It is an 80,000 cubic foot 1979 Avian Skyhawk balloon. Now we need to do some work and get it in the air this spring! The balloon is white, orange, yellow and black striped on the diagonal. The previous owner has promised to scan and email some photos. Once we recieve those I will add them to this page. The balloon has not been flown in 10 years, though it has been inflated several times in the last decade. It needs some TLC, some new hoses and suede. It also needs to be inspected which may give me more things to fix or replace. I also need to name my new balloon! We all are looking forward to the knowledge we will gain in the next few months! Keep checking back for photos of the process of bringing this balloon back to life!
Our first sight of the the Avian.
Snow is getting in the way of pulling the enevlope out of the bag!
The bottom of the burner inside the basket.
The burner...
Now... where do you store a 2nd balloon?
Thankfully my dad has given up his workshop to store my balloon!
May 4, 2008
On a small, wide side street outside a church in Bethlehem, PA we had the second (unofficial) pull test done on the fabric thanks to Keith Sproul. The great news is that all the colors passed! Now we just need to fix the two tears, replace the hoses, inspect the entire balloon and do some cosmetic work on the basket!
The first look at the N-number
Tight fit... no room for a fan! Good thing I don't have one yet!
The most crucial color - white - passed!