www.balloonlife.com

04.2001

6

PREFLIGHT

55 Corporate Balloons
MelHanson,presidentof The Bal-
loonInc., haspurchasedmore corporate
hotairballoonsthananyotherballoon
operatorintheworld.Earlierthisyear,
Hanson received the first everMontgolfier
AerialAdvertisingAwardfromMatt
Wiederkehr, Aerostar International’s re-
gionalballoondistributor,tomarkthis
historic milestone. He received the award
forpurchasinghis55thcommercialhot
air balloon.
“The Balloon Inc. is the world’s most
successfullighterthanair(hotairbal-
loons) aerial advertising company,” Matt
WiederkehrtoldBalloon Life.“WhenI
speak of success, I’m referring to 24 years
ofsuccessfullypromotinghisclients’
products usinghot air balloons.”
In 1978,Hanson founded the St.Louis
based company, The Balloon Inc., to spe-
cialize in corporate hot air balloon promo-
tions. The 7-UpCompanywasThe Bal-
loonInc.’sfirstclient.Today,The Bal-
loon Inc. manages 17 corporate balloons.
Eight ofthose balloons arespecial shapes.
As the largest commercial hot air balloon
operator intheworld, The BalloonInc.
hasbookedmorethan15,000flightsor
tethers.
Wiederkehr, whopresentedHanson
with the award, has been a hot air balloon
enthusiastsince1962,whenheandthe
familyattendedtheworld’sfirsthotair
balloonraceduringtheSt.PaulWinter
Carnival.
FormoreinformationcontactThe
BalloonInc. at 636-671-0791.

AAIBM
Oneofthefewsurvivingartifacts
from the early development ofthe modern
hotairballoonhasbeendonatedtothe
Anderson Abruzzo International Balloon
MuseuminAlbuquerque,NewMexico
by EdYost.
It is the nylon envelope for theChan-
nel Champballoon, which Yost, accom-
paniedbyDonPiccard,flewacrossthe
English Channel on April 13, 1963. It was
thefirsthotairballooncrossingofthe
Channel.TheChampwasthefirsttwo-
man balloonof its kind.
Yost andPiccarddangledabove the
Channel waters for three hours and seven-
teen minutes from the 56,000 cu. ft. enve-
lope. Perchedona simple curved board,
theylaunchedfrom Rye,onthe English
coast,andlandedatGravelines,France,
near Dunkirk, making the 50-miles cross-
ingat anaverage speed of about 15 mph.
Alongwiththeenvelope,Yostisalso
contributinga pair ofcustom-fabricated
30-gallon stainless steel tanks used to fuel
the hot air burner with propane during the
flight.
Themuseumhasalsoacquiredthe
entirecollectionoftheformer Soukup&
ThomasInternationalBalloon&Airship
MuseuminMitchell,SouthDakota.As
reportedintheOctober issueofBalloon
Life,thecityofMitchellclosedthemu-
seum.AAIBMreportsthatMichaeland
PattyAnderson,throughtheMaxieL.
AndersonFoundation,devotedconsider-
able time to secure themulti-million-dollar
Soukup and Thomas collection. It has been
giventothecityofAlbuquerque,which
ownsandoperates the museum, in its en-
tirety.This collection includes manuscripts,
art work, coins, jewelry and artifacts dating
from the time of the Montgolfiers.
Planscontinueontracktoopenthe
52,000cubic feet facilityduring Balloon
Fiesta 2002. As part of the planning pro-

cess the museum recently held an exhibit
planning charrette. Ledby TomCrouch,
Smithsonian Airand SpaceMuseum; Tom
Tomkins,SanFranciscoExploratorium;
an dBri anWig nalM CSQUARED,
charretteattendeesspenttwodaysre-
viewing architectural plans, with particu-
lar attention to exhibit space and features,
and honing exhibit concepts based on the
strength of the museum’scurrent collec-
tionandexpectedadditions.
For more information contact Ander-
sonAbruzzoInternationalBalloonMu-
seum, PO Box 16314, Albuquerque, NM
87191.
Internet: www.balloonmuseum.com

