July 1999
Lynn Harris, Government Relations
Liaison, BalloonFederationof America
reports that the Federal AviationAdmin-
istrationinWashingtonDChasdenied
therecentpetitionpresentedtothemre-
questingtoamendaruleinFAR’sPart
91.119toaddthe paragraph.
(e) Balloons. “Balloons may beoper-
ated at less than the minimum prescribed
inparagraph (b) and (c) of thissection if
the operation is conducted without hazard
topersonsor property onthe surface.”
Thepetition,presentedbytheBal-
loon Federation of America, dated Febru-
ary17,1999requestingtoamenda rule
(FAR 91.119) was presentedtothe FAA
on February24, 1999 for consideration.
Aletterconfirmingreceiptofthe
petition was returned to theBFA on March
11,1999.ThemembershipoftheBFA
feltthere was a reasonable chanceof the
FAA considering the petition since Sena-
tor Pete V. Domenici, (New Mexico) had
authored and attached a Senate Bill to the
previousyear DOT AppropriationsBill,
requesting the FAA to consider lowering
the minimum safe altitudesfor balloons.
Th eF ederalAv iati o n
Administration’sdenialofthepetition
onlytookaminimumofseventy-nine
days. Normallythereisa 120-daycom-
ment period.
Harrissaid,“Thedenialwasdisap-
pointing, but receiving it ona form letter
was even more disappointing. The denial
dated May 14, 1999 was worded virtually
exactlyword for word just like the previ-
ous denial letter dated June 23, 1997.”
The FAA’s reasoning for the denial is:
“The FAA has determinedthat the
issues identifiedin your petition may
have merit butdo notaddress an
immediate safetyconcern. Because of
budgetary constraints, and the need to
meet the demands of a changing
aviation industryanda complexair
transportationsystem,the FAA finds
that it must dedicate itsrulemaking
resourcesto the most pressingproblems
and issuesassociated withsafety. For
these reasons, we are unable toconsider
for rulemaking;therefore
itisdenied.”
The FédérationAéronautique Inter-
nationaleannouncedthattheorganiza-
tion has signed an exclusive contract with
TransWorldInternationaltodistribute
theFederation’sfirst-evertelevisedse-
riesofWorldChampionships.Thesix
programs(fourhalfhourandtwoone
hour)covergliding,paragliding,hand
gliding, hot airballooning, aerobatics and
parachuting. The FAIitself is funding and
supervising the specialist coverage,which
will be produced mainly by theBarcelona-
basedcompanyIntervideo.
Theannouncementsitedtherapid
developmentofmicrocameratechnol-
ogy. BillSinrich,ManagingDirector of
TWI,said, “It is the perfect opportunity to
transport viewers into a whole new sports
experience. We are genuinely excitedby
thepossibilitesandconfidentaboutthe
interetthe serieswillcreate.”
Max Bishop, FAI Secretary General,
said that the TWI contract representeda
breakthroughforairsports.“Wehave
beenplanning a major TV launch for our
WorldChampionshipeventsforsome
timenow,andaredeligh tedtoh ave
reached agreement with TWI, the leading
name in television sport. We are sure that
new,increasedlevelsofcoveragewill
fosternewperceptionsofourdifferent
sports, which are exciting to watch as well
as take partin.”
The FAIexpects theWorld AirGames
in Andalucia, Spain (June 2001) to achieve
world-widetelevision coverage.Top level
skydiving,aerobatics,balloo ningand
aeromodellingcontestswilltakeplace
alo ng si deso arin gch amp io ns h ip s
(gliders,hanggliders,paragliders),and
precision events for microlights, helicop-
ters and light aircraft. Ivo Mazzola, FAI’s
chiefplannercommented:“Withover
4000 participants, thisisgoingtobe the
biggest event ever in the air. We are going
to make sure it will be ‘on the air’ too, for
alltoshare thethrillof topcompetitive
flying.”
Launch.net,aleadinginternetbal-
looning site, has opened their online pilot
shopforballoonists.Featuringproducts
specificallychosenforballooning,the
pilotshopmakesiteasytogetthose
sometimeshard-to-find items byvisiting
http://www.launch.net/shop
JimWhitesell,launch.net’screator
an dp ro grammer,toldBalloo n Life,
“We’ve spent overa year preparing forthe
openingofourpilotshop.We’vemade
leading products available 24 hours a day,
sevendaysaweekwithasingleand
friendlyinterface.”
Thesitefeaturesproductslikethe
Kestrel 3000hand-heldweather station,
the new SUUNTO Vector watchthatin-
corporatesacompass, altimeter andba-
rometer witha veryaccurate timepiece.
One of the surprising items found in
thestoreisaMicrofibercleaningcloth
thatlaunch.netisimportingfromGer-
many. Whitesell discovered thecloth while
on tour flying the Uniroyal NailGard spe-
cialshapeballoon,andtheteamusesa
couple of them to keep the chase vehicle
spotless.“Wecleanourentirevehicle
withthisMicrofiberclothandalittle
water.”Theclothcleansupeverything
frombugs to road tar withno chemicals,
and leaves the vehicle shiny and spotless,
accordingtoWhitesell.Heclaimsthat
trips to the car wash have been reduced by
95percentsinceusingtheMicrofiber
wipes.
Ordering on Launch.net’s pilot shop
issafe. since the site usesthe latestsecu-
rity methods to encrypt orders andcredit
card information before they are transmit-
ted. Nocustomer informationis kept on
the webservers for addedsecurity.
TheFederal Aviation Administration
is offering a new training program to help
you improve your piloting skills. The pro-
gram, at the FAA Web site, will helpyou
tocreate a personal minimums checklist.
It also teaches a handy acroyny, “PAVE,”
wh ichs tan dsforP ilo t,Ai rcraft,
enVironment andExternal Pressures.
