chuckakers 370 #1 August 2, 2003 OK, the Ballunar Lift Off is coming soon, so here's your last reminder of this really cool Texas tradition. This event brings skydivers from all over who enjoy the unique atmosphere of this part demo, part boogie, all party!! Here's the flyer - come play!!!! Hey Texas and Gulf Coast Skydivers - LET'S SKYDIVE!! The Ballunar Lift Off Festival 2003 is coming up August 22 - 24, at the Johnson Space Center (NASA) in Clear Lake Texas, near Houston!! This is the 10th year for the event!! Disciplines represented: RW CReW Freeflying Wingsuit (new this year) THE JUMPS PERFORMED AT THIS EVENT ARE DEMONSTRATION JUMPS!! ALL PARTICIPANTS MUST HOLD A USPA "D" LICENSE, JUMP AN IN-DATE SQUARE RESERVE, AND ABSOLUTELY MUST BE APPROVED TO PARTICIPATE BY A TEAM CAPTAIN, GROUP CAPTAIN, OR EVENT ORGANIZER. With that said, if you meet the above requirements and would like to join in, read on. The Ballunar Lift Off Festival is a longtime Texas tradition and very unique. The event is part demonstration, part competition, part boogie, and a very cool experience according to everyone I know that has participated. One of the biggest attractions of the event is the variety of aerial disciplines represented. Ballunar Lift Off is Texas' largest balloon festival (see http://www.ballunarfestival.com ), and also features, powered parachutes, hang gliding, rockets, gyro-planes, static displays, etc. There's also vendors of art & crafts, lots of food and drink, live bands, and other cool stuff. So as jumpers at Ballunar, we are also part spectator, making the experiences at the event as cool as the skydiving. Well, almost. The event runs from Friday evening the 22nd through the afternoon of Sunday the 24th. There is also on optional "safety meeting" Thursday evening at a local watering hole, just to make sure we start off on the right foot, if ya know what I mean. We meet up Friday evening for a steak dinner, catered on the NASA grounds. Just after sunset, the balloons - tethered - all fire up their burners for a "night-glow". The beer flows and we announce the RW teams, selected before the event "sandlot style". We usually dirt dive that evening to get ready for the meet. A cool start to a cool weekend. Jumps both Saturday and Sunday run on a strict but easily maintained schedule. We ride air-conditioned luxury motor coaches to Ellington field, about 10 minutes away. Buses are equipped with video review so teams or groups can watch their last skydive along the way. We arrive with plenty of dirt dive time, then board the CASA...yes, a CASA. The jumps are then made over the festival, with landings directly onto the festival grounds right in front of crowds totaling 100,000 throughout the weekend - ala demo!!! Jumpers are encouraged to mingle with the crowd on their way in, of course. As a participant, you will be performing 6 six jumps throughout the course of the weekend. Between skydives, the other aerial demonstrations happen, while we are on the ground to watch! As you can see, this event is not a jump-yer-ass-off event, but that's not the point. For RW folks, these jumps will be competitive 30-ways. These are low-key dives...depending on your point of view. Freeflyers, CReW dogs and Wingsuit jumpers will be sharing the CASA between RW loads. This will be the first year for wingsuits! Last year we resurrected the pool party and everyone loved it. Soooo, this year we're going to make it bigger and better! Beer, jello shots, and the Booooze Luge will be on tap Saturday night after jumping. The pool party this year is destined to be talked about for a while. Don’t miss it!! We’re soliciting sponsors, so I’ll take this occasion to thank Scott’s Grips for their generous sponsorship already. Who else is in? Sunday's schedule is a copy of Saturday's, with lots of beer and an awards ceremony held at the end of the RW meet. For those that don't have flights to catch, there's also the Sunday evening dinner/tortilla fight at a local Mexican place, just to make sure we end in style. Let me remind that... THE JUMPS PERFORMED AT THIS EVENT ARE DEMONSTRATION JUMPS!! ALL PARTICIPANTS MUST HOLD A USPA "D" LICENSE, JUMP AN IN-DATE SQUARE RESERVE, AND ABSOLUTELY MUST BE APPROVED TO PARTICIPATE BY A TEAM CAPTAIN, GROUP CAPTAIN, OR EVENT ORGANIZER. Cost is only $25 registration fee, and $15 per jump!! For that, jumpers get event T-shirts and hats, a goodie bag, steak dinner, free soft drinks all day, beer, attendance at the pool party (bring friends too)and passes to Space Center Houston!! Be part of a Texas tradition - The Ballunar Lift Off Festival! For an application, e-mail [email protected] Chuck Akers D-10855 Houston, Texas Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
