Power Lines.. Just dont go there.

I didnt mean to have this blog consist of only ballooning but right now its right in the front of my brain so you get what its giving.

If this post seems off its because I am fighting a serious sore throat and the other pains that come with it. I'm totally surprised I am sitting up. Must be the pain.

Bare with me.

Back an age ago I was a new Pilot and in the Balloon Fiesta and got hung up in live power lines.

If you have any other choice don't go there.

This shot is after we hit and after the power company shut power off and after the basket was removed.

If as a Pilot you can avoid power lines do so.

Did anyone get hurt. No.. thank the Lord. I followed my training and we walked away safe and sound. That is why balloon Pilots take safety classes all the time. Can you as a Pilot take too many safety classes... No way.

If you are new to ballooning and are worried about this... Dont! It rarely happens and Pilots are trained over and over and over again on how to 1. Avoud this situation 2. If its unavoidable then how to deal with it.

I thank my trainers, Eric and Bob and all the other training I have had. To this day I am still taking classes and I am still learning. That's what we do.

The main thing I will tell another Pilot about this is ... if you can ... fly on.... don't force yourself into a situation that is not necessary. At the end.... Remember your training!!!

To you who have never flown in a balloon before... I had a first time balloonist with me on this flight. He fly's with me almost every year still. Ballooning is awesome. Friends are awesom-er. Yeah!

Talking about friends.... This is Rory and his daughter. Its his birthday today... Happy Birthday Rory!

Rory is also a "Master Crew Man"! He has been a Crew Chief in the past. I don't know how else to say it. He is the kind of person every Pilot in the world wished they had in their crew makeup.  I have witnessed this man stop a fast moving balloon with only his two hands. Safely, and with an aplomb that would stun you. He knows balloons so well he can control them without thinking about what he is doing. His mind is already many steps ahead of the events. So much more I could say but if you have not been around balloons it would mean little. Lets just say he Rocks!

This is a shot of Patturns In The Sky. Spanky was behind the lens in Bobs Balloon PITAS KISS.

This shot is of PITAS KISS from Patturns In The Sky taken by Garbage. ( Each a Military Pilot ).

Garbage and I were sneaking up on Bob and Spanky... They never saw us coming.... Yeah.....

Splash and Dashes are a heck of a lot of fun. You may get your feet wet but .. well... there are always trade offs.

To those new to ballooning.. Baskets usually have wicker weaved floors.... like a .. well.. basket... You can see through them and also if you do get to do a splash and dash the water will flow into the basket. If you have a solid floor like my Lindstrand basket and your think.. I'm safe from getting my feet wet.... BZZZ!!

WRONG!  Even with the solid floor and tight leather bumper at the bottom? Right! It still will not keep the water out. Your shaking your head right now... solid floor?!? Tight leather bumper??!? How is this possible....

Remember I said I had two holes in the floor of my basket.... Ah ah! You forgot!  Well there are two holes drilled in the bottom of my basket. Think about it...... yup.. they work as drains too!

Here is a link to Lindstrand's basket page... http://lindstrand.com/products/accessories/baskets/

If you look about half way down the page you will see this picture...

See the holes?  See that black band around the bottom? That's the leather bumper. Its very thick leather put there to protect the bottom of the basket. If you are asking about the runner kind of things on the bottom... You guessed it.. They are in fact .. Runners... There are also there to protect the basket bottom. They have strips of mylar plastic to help them slide. It makes it easier to move the basket in and out of your trailer or truck bed or across the ground. They are like ice skates on a frozen pond if you land on tarmac... slide you will.

If you want a very in depth read on balloons follow this link...


http://books.google.com/books?id=qIv8bnjndQIC&pg=PP1&lpg=PP1&ots=2ihmvhfh7e&dq=balloon+checklist

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Remember me talking about my sons first training flight in Patturns In The Sky with Eric? Here is is at the launch. Winds were booking.. The uprights were twisting about... Rocking and rolling while on the ground... They zoomed off into the air... It was cold... bighty, briskish cold. But you couldn't say no to either one of them. I think the flight lasted all of 30 minutes. I know that before we could load all the equipment back in the trailer and head down the road they had landed.

Also remember me talking about drag landings? I spoke of this flights landing.. Drag landing....

If you saw this from the side you would wonder if they every thought about stopping. They were both laughing their heads off after. That is very soft sand you see there.... You can see the first impact of the basket corner.. It didn't even dig in which means that Eric had to be about 6 inches off the ground before laying the envelope out ( Rip out landing ). They just slid across the soft sand until coming to a rest.

That was a fun flight!

In case you are thinking this blog is about just ballooning... Yeah.. I know who you are... no one is just interested in ballooning... come on.. there are more things out there than propane, wicker and fabric...

Here are some of my favorite links...

Music..

http://www.legalsounds.com/

Tech News...

http://www.techeblog.com/

Computer building...

http://www.xoxide.com/

Photography Tip and Tricks...

http://www.kenrockwell.com/index.htm

Just a few.. really.. go look.. check em out...  Ask me if you think of anything.

Good reading!   Reading.... ?  Reading !