Post Mills Airport around 8:30 AM May 16, 1998
Saturday May 16, 1998
Post Mills Airport around 8:30 AM
May 16, 1998
Saturday morning found me waking up at about 4:30 AM to eerie fog at ground level. I took advantage of this as you can see below. Brian unveiled his hot air airship to the crowd and took it around the airport a few times as the other balloons lifted off. A couple of balloons flew up and over the ridge to the south and out of the immedate area but most stayed close to the ground and landed on or very close to the airport property after at least a good hour's flight. A couple of balloons also reversed direction and flew near Lake Fairlee to the east. "Topper," the world's oldest continually flying experimental/homebuilt balloon, tethered on the runway for a while as the other balloons drifted nearby.
During the day, the winds picked up a little and by the time the evening launch came around, most people elected not to fly. One balloon did fly, and the last I saw of them, they were heading over a ridge to the northwest at breakneck speed. I guess they landed safely and without incident because I talked to one of the passengers that night. After it began to grow dark, a few people gathered around in a group on the runway and helped set up a burner demonstration. Scott Adams and his Lindstrand Hopper burner were soon pitted up against Phil MacNutt and his Balloon Works T3-017 burner. After a few hearty burns, the Hopper burner was the clear winner, but after close examination, the T3 was determined to be the winner. Why? The T3 has a much pointier flame (good point #1), is much lighter (good point #2), and is much more efficient (good point #3). The Hopper burner flame may have been at least 8 feet taller, but the output was more like a fireball than the normal pencil-point flame. Right after the burner "competition" I talked to Bill Whelan from Canada about any stuff he might have for sale, like burners or tanks. I think that might have led him to do what was to come.
After the burner demonstration, Mike Emich got a group together in the Museum and told his first-hand account of his most recent record attempt in his AX-5 "Silver Shadow." He broke the distance record in that class. If you were there, you would have enjoyed it. I'll find out how far he flew, and then put it right here. Right after Mike's storytime was over, I was informed that "Wild Bill" wanted to talk to me...
I was asked if I had a dollar... I did. Then was told to follow his son. He led me to their truck on the other side of the runway and opened the tailgate. He pulled out a carry bag stuffed with what appeared to be an envelope! I helped haul it back to the Museum and everyone helped out by opening it up. "It's yours." I didn't know what to say, so I just stood there smiling and dumbfounded over the heap of nylon. I guess that approach worked. Then it was time to get off to bed, so I headed back to my tent at the end of the Museum and bundled up for the night (it was pretty cold by that time!).
moon.jpg - Moon over Post Mills. You can see the distinct outline of the Bird Dog below.
moonblmp.jpg - Eerie fog creeping over the runway... Blimp gondola in foreground
museum2.jpg - I walked over to the other side of the runway to get this shot.
sunrise.jpg - Sun rising in the east over Lake Fairlee
pulley.jpg - A few people help hoist the airship envelope bag down to the ground by way of block-and-tackle pulley.
unpack.jpg - Brian and some other people unpacking the airship envelope.
blimp.jpg - The fog is burning off by now. Somebody tries to work last-minute kinks out of one engine.
blimp1.jpg - Brian in the pilot's seat as onlookers begin to gather
blimp2.jpg - Hmm... What's this?
blmptail.jpg - Interior shot of the tail. Notice the bleed holes to let air into the tail fins - they're filled with air.
blimp3.jpg - By now a crowd has gathered... To witness the worst accident of the weekend! Seems a remote controlled blimp contacted the left side fin of the airship and left a 6 inch tear! In other words, the Meet was safe.
blimp4.jpg - Tail view of the inflation
blimp5.jpg - Nice shot with Brian's house and the Museum in the background
blimp6.jpg - As more heat is added you can see the airship become more vertically elongated
blimp7.jpg - Finally... Liftoff!
blimp8.jpg - The airship turns left over the cemetery then comes back around
inflate1.jpg - Nice inflation shot
blmpblns.jpg - Other balloons join the airship's flight as it begins to come back around
jug.jpg - Brian's Flying Jug balloon. It's 38,000 cubic feet.
jugtop.jpg - Parachute and interior of the Jug
rcblimp.jpg - Taras von Hrechniw's remote controlled airship being held down after its first flight of the day
2blimps.jpg - The two blimps circle in harmony
balloons.jpg - Nice group shot of some balloons
phil2.jpg - Phil's pink balloon
lookinup.jpg Going up? These three balloons are.
blmpdefl.jpg - Brian's airship deflating in the background
feir1.jpg - Burner setup for "Renaissance."
bird_dog.jpg - Throughout the weekend, this plane was towing gliders. Planes and balloons peacefully coexisted.
glider.jpg - Here's one glider.
feir.jpg - "Renaissance" floating alone above the runway
burn.jpg - Burner flame distorts this picture
reflect.jpg - Passing over a stream as we were becalmed over the woods
satflite.jpg - Balloons on the runway
shadows.jpg - Looking down at the runway
top.jpg - Looking down at another balloon
top1.jpg - This balloon looks like a Rally... But it's only a copy.
3blntrak.jpg - You can see the horse track as well as the cemetery in the background
runway.jpg - Two balloons landing on the runway
landing.jpg - "Independence" and "Air Bear" land in a field past the end of the runway.
trees.jpg - We took the first landing spot we could, and it came as soon as we cleared the treeline at the edge of the runway.
model.jpg - Lawrence Feir and another person hold down my balloon before sending it up for a test flight
model1.jpg - My balloon went straight up... And straight back down.
modlblmp.jpg - Imaginative thinking when it got boring turned out this artistic attempt to be funny. I don't think it worked. How about you?
hopper.jpg - Scott Adams' Lindstrand Hopper sitting at the end of the Museum. That's my blue and gray tent in the background.
model4.jpg - Me heating my balloon for flight
model2.jpg - The real launch of my balloon in the evening.
mdlflght.jpg - My balloon heading out over the cemetery
model3.jpg - This is where the balloon ended up, across the street from the cemetery.
model_a1.jpg - After my balloon launch, I took a ride in the Model A down the runway
sunset.jpg - I took this shot from the back of the Model A on the way back down the runway
group.jpg - Here's the burner demonstration with everyone huddling around to catch the heat! The Lindstrand Hopper burner is on the left and the Balloon Works T3-017 is on the right.
