Balloon And Pilot Heading Back Into The Air
By ANN Correspondent Rob Finfrock
Smokey Bear will soon take to the skies again, and not a moment
too soon for his many friends. Plans call for the new balloon to be
introduced at Sturgis, SD, this month.
As was reported in ANN last October, the original
Smokey Bear balloon was destroyed when a gust of wind blew it into
a 640-foot radio tower just west of Balloon Fiesta Park in
Albuquerque, NM, while participating in the annual Albuquerque
International Balloon Fiesta. The pilot and two young passengers
were able to climb down the tower to safety.
"That was unfortunate," says Dallas Griner, Crew Chief and
Events Coordinator on the Friends of Smokey Bear team. (A
reenactment of the incident is currently showing on The Weather
Channel's "Storm Stories" program. Please check for times and
channels in your area.)
The path back into the skies has been an exhausting one, for
both Smokey and his friends. Initial plans called for the new
Smokey balloon to be completed in late May, with a full schedule of
events waiting over the summer. However, it was soon discovered
that the original design would not have complied with recent
changes in EPA regulations for the polymer fabrics used in hot-air
balloon construction.
"The original didn't pass the new strength and pull tests, so it
was back to the drawing board," says chief pilot Bill Chapel, who
was piloting Smokey during the incident last October. "But the good
news is that the EPA has since signed off on construction."
While the delay has meant that those events originally planned
over the summer were cancelled, according to Griner the team is
optimistic that the new Smokey will be ready for several key events
left on the calendar. Among the many events still planned is the
Sturgis event, planned for the second week in August, and a return
to the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta in early October.
"We held [the manufacturer's] feet
to the fire, so to speak," says Chapel with a chuckle. "They got
the fur on the fabric."
There have been other battles for Mr. Chapel, as well. In
addition to the drama of getting a new balloon in the air, he has
also been battling non-Hodgkins lymphoma. Bill recently finished
chemotherapy, and is now awaiting word on the need for radiation
treatments. The good news is that Bill's treatments have so far
been "tolerable, with no real bad side effects," and that he feels
like he's "going to be just fine."
"Attitude has a lot to do with recovery," says Chapel. "The more
who know that, and know that this is survivable, the better. Good
spirits are needed to continue the battle.
"I fully expect to be back in the air soon."