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Keith B wrote:

sjfcontrol wrote:Great, and I thought flying pigs were tough to deal with. Now we have to watch for flying bears??!!

(My first thought was that it dealt with "smokeys" checking speed limits via airplane. )

In my sport, we have both.

Wow! Your sport? What, you AIM at those things?
Seriously, that Smokey balloon is uber-cool!

sjfcontrol wrote: Wow! Your sport? What, you AIM at those things?
Seriously, that Smokey balloon is uber-cool!

Shooting at an any aircraft (especially one that has an FAA registration as balloons do) has always been a federal offense. It is now considered an act of terrorism an is met with EXTREMELY harsh penalties.

And, if you want to see the Smokey Bear balloon, come down to the Highland Village balloon festival, August 19 - 21. The festival is held at the Copperas Branch park at the southwest corner of Lake Dallas and I-35E. Hopefully we will get cooler weather and lower winds and be able to get in the air. I am the Balloonmeister (air boss) for the festival and get fussed at by the other pilots if we don't get to fly.

The only problem with the location is while the City maintains the park, it is actually on Corps of Engineers land and off-limits for carry.

You can see my balloon in some of the shots in the video here http://hvballoonfest.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; and here http://www.vimeo.com/14584344" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

And, to stay on topic, if you were to get hit by one of the balloons coming at you, it is like being hit by a small car. A hot air balloon has 1+ tons of mass and will literally mow you down, break car windshields, etc. Here is an example of a bad landing by a pilot quite a few years ago at the Albuquerque Balloon Festival http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lXWZTIR5zw0" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Keith B wrote:

sjfcontrol wrote: Wow! Your sport? What, you AIM at those things?
Seriously, that Smokey balloon is uber-cool!

Shooting at an any aircraft (especially one that has an FAA registration as balloons do) has always been a federal offense. It is now considered an act of terrorism an is met with EXTREMELY harsh penalties.

And, if you want to see the Smokey Bear balloon, come down to the Highland Village balloon festival, August 19 - 21. The festival is held at the Copperas Branch park at the southwest corner of Lake Dallas and I-35E. Hopefully we will get cooler weather and lower winds and be able to get in the air. I am the Balloonmeister (air boss) for the festival and get fussed at by the other pilots if we don't get to fly.

The only problem with the location is while the City maintains the park, it is actually on Corps of Engineers land and off-limits for carry.

You can see my balloon in some of the shots in the video here http://hvballoonfest.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; and here http://www.vimeo.com/14584344" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

And, to stay on topic, if you were to get hit by one of the balloons coming at you, it is like being hit by a small car. A hot air balloon has 1+ tons of mass and will literally mow you down, break car windshields, etc. Here is an example of a bad landing by a pilot quite a few years ago at the Albuquerque Balloon Festival http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lXWZTIR5zw0" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Just to be clear, Keith, it was merely meant as a joke about our "sports" -- albeit perhaps a poor one. I would never do or advocate such an action.

sjfcontrol wrote:Just to be clear, Keith, it was merely meant as a joke about our "sports" -- albeit perhaps a poor one. I would never do or advocate such an action.

I understood that, should have commented I knew you were kidding.

However, there have been incidents in the past where 'Good ol' boys' or angry land owners have shot at balloons. This includes those 'farmers' who don't want people seeing their retirement crop being grown in remote areas.