February 8, 2010 

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• Member's Page   Check in here for CTBA Newsletters, Roster, Birthdays, etc.

• The Safety Seminar is in Austin on February 27, 2010. Click here for registration info, map and nearby hotels.

February 2010 General Meeting

Monday, February 8, 2010

Program Topic: First Aid in the Field, presented by nurse member Gail Wier

Building Hot Air Balloons

At last month's meeting, Phillip MacNutt did a program on building hot air balloons, specifically cutting the envelope fabric. Here are some photos for those who could not attend.

Vernon, BC, Canada

I just flew back from Vernon, BC, Canada. It was great flying in the snow and over the frozen Lake Swan. They had a Hare and Hound competition and a Key Grab and all were in the middle of the lake. If you have not experienced flying in the middle of winter up north, it is truely different. We first of all didn't start our briefing until 8:00am and flew around 9:30am. My wife would love not getting up so early. Then, the afternoon was flying at around 3:30pm. Becasue we are in a valley, the winds are always light and variable. My first time landing on the lake made me cautions. Never had done that before. But, when I saw chase trucks on the lake, I realized that my balloon wasn't going to be a problem. I flew a 70,000 cu ft. balloon with two people and myself at a 173 degrees. The Canadian pilots were wonderful and full of laughter.

Ron Frusher
Manager of Balloon Operations
Curves International Inc.

The 1984 CTBA Newsletters have been scanned and uploaded.

Members can download all the PDF files from the Member's Page.