Champagn-E-Vents
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THE CALGARY BALLOON CLUB 1111 MEMORIAL DRIVE N.W. CALGARY, ALBERTA CANADA T2N 3E4 CHAMPAGN-E-VENTS FEBRUARY 2014 MAILING ADDRESS: c/o The Calgary Area Outdoor Council 1111 Memorial Drive N.W. Calgary, Alberta T2N 3E4 FOR RECORDED CLUB INFORMATION Phone: 403-537-3016, press # 5 WEBSITE: – http://www.calgaryballoonclub.org/ MEETING HALL ADDRESS: Aero Space Museum 4629 McCall Way N.E. Calgary, Alberta T2E 8A5 MEETINGS: Second Wednesday of each month, (except July & August) @ 7:30 p.m. 2014 BOARD OF DIRECTORS President Norm Gold 403-293-6129 President-Elect Jonathan Perron-Clow 587-215-5019 Past President Debbie Sobb 403-248-4032 Vice President Richard Clark 403-288-2978 Secretary Kendra Michaud 587-226-6989 Treasurer Dirk Luxen 403-273-2194 Director-At-Large Graham Hack 403-730-8948 COMMITTEE CHAIRS C.A.O.C. Representative Jennifer Lowndes 403-289-7624 Chief Pilot Linda Then 403-276-6507 Education Richard Clark 403-288-2978 Membership/ Email-Around Graham Hack 403-651-6368 Merchandizing Cat Tanton 403-240-1491 Newsletter Editor Edward E. Tower Scrapbook Jean Clark 403-288-2415 Rural Events Coordinator Brant Leatherdale 403-475-6800 CHAMPAGN-E-VENTS is the primary communications medium of the Calgary Balloon Club. Opinions presented in contributions, articles, letters and editorials are solely the opinions of the authors and do not express the official views of the Calgary Balloon Club. Published by Reidham & Wheap Press , Calgary, Alberta. Copyright 2014 2 EDITORIAL NOTES: Welcome to the first of the four issues of CHAMPAGN-E-VENTS for the year 2014. In January I was fortunate enough to attend the Lake Havasu, Arizona festival again and added the Mesquite, Nevada event to the travel schedule. This, coupled with my attending the Vernon Winter Carnival in early February, meant that the newsletter production had to be postponed. The up side was that more submissions were received due to the deadline extension. Thank you to everyone who contributed materials for this issue. There is a wide range of articles, reports, photographs and snippets that have been shared. Just remember - it is not too early to start putting something together for next time! We wish to remind all members that you must renew your annual membership to continue receiving Club emails and newsletters. If you would like to receive a printed copy of the newsletter please indicate on your membership form or advise Graham Hack or Heather Clark. The next issue of CHAMPAGN-E-VENTS will be distributed in May. Please forward your submissions by April 16, 2014. Heather [Front Cover Design - Thanks to Ralph Dowson] HAVE YOU RENEWED YOUR CLUB MEMBERSHIP FOR 2014? IF NOT - Mail a completed form with your payment to the Club address or bring it to the next monthly meeting. A membership form is included with this newsletter, available on the Club’s website and at Club meetings.. You must renew in order to continue receiving your Club newsletter and emails. Don’t miss out! 3 PRESIDENT’S REPORT February 2014 It’s hard to believe we are already into a new year once again. Last year was very exciting with lots of ballooning activities, especially the Canadian Championships in High River. I expect that this year will be very much the same. By the time you read this message, Club members will have already attended ballooning events in Lake Havasu, AZ, Mesquite, NV and Vernon, BC. Some of the upcoming events in the next couple of months include Sylvan Lake WinterFest (February 15), March SAMF flight/breakfast (March 15), our spring Drumheller weekend (April 25-27) and the 3 rd Annual Rimbey Balloon Festival (May 9-11). Many more events are planned so please check the Club Newsletter for details, mark your calendars and come out and participate. The club membership at the beginning of this year has reached 103 and continues to grow. We are actively recruiting new members in a variety of ways. One new initiative is called Meetup . This is an online social site which we can use to promote the Club and post our upcoming activities and announcements. If you haven’t yet checked it out please do so at www.meetup.com/calgary-balloon-club . The Executive encourages all members to sign up. You will be then notified by e-mail of all meetings and events as details become available. Detailed information is available only to Club members who have joined us in Meetup . You can also confirm your attendance at these events by replying online. Meetup can also use this to update all