August1999
TheMillenniumChallengeballoon
racewilltakeplaceinMay,2000from
Bimini,BahamastoFortLauderdale.
Flownacrossthe infamousDevil’sTri-
angle, upto100 balloonistsare expected
tocompete inthe 50-mile,crosschannel
event.
CaliforniabasedNorthAmerican
LighterThanAirAssociationhasbeen
granted exclusive permission bythe Ba-
hamian government and Broward County,
FloridatousetheairspaceJeffCable,
NALTAA president, toldBalloon Life.
The traditional limitations placedon
balloonists of terrain and wind speed have
been eliminated for the Millennium Chal-
lenge.Thecourseisrigorousasbrisk
trade winds and shifting weather patterns
willpresent each competitor withanex-
treme test of skill.
SafetywillbeoneofNALTAA’s
primaryconcerns.Onlyqualifiedpilots
willbe allowed entry into the race. Strict
on-boardsafetyconditionsmustalsobe
met.Chaseboatswilltrackeachof the
100 balloons with additional rescue water
craftprovidedincase of splashdown.
Athree day festival in the Bahamas is
beingplannedaspart ofthe Millennium
Challenge to showcase Caribbean culture
andthe balloonactivities onthe islands.
Nightfire Balloon Glows will light up the
skies inthe Bahamian cities of Freeport,
Nassau and Bimini. Island residents, tour-
istsandcruiseshippassengerswillbe
able to join in the preparation and celebra-
tionofthisevent.Pleasureboatersand
private aircraft from local marinas as well
as from the Florida coast will also have an
excellentview of therace asballoonists
make their 50-mile foray toward the east-
erncoast of the United States.
“We are currently seekingcorporate
sponsors and media partnerswhounder-
standthepotentialmag nitud eofthis
event,” saidCable. “From a balloon with
a corporateidentitytovideographerson
chase boatsand airplanes, this event car-
riesa myriadof excitingpartnership op-
portunities.”
For more information on the Millen-
367-0001.
Fiesta
Thefirstballooneventoftheyear
2000 is scheduledfor January1, 2000 at
thegeographicSouthPolefortheNew
Year’s“celebration of a lifetime.”
The expedition leaves Punta Arenas,
Chile enroute to PatriotHills, Antarctica
then via Arctic chase vehiclestothe geo-
graphic South Pole. Three balloon flights
areplannedincludingamassascent,a
“Pole” grab at the SouthPole and a hare
and hound race to finish the celebration of
the new Millennium.
Theeventwillbe runbyanexpert
ballooningstaffincludingBalloonFed-
eration of America Director Earl Milleras
Balloonmeister,DebbieHardingofAir
VenturesinPennsylvaniaasballoonor-
ganizer and Bob Christ as logistics direc-
tor.
Fo ranEx ped itionBro chu reand
ProjectAbstract,contactEarlMillerat
864-639-6432 or Debbie Harding at 610-
827-2138.Thecostsinvolve speciallo-
gistics including transportation ofthe bal-
loonstoSpain,thenairtranspirationto
Chile and on to the South Pole. The cost of
the expedition willbe shared at a rate of
$39,900USDforeachballoon(maxi-
mum250 kg) and$19,425USD per per-
son forthe transportation starting in Spain.
Additional detailscanbe viewedon
theInternetat http://www.chesco.com/
~forum/SouthPole/s.pole.htmlor http://
www.polarexpeditions.org
The gas balloon team that will repre-
sent the United States in the Coupe Aéro-
nautiqueGordonBennettinyear2000
will determined during the RE/MAX Cup
NationalGasBalloonChampionsh ip
scheduledforNovember5-8.TheBal-
loonFederation of America has selected
theDenverareaandRE/MAXInterna-
tional as the title sponsor for thisofficial
1999 U.S. Gordon Bennett Qualifierevent.
More than 15 gas balloon teams from the
United Statesare expectedtocompete.
This is part of an annual international
balloon race program, dating back to 1906,
whenAmericannewspaperproprietor,
JamesGordonBennettestablishedthe
event as acompanion competition to those
he had founded for yachting and airplane
races all to promote positive international
relationsandstories for hisnewspapers.
LieutenantFrankP. Lahmwonthefirst
racewhenheandaco-pilotnavigated
their gas balloonmore than400milesto
thenortheastcoastofEngland.Thelast
Coupe AéronautiqueGordon Bennett was
in1997,whentheFrenchteamwonby
flyingtheir gasballoon1,732.5kilome-
ters(1,067.5miles).Traditionallythe
GordonBennettisstagedinthehome
countryofthewinningteamfromthe
previous year,howeverinclementweather
inParis,Francepreventedalaunchin
1998. This year, the Fédération Aéronau-
tique Internationale awarded the Coupe to
theKodakAlbu querqueIn tern ational
BalloonFiestainAlbuq uerque,New
Mexico. Launch is scheduled for October
2.
“WeareverypleasedwhenTroy
Bradley, chairmanof the BFA GasDivi-
sionadvisedusthatDenverhadbeen
approved as the siteof theU.S. Qualifier,”
MikeReagan,RE/MAXvicepresident
and coordinator of the event, toldBalloon
Life. “And, we are most fortunate to have
SteveShope as race director for the RE/
MAX Cup. Steve has been event director
ofseveral gas balloon launches, including
the1998U.S.Qualifierandthisyear’s
Gordon Bennett in Albuquerque. And, we
haveseveralsponsorsraisingdonations
for each mile flownby the various teams
with all moneys donated to various chari-
ties.”
Formore informationcontact Mike
Reagan at 303-770-5531. Flight progress
of the RE/MAX CupNationalGasBal-
loonChampionshipcanbefollowedon
www.remax.com.
MagellanT.Bear isthe new corpo-
rate mascot for the RE/MAX corporation.
ThelatestspecialshapefromAerostar
