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THE GREAT NON-STOP AROUND THE WORLD BALLOON RACE
Chapter Eleven - December 7, 1998 On this day 57 years ago the United States entered World War 2. Today former enemies are friends and trading partners. We say a silent prayer for those who gave their lives and others who served to save our country and keep it free. Recently a ballooning writer for the London Times asked me for some thoughts on the role of commercial Sponsors in the sport. I'll share them with you. Humankind always has its "minds eye" on the sky above as being closer to the Creator. Flight, like great music, frees the imagination and the soul to soar with eagles, but only birds and non-tethered balloons are at the mercy of the winds aloft. Any object above us captures our attention and any "name" associated with it momentarily shares that awe we hold for it. In the last few years the world economy has changed from a manufacturing base to a service base. Only communications, of all the various services, has the unfettered, almost instantaneous ability to bridge the gap between international peoples and their various cultures & beliefs. It is, therefore, almost axiomatic that conglomerates in that business have suddenly realized that a quick and efficient way to gain almost instant world-wide name recognition is by sponsoring a popular entry in the great non-stop around the world balloon race. We have ICO Global Communications, a multi-billion dollar consortium, with Richard Branson, Per Lindstrand and Steve Fossett in the ICO Global Challenge balloon poised to liftoff from Marrakech, Morocco. During his earlier, record breaking flight this summer, Steve Fossett's Solo Spirit website had over 8 million viewers in one day. What great media exposure! Near Almeria, Spain, Andy Elson and Colin Prescot are preparing the Cable & Wireless balloon for an assault on the RTW (Round The World) title. Cable & Wireless is another huge communications group who operate most of the undersea cables that connect continents, and many satellites to enable world-wide discourse. Early this year, millions waited breathlessly while Andy climbed out of the Breitling Orbiter 2 capsule 4,000 feet over the Adriatic Sea and swung underneath to repair a leaking port. Some smaller firms contribute substantially to the effort by donating essential equipment and services. A few "product" sponsors remain and some balloons still seek funding in the RTW quest. The Million dollar prize offered by Anheuser-Busch, makers of Budweiser beer, is a drop in the bucket of the cost of mounting such an attempt. Even if it is accomplished before Y2K the Federation Aeronautique Internationale will offer a substantial cash prize and an impressive trophy in a sanctioned RTW ('Round The World) event every 4 years thereafter. The car maker or other manufacturer who flys a tethered balloon over a dealership to attract folks to a sale event is a "sponsor" as is the company underwriting the cost and operation of a "special shape" balloon which appears at fairs and events around the world. We are indebted to them all for providing the where-with-all to give us this enjoyment and tend to find their names familiar when thinking of a particular need. One means of preserving this historic era of RTW attempts is a documentary film. Two independent producers are busy shooting separate ones ... one American and one European. From the United States, David Stewart of Quest-TV invites you, as a member of our international audience, to view a new website which tells all about the availability of their animation assisted hour-long film and some of the experiences they encountered making it: http://www.quest-tv.com From Europe, Simon Russell of Milk Designs Ltd. asks you to view their impressive new website at http://www.gosh-films.com/subgosh.html. It chronicles each of the announced teams and allows you to track their progress. Don't miss this one! Another new website devoted to Bertrand Piccard and Tony Brown is in French only. It looks great but I can't read a word of it. If you are fluent in the language click on http://www.rsrpiccard.ch/ for a different perspective of the Breitling Orbiter 3. Here's a real "Dutch Treat" for you that won't cost you a dime. The most complete database of websites (37 pages) about ballooning in the world is maintained in the Netherlands by balloonist Joop de Wilde. Check it out at http://www.euronet.nl/users/jdewilde/index.html. Another good website is Ben Hill Jr's "Commander Bean's ATW Page" which you will find at http://home1.gte.net/benhjr/index.htm. Very well done. Try this one for good RTW coverage. Lots of pictures and links plus a mailing list to keep you informed: http://www.flynh3.com. International weather, at the various launch sites, has not been good for the five teams that are ready to go. The meteorologists in charge are all unanimous in predicting a favorable change for the near future, however. Who will be the first away? We will post daily bulletins as soon as one or more are anticipating a liftoff. Our friends in each team all think it may be sometime this week! Stay with us and join the excitement. Click on the Index of addresses to go take a look. All of the websites and the team sites are interesting and informative. 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