members, via e-mail, of any last minute changes. This year the Club will be participating in the Annual Sportsman and Boat Show (February 7-9) at the Stampede grounds. We plan to have a display set up similar to those at the Rimbey trade show and the Calgary Lifestyle Recreation Expo last year. This show attracts large crowds and we would like to introduce the sport of Hot Air Ballooning to as many people as possible and hopefully attract some new members. Work on revising the Club bylaws and operating rules is continuing but progressing slowly. I hope this will be completed in time for review at the next AGM in November. We are also working on redesigning the Club’s website to give it a new look and improved function. We have a great team of IT specialist working on this. More on this later in the year. Our 2014 Club calendars are SOLD OUT. I believe there may be a few Albuquerque calendars still available so if interested please check with Cat Tanton. The Executive has set a deadline of August 1, 2014 for photo submissions for the 2015 calendars. This is to allow the calendar committee sufficient time to prepare next year’s calendar so it will be available for sale at the September Drumheller event. Photos can now be submitted online via Dropbox. Please contact Tara Leatherdale for details and access. The Saturday After Meeting Flights (SAMF) seem to have been neglected in the past and I hope we can do more of them this year. Even if we don’t plan to fly we should still meet for breakfast somewhere. It is a great opportunity to interact with other Club members and exchange some good natured B.S. (Balloon Stories). Details will be published in Meetup as to locations and times for both flights and/or breakfast. Norm 4 CHIEF PILOT’S REPORT SPRING IS HERE… Many balloonists fly their balloons in the spring, summer, and fall. Here in Calgary, we are more likely to fly our balloons in winter as much as the summer. Many of our events take place in the cooler times of the year. Cleaning plowed snow out of your basket after a quick landing in a large field is good for those balloon stories we love to tell. Of course, the socializing on the side of the road can often be the best part. For those who put their balloons away for the winter, here are some items that come to mind: If your balloon has been dormant through the winter months, you have likely been keeping it frozen. How was it when you packed it away? Did you land in a wet field? Did you have lots of straw, canola, dirt or maybe snow packed in the envelope? Now that it is going to be thawed out, a pre-inflation will dust off the envelope to prevent damage or mold occurring before you take it out for its first flight of the season. Look for small tears or holes and where they are lower than your manual’s standards, patch with sticky tape. Document the small tears and holes so they can be repaired during the annual inspection. Clean the Velcro tabs for better adhesion. Make a note of the temperature recorded on your temp label so you have a better idea of any changes that might occur during the year. Do a burner check so if there are any concerns, they can be dealt with before your first flight. This is also a good time to check for other items that might have been forgotten . Do you have all the equipment loaded properly? Do you have your striker, drop line, fire extinguisher on board? Rotate the fire extinguisher to mix up the chemicals inside. Is the basket quite dusty or does it have packed dirt between the basket and the leather from either last year’s flying or the winter storage? This can be a good time to give it a good wash. Do you have any loose pieces of wicker or leather on your basket that can potentially catch on a landing? Snip these off before your first flight. Do you have all your carabiners present and in working order? If you do not have end covers for your burner hoses or tank inlets, check to make sure that something hasn’t taken up residence and get some covers for any hoses or inlets that need them. You can pick these up at your propane station. 5 Make sure you all of your tanks are full and ready to go. Double check that the tank straps are firmly secured in case they were loosened at the end of last season for any reason. Inflator fan: check for loose bindings on cage, check that fan blades are not damaged. If the gas is more than 6 months old it should be drained. Change the oil. Start it up to make sure it is operational. Instruments: install new batteries Radios: check that they are charged and operational.