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."  

FMI: www.smokeybearballoon.com