December 1999
TheAérophilecompanyhasbeen
operating a tethered gas balloon nearParis,
France since 1993. One of its main objec-
tives was to install a balloon in the heart of
Paris. The companyfinally succeededin
overcomingbureaucracywithaMillen-
niumcelebrationidea.
“The cityof Paris offeredusone of
themostbeautifullocations,”Jerome
Giacomoni ofAérophile toldBalloon Life.
“TheAndreCitroënPark,inthesouth-
westcornerofthecity,wasopenedin
1992andisbuiltonthesitewherethe
Citroën automobile factorywasonce lo-
cated—theonlyParisianparktoopen
ontothe Seine. It’sa dream come true.”
The official inauguration tookplace
July1.Infourmonthstheballoonhas
taken 50,000 people 150 meters in the air
over Paris. Theballoon islimitedto this
height, although one demonstration flight
wasallowedto 300meters.
“In addition, from the balloon we can
perfectlyseetheBoisdeBoulogneand
the Ranelegh Gardens formerly known as
Chateaudela Muettle, wherePilatre de
Roziertookoff on21November1783,
and the Butteaux Cailles where helanded.
Also, we can perfectly distinguish Chalais
Meudonandthehangarwherethefirst
tetheredballoonswerebuiltduringthe
Frenchrevolution.”
Aérophile has made an offer to Bal-
loon Life pilot subscribers for a free teth-
ered balloon ride. All that is required is to
show your balloon pilot certificate and
allow them to make a photocopy of the
certificate. “We’ll be here until 31 De-
cember 2000. If not the five other bal-
loons in France will be waiting for you.”
said Jerome Giacomoni.
In MayBalloon Life reported that the
Soukup & Thomas International Balloon
& Airship Museum, Mitchell, SouthDa-
kota,wouldbe keptopenbythe cityin
1999 andoperatedbyCornPalace Con-
cessions. Inmid-November the Mitchell
city council voted five to four to continue
themuseum operationsthroughthe year
2000.
The tie-breaking vote was cast by the
mayor who stated that he had received 37
callsfrompeoplewhowantedthemu-
seum to remain in Mitchell. Sources told
Balloon Lifethat the four council mem-
bers who voted against the museum want
tousethefacilityforanotherpurpose.
Among recommendations of a recent poll
taken in Mitchell about what can be done
withthe buildingincluded making it into
a children’s science center, new city hall,
Ripley’s Believe It or Not museum, and a
Taco Bell.
Disgruntledcouncilmemberswere
displeasedthatthe museumwascosting
the city money to keep open. As a city that
usesmuseumstolure touristsoff Inter-
state 90 one has to wonder why they were
cryingabout a $15,000 utilitybill.
The concessionaire did make money
onthemuseumgiftshopandwillrunit
again this. The museum will be open late
spring throughearly autumn.
Shouldthemuseumevercloseits
doorsthecollection,ownedbyanon-
profit museum organization, wouldhave
tobe given to another non-profit balloon
museumor theSmithsonian’s Air& Space
Museum.
Transatlantic
Race
Afterbuilding the balloon which com-
pletedthefirstglobalflight,Cameron
Balloonsisnowplanninga Millennium
balloon race acrossthe Atlantic.
Up totenteams willtake part in the
challenge, whichisscheduledfor launch
in July 2000. The balloons will race from
the UnitedStates to Europe, the winning
teambeingthefirsttocrossahardsur-
facedroadin Europe.
The man responsible for all technical
aspects of the event is Don Cameron, who
wellknowthedifficulties—andexcite-
ment—of flyingacrossmore than2,200
miles of unfriendly sea. Don just failed to
become the first man to cross the Atlantic
inaballoonin1978whenbadweather
forcedhim to ditchinthe Bay of Biscay
after a flight from Canada. He made up for
his disappointment in 1982 when he took
part in the only previous Atlantic race and
managed to land with dryfeet on a beach
inPortugal.
The teams will use Cameron Roziere
heated-helium balloons.These are smaller
andsimplerversionsoftheround-the-
worldenvelope.Hangingbeneaththem
willbehi-techKevlarandcarbonfiber
enclosedgondolas,capableofcarrying
two or three crew, that will double as life
boatsifanyoftheteamsareforcedto
ditch inthe sea. Inside the gondolaswill
bestate-of-the-artsatellitecommunica-
tionand positioning systems.
Uptotenteamswillbeallowedto
take part, but according to Race Director
Alan Noble, of Cameron Balloons, twice
th atn um ber— incl ud in gallfemale
team s—arealread yloo kin gfo rthe
$310,000 dollars of sponsorship required.
Formoreinformationcontact,The
AtlanticRaceOffice, c/oCameronBal-
loons Ltd., St. John’s Street, Bristol, BS3
4NH, UK.
