Hello Balloonists and friends!

The date has come!  I will be launching my cluster balloon flight next weekend, June 6^th or June 7^th.  (Weather allowing.)  If you are interested in gas ballooning, or cluster ballooning, this is a good opportunity to participate!

I have gone through my equipment check and, after taking over the living room for a couple days, the equipment is ready and is now packed to go to the airfield.  Thanks to the airfield owners Paul and Nancy, I’ve received permission to launch from the North Raleigh airport.  I have also received permission from Raleigh-Durham ATC to transition or overfly the Class ‘C’ airspace as needed.

I’ll attach a photo with most of the gear.  (See what I mean about it taking over?)  [Transponder not pictured.]

As many of you know, without crew, there is no ballooning!  If you would like to participate in this event, please contact me privately.  Crewing for this launch consists of a 3:00am meet time on the airfield either Saturday or Sunday morning.  (Saturday is the primary launch date, with Sunday as a weather fallback day.) 

The first go/no-go decision is Wednesday night.  Provided that looks good, the next go/no-go is Friday after the 2:00pm EST weather release.  I’ll send out the launch day as the window approaches. 

Most of the confirmed crew has already been briefed on inflation and flight; depending on how many confirmed new-joiners we have, I may schedule a briefing for Friday evening.

After inflation and launch, you are welcome to join the chase.  Or, you might also like to see the jump activities at Carolina Sky Sports.  This is a world-class skydive facility, and watching the batches of skydivers come out of the sky and landing on the field is just a fantastic way to spend part of a morning.  Cool for kids, too.  If you’ve been wanting to take a tandem skydive, this might be the opportunity you’ve been waiting for! 

The airfield is located about 20 miles North East of Raleigh, between Franklinton and Louisburg.  (If you put “Katesville, NC” into Google Maps, it will show you exactly the spot-- you can see the airfield right there, too.)

If you would like to help with this launch, and can meet us at 3:00am Saturday or Sunday, your participation will be very welcome!

Thank you, and soft landings to all~

Jonathan R. Trappe