Annual Balloon Buyer's Guide

In this issue we present our thirteenth annual balloon buyer's guide. Whether you are looking for a "store bought" balloon or fancy tackling at least some of the construction yourself, our survey offers the only guide to new balloons offered in the U.S. You will find listing of current prices, product descriptions, and some history for 14 companies.

That is two more than last year. UltraMagic Balloons of Spain gained U.S. Type Certification during March. Well known in Europe and other international markets, UltraMagic sales in the U.S. will be handled by David Bradley, California Dreamin Balloon Port in Encinitas, California.

The second "new" entrant is an old balloon company. The assets of Eagle Balloons have been purchased by Joe and Mary Kay Melanouris of McHenry, Illinois. Originally started as Semco Balloons in the 1960's the company changed ownership and name in the late 1970's. Dormant for the last ten years, Eagle is currently gearing up for production and working on a new burner design.

With more balloon manufacturers does that mean a healthier market for ballooning? Not necessarily. Sales of new balloons in the U.S. was down to its lowest level in more than 20 years in 1997. Although sales had been up sharply in 1996 over 1995, a number of sources confided to Balloon Life that many of those sales reflected a pent-up demand as a result of aging balloons.

Think you have a special shape idea that is unique? If it really is that special you might want to protect your innovation with a design patent. Larry Nelson, a balloonist and intellectual property attorney for a major aircraft manufacturer in Seattle, explains the steps necessary to get a design patent for that special idea.

Smoke Ballooning

Once the mainstay of fairs around the country, smoke ballooning is almost extinct today. Peter Krieg is the last of the smokies. This past February the Hudson Hot Air Affaire invited Peter to Wisconsin to demonstrate the art of smoke ballooning. The crowd that gathered for his ascent was not disappointed. Gary Meddock, probably the only person present at the show who had seen a smoke balloon before, assisted Peter in taking off. His report, Chamber From Hell, provides a first hand account of what the rest of us missed.

Bill Murtorff

On March 25 ballooning lost a great friend, Bill Murtorff suffered a massive heart attack and died within seconds. His quarterly column was to have appeared in this issue. In its place is a tribute to a man who had a passion for flight, life, and justice. He placed the advancement of ballooning as a priority in his life. For more than 20 years he edited the Houston Balloon Association Newsletter. In "retirement" he penned Rainbow's End South. Bill's levity had a wonderful ability to entertain the reader. His monthly dissertations in the newsletters he published are a biography of his life. He will be missed.