPty.Limited
holds European Patent No.0671322, U.S.
Patent No.5,584,449 and Australian Patent
No.656118,eachtitled“Improvements
intheGenerationandControlofInflat-
ableBalloons.” The deflation system cov-
eredbythesePatents,knownasSmart
Vent, was invented by Australian balloon
manufacturer, PhilKavanagh and has been
inuse in hot air balloonssince 1994.
Cameron Balloons Limited have con-
tinued tomanufacture and marketSmart
Ventdespite the fact their licenseagree-
ment for exclusive use was terminated in
February,1998.Theactionbeingtaken
against Cameron Balloons Limited is for
infringementof thepatentsinregardto
boththe Smart Vent andSidewinder de-
flation systems.
The claim against Cameron Balloons
Limitedseeks damagesor anaccount of
pro fitsandaninju nctiontorestrain
CameronBalloons Limitedfrom further
infringement.Thereisalsoaclaimfor
unpaid royalties under the license agree-
ment.
Flies Solo
A blimpownedbyAirshipUSA of
LasVegascrashedinOakland,Califor-
nia,inearlyJanuary,afteritapparently
gotawayfromitsgroundhandlersand
liftedoffwithnooneaboard.Thetwo
pilotshadjustbroughttheshipinfor a
landingatOaklandAirportandhadal-
readydisembarkedwhenthe aircraftes-
caped, and went meandering up San Fran-
ciscoBayforabout20minutesbefore
coming to rest atop ashoreside restaurant.
One of the pilotssufferedminor injuries
butotherwisenobodywasunhurt.Re-
ports of what happeneddiffered, varying
from gusty winds to mechanical problems
that made the aircraft difficult to control.
Firefightersreportedlytoreholesinthe
axestill itdeflated.
ThesecondannualJr.Balloonist
Manufacturin gCampwillbeheldJuly
12-15 in SiouxFalls, SD. Aerostar Inter-
nationalalongwiththeSiouxFalls Bal-
looningAssociation willhost the event.
“Thedatesoftheeventhavebeen
changedtobetter accommodate the kids
andtheiryear-endschooldismissals.”
Co mmentsAllenSchlenker,National
SalesManagerforHotAirBalloonsat
Aerostar. “Having the event in early June
in conjunction with the Great Plains Bal-
loonracemade itdifficultforsomeJr.
Balloon ists to get out of classes to atten d
the camp. Even though there won’t be an
official race, members of the Sioux Falls
Balloon ing Association will h old a small
club race that weekend to insure plenty of
ballooning action.”
Alongwiththenewdates,anew
format will also be introduced. First time
camperswillbeintroducedtothebasic
elements of balloon design and construc-
tion techniques similarto last year’s camp.
For thosereturning campers,there will be
an advancedclass that willdesign, engi-
neer and build a smallscale remote con-
trolledballooncompletewithworkin g
burner, basket andenvelo pe.
There willonlybesixcampersse-
lected for eachclass. Those interestedin
participatinginthecampshouldcom-
pose a 100wordor lessessay o n “What
Can Balloonists Do To Encourage Others
To Enter The Sport Of Ballo onin g.”
Essays, along with applicant’s name,
age, address and phone number should be
sent,nolaterthanApril15,2001to:
AerostarInternational,JuniorBalloon
Camp, P.O.Box5057,SiouxFalls,SD
57110
Applicantsmust be members of the
BFA Junior Balloonist program and be a
minimum of 12years old. Camperswill
be asked to arrive on Wednesday, July 1 1
in the afternoon and should plan to return
on Sunday, July 1 5. Each camper will be
asa gu estwithmembersof the
Sioux Falls Ballooning Association. Each
camper is responsible for th eir own trans-
portationtoSiouxFallsan dback.All
other meals, local transportation and mis-
cellaneous entry fees are provided by the
camp.
For more information contact: Allen
Schlenker,AerostarInternational,P.O.
Box5057, SiouxFalls, SD 57117-5057,
Ph one:605-731-0913,Fax:605-331-
3520, e-mail:aschlenker@aerostar.com
InaseparateannouncementAerco,
FAARepairStationRG1R451K,Albu-
querque, New Mexico, has issued a chal-
lengeto otherballoon repair station across
the United Statesto sponsor one Jr. Bal-
loonist.GeorgeHahn,owner,toldBal-
loon Lifethat “Aercowill startby spon-
soring five!”
Anyone wanting JB information can
email Tina Reeves, Junior Balloonist pro-
gram coordinator at skyangel@nmol.com
or call 505-792-3484.
MarkPacanreportsthathis2000
balloonpaintingadded78balloonsin
January,morethandoublingwhathad
beenpreviouslypainted.Thefulllistof
namescanbefoun dathiswebsite
www.pacan.co.uk(atempo raryn ew
URL),arrangedbycountryandalpha-
beticallyforyour convenience. Because
the first few months of the year are usually
quiet he expects to put plenty of effort into
the project.
Britainstill lead the “Worldballoon
race” both in what Mark has painted and
overall althoughthe US is staying close.
Belgiumhasjoinedtherace.Marktold
Balloon Life,“It’sinterestingthat I have
over 150 balloons from the USAand none
from Germany and only one from France
which just goes to prove that publicityis
everything and I really need to get articles
inthe magazinesandnewslettersof the
countriesand places where ballooningis
strong. If you have aclub newsletterwhich
hasn’tfeatureda2000balloonsarticle,
