Thursday, September 7, 1972
HE MICHIGAN DAILY
rage inree
Thursday, September 7, ~ 972 iHE MICHIGAN DAILY
balloonists sail
up, up, and away
By NANCY ROSENBAUM
Up, up and away in their
beautiful balloons sail local bal-
loon enthusiasts.
It's not just a local craze or
a passing whim - the sport of
ballooning is growing and it's
growing fast.
One balmy Saturday last
June, nine balloonists repre-
senting various parts of Michi-
gan and other states too, con-
gregated in Barton Hills for a
gala children's ; balloon party.
A few hundred spectators and
guests witnessed the grand de-
parture as the balloons lifted
off that evening despite a tem-
porary delay because of strong-
er than expected winds.
Balloonists first aroused the
attention of many local resi-
dents when that stationed their
crafts above the University
stadium last fall during half-
time ceremonies at a football
game.
Hot air ballooning has made a
decisive comeback in the last
twelve years since it was dis-
covered that a simple nylon en-
velope inflated with hot air
generated by a propane burner
could produce a reliable ther-
mal or hot air balloon.
Most balloons are rarely seen
by the public - it's a sport
reserved for the early morn-
ing hours when the winds are
calm, the air is mild and the
temperature is most agreeable
for smooth flying.
"It's marvelous, you feel so
free. It's as though you're high
above the world and just float-
ing around," says Ann Arbor's
Dr. Bill Grabb, balloon enthus-
iast.
Grabb, one of Ann Arbor's
three balloonists, is president
of the Balloon Federation of
American, a division of the Na-
tional Aeronautic Association.
Bruce Comstock, another lo-
cal balloonist, is editor of
"Ballooning" magazine.
The hot air balloon, which
when fully inflated is about the
size of a three story house,
works on the simple principle
that air rises when it is heated.
The hot air which gives the
balloon its lift is produced by
a propane burner. By increas-
ing or decreasing the amount
of heat generated the balloon
pilot can regulate how high the
craft will go. The stronger the
flame, the more hot air gen-
erated and the higher the craft
will rise.
When the pilot wants to de-
scend, he or she simply shuts
off the burner.
The balloon pilot can not steer
the craft, being literally at the
mercy of the wind.
If the wind is blowing at a
speed of more than eight miles
per hour, most balloonists prefer
to stay at home.
Balloon flights generally do not
exceed two hours in duration and
10,000 feet (two miles) in height.
The record for a hot air balloon
flight is six and a half hours.
The world high-altitude mark
in hot air ballooning was set last
June in Colorado when Chauncey
Dunn lifted 33,400 feet off the
ground.
Hot air ballooning first began
in France in 1783 when the Mont-
golfier brothers launched t h e
first hot air balloon ever to car-
ry a person aloft in recorded his-
tory 500 feet into the air.
Soon afterwards, however, it
was discovered that lighter-than-
air gases such as hydrogen and
helium could stay aloft longer,
travel higher and further and
carry more weight.
In light of this discovery, hot
air ballooning all but died out
until it was revived in the late
1950's by Paul Yost and D o n
Piccard of the United States.
Capitalizing on the modern
technology and engineering that
contributed to the success of the
powered flight, the hot air bal-
loon has made a comeback.
There are now over 125 active
balloonists in the U.S. and sev-
eral more in European countries
as well.
The Federal Aeronautics As-
sociation requires that persons
who operate hot air balloons be
properly certified. To obtain a
balloon pilot's license, one must
take eight training flights, pass
a written exam, and obtain a se-
cond class medical certificate.
Accidents in balloons, accord-
ing to Grabb, are rare but not
unheard of. The greatest danger
is flying into electrical wires.
stock
inherited
By ROSE SUE BERSTEIN
The American Revolutionary
Media (ARM) announced last
June that it had been granted
control of 400 of the 500,000 out-
standing shares of the Detroit
News. ARM will liquidate the
stock, according to George De-
Pue, an ARM spokesperson.
Guerin Scripps Wilkinson, a
fifth generation News heir and
member of ARM, came into legal
possession of the shares as his
inheritance on his nineteenth
birthday.
Wilkinson subsequently turned
the shares over to ARM, making
DePue their legal trustee.
At $150 per share, ARM's
holding is worth $60,000. The
400 shares represent about one
per cent of the News stock.
Prior to Wilkinson's divestment
of his holdings, the Detroit News
had been entirely family owned.
The shares to be sold by ARM.
thus, would constitute the first
public offering of Detroit News
stock.
DePue said he wanted the
shares sold "to provide media
tools to the people directly,"
rather than continuing to work
"helplessly with the system.'
Business representatives of
the Evening News Association
-the holding company for the
Detroit News, WWJ-TV and
WWJ radio, could not be reached
for comment at the time.
ARM is a locally based rldlcal
group which has worked with
various media. for several years.
The group's most recent efforts
i n v o 1 v e "people's television"
and the Conspiracy coffee house.
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