Balloons have the Right of Way Larry Konash RPS IMC Balloon Agency Minneapolis, MN Balloons have the Right of Way Why did I pick that title? First, they do! But, why do they? What we will cover in the next hour is not me trying to lecture you about the aviation insurance business. Balloons have the Right of Way What we will cover is an introduction to ballooning. Then, we will look at ballooning as a business, their needs, and aspirations, and some fun facts that all of us as pilots know about airplanes, but have probably never thought about when it comes to these beautiful and colorful giants. 1
History (short course) 1783 was the year Montgolfier was the family November 21, 1783 First Flight Champagne Can t balloon without it Hot Air vs Gas Gas dominated Both used History 2
Don Piccard First plastic tube balloon 1957 History Gas Today Helium, Hydrogen, Ammonia, Natural Gas Competition is 100% Hydrogen today Near space is Helium 3
Hot Air Gas Airship Gas Thermal (hot air) Fringes Types & Construction Types & Construction Hot Air Envelope Basket Burners Accessories Truck, Trailer, Radios, GPS, Fans, Ropes, Safety Hot Air Envelope 4
Hot Air Envelope Hot Air Envelope Hot Air Envelope 5
Hot Air Basket Hot Air Basket Hot Air Burners 6
Hot Air Burners Gloves Fans Ropes Restraint Harnesses Radios GPS ipad Hot Air Accessories Gas Balloon Envelope 7
Gas Balloon Envelope Gas Balloon Envelope Gas Balloon Envelope 8
Gas Balloon Envelope Gas Balloon Basket 9
Gas Launch Rozier Balloons CREW Crew Training Skill based Driving Crowd Control Operational Knowledge of Equipment Standard Procedures Emergency Procedures 10
Sources of Balloons Cameron Lindstrand Kubicek Firefly National UltraMagic Zing Head Avian Cloud 9 ~20 Worldwide 11
Sources of Balloons Used Balloons Blastvalve.com Ballooning Balloonist.com HotAirBalloonist.com Internet Repair & Maintenance Repair Stations for Balloons Where the balloons are Long distances & limited resources Shipping, Storage, Return Limited numbers Repair & Maintenance Annual Inspection / 100 hour inspections Just like airplanes Major systems Burner valves rebuild Tank certification/fuel hose replacement Envelope inspection Pull test Porosity test Costs 12
Pilot Requirements Private Age 16 Log entries of instruction & competence 10 flight hours / 6 hours with instructor Written, oral, flight test with DE 1 flight to 3000 agl or higher Pilot Requirements Commercial Age 18 Log entries of instruction & competency 35 hours flight time 20 hours in balloons, 10 flights in balloons 2 flights as PIC 10 hour of flight training 1 flight to 5000 agl or higher Conveys Instructor Privileges!!! 13
Balloon Performance Most common sizes vs job Sport: 77,000 cu ft Comm: 105 to 120,000 cu ft Ride ops: 150 to 175,000 cu ft Large ops: 210 to 450,000 cu ft Burners: Single, Twin, Triple, Quad Fuel Propane Balloon Performance Flight Manual Standard size 105,000 cu. Ft. twin burner Assent: 900 ft/min Descent: 1000 ft/min Arrest Terminal Descent: 800 feet Weather Light Winds Morning & Evening It s the landing we guarantee! Low level high high level low is perfect Sources of Weather Products Blastvalve.com My Radar app & RUC winds 14
Insurance vs Market Minimum hours: In type For events For larger balloons / ride balloons Bucket List A hot air balloon ride is near the top of everyone's bucket list Balloon Ride Market Ride market is everyone Includes old and young alike Includes physically challenged individuals 15
Balloon Ride Market Private Pilot Rating Same as airplanes Commercial Rating Fly for food ATP Instructor Balloon Ride Market Who flies them? Sport and Pleasure flyers Weekend ride companies Professional ride companies Balloon Ride Market Where are they flown Literally anywhere In the country Suburbs Events Differences across the United States and Canada 16
Balloon Ride Market 17
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Balloon Ride Market Rules? We don t need no stinkin rules! FAA Part 91, 135, 141? Pick one? We currently fly under Part 91 with no supervision The closest the FAA gets is at Festivals Balloon Ride Market Balloon Federation of America (BFA) Similar to AOPA Only umbrella organization for balloonists Safety net Sport fliers Commercial ops Competition 19
Commercial Ballooning Banners Custom Art Envelopes Special Shape Balloons 20
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Commercial Ballooning Common to all: Tether ops for the photo ops For the Crowd For the Media For TV 22
Commercial Ballooning Flight characteristics Bannered and Custom Art Envelopes Fly exactly as round balloons Special Shapes Balloons Fly exactly like the round balloons Landing is a different animal altogether Competition Balloons Hot Air Simple Hare & Hound Multi Part tasks, Timed approaches, Self Declared Targets, Observers both human & Recording Gas Americas Cup Gordon Bennett Competition Balloons Racers Capable of extreme Performance 23
Competition Balloons Americas Cup First Saturday of ABQ Balloon Fiesta Takes about 6 hours to fill all balloons from tank trucks Draw straws for launch sequence Walked to stage National Anthem Launch (6 pm to midnight) Objective Furthest great circle distance 24
Competition Balloons Gordon Bennett Same general idea as Americas Cup Country of last year s winner hosts this year Europe presents unique challenges Water presents even greater challenges Furthest great circle distance Experimental Homebuilt Cluster Fringes of Ballooning Cluster Balloon Fringes of Ballooning 25
Walk Balloon Landowner Relations 26
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Insurance One game in town since inception $1m CSL $100k BI $5k Med Pay Hull: stated value (with limits) Pilot + 8 max Insurance Recent improvements $2M csl $250k BI $25k Med Pay Voluntary Settlement AD&D Airport Auto Balloon Premise Host Liquor 28