Balloon Models
Needamodelballoonforhomeor
office?AnnieCollenette,London,En-
gland, is a professional model maker who
has recentlyaddedballoons to her line at
The Model Mint.
These unique and eye-catching mod-
elsare1:60scale.Eachisindividually
hand-craftedandpersonalized withlogo
orcolorscheme.Theycanbeusedfor
advertisingpromotions,display,orasa
gift.Eachmodelispresentedinatop

quality case with the balloon suspended to
give an airborne appearance.
Each balloon is individually hollow-
castinresinandcustompaintedwith
more than 300 shades to choose from. All
modelsincludetwohand-paintedscale
figures. The pilot is a male figure and the
passengereitheramaleorfemale.The
basketincorporatesmatching color trim,
Preflight continued on page 8

Hanson (l.) is present award by
Wiederkehr (r.)

www.balloonlife.com

04.2001

8

carrying handles and upright covers. Each
hot air balloon is secured inside a clear
display case. The case measures 34 cm
wide by 42 cm high and has clear rubber
feet on its base.
Custom made models cost £268.50
(approximately$385).For more informa-
tioncontactTheModelMint,Annie
Collenette, 17 Grove Road, Barnes, Lon-
don, SW13 OHQ, UK. Fax +44-20 8 541
0683.

Need a Cake for a Party?
GlobalBalloonProm otions,
Covington, Washington, has the 80 feet
high hot air balloon cake ready for your
special party.Companypilots include
MarkYonker,GloKehoe,andVic
Johnson. For more information contact
Global Balloon Promotions, 17051SE
272nd St., Ste. 43-230, Covington, WA
98042, phone 253-638-3393.

FAA
TheFederalAviationAdministration
has eliminated the use of snail-mail noti-
ficationsfornoticeofproposed
rulemakings (NPRM’s) and final rules.
The NPRM’s and final rules can now be
accessed at the FAA’s Internet website.
The address is: http://www.faa.gov/avr/
armhome.htm.TheFAA hasexpandedits
website capability so that you can view
and print documents, as well as submit
commentselectronically.Commentingon
an NPRMis accomplished in three steps:
visit theweb linkabove;clickon the
ARM icon;andunderParticipating in
FAA Rulemaking, click once on the bul-
let entitled “Documents Open for Com-
ments (NPRM’s, Notices,Requests for
Comments).”

Tempest Technology
Dexter Coffman, Presidentand CEO
ofTempestTechnologyCorporation,
Fresno, California, waspresented thefirst
“FireServiceAchievementAwardfor
InnovativeTechnology.”onMarch2,
2001byBobBarrclough,a noted industry
expert.
Fireprofessionals,manufacturers,
and suppliers fromall over the United
States, participating in the Fire Depart-
mentInstructorsConferenceinIndianapo-
lis,Indiana,attendedadinnerwhere
Coffman was honored. Coffman, who is
well known in the industry for his advo-
cacy of Positive Pressure Ventilation, a
techniquethatusesairasatool,was
praised for his innovation inthe Fire Ser-
vice.
Coffman was honored by the com-
memoration and recognized the individu-
alsthat, along with him, helped to make a
difference in the fire service. In addition
to the Fire Service Achievement Award,
Coffmanwas presented aplaquefrom
Tecumseh Engine featuring a statue of a
firefighter with the caption “The Ventila-
tionMan”and an original oil painting by
Paul Treleven offirefighters saving a
child’s life featuring the use of a Tempest
power blower in a PPV application.
The concept of PPV came from bal-
loon inflator fans, of which Tempest is a
supplier. Formore informationvisitTem-
pestTechnologyontheInternet:
www.tempest-edge.comor call800-346-
2143.

NOTAMs
In the February issue in thisspace an
item titledMore High Altitude Jumpers
referredtothecurrentrecord heldby
MalcolmRossandV ictorPratherin
Strato-Lab V. Their recordis for absolute
altitudeforballoons.NeitherRoss or
Prather jumped from the balloon. They
flew it back down to the surface.

Dexter Coffman,President & CEO Tem-
pest Technology