The newly-formed Harvard
Ballooning Society met to fly for the first time at Columbia County Airport
in Hudson, NY over the weekend of November 22-23, 2003. The Society was
founded by approximately forty Juniors of the Class of 2005, and is
sanctioned by Harvard University as an official school activity. More than
six commercial balloon pilots were on hand over this weekend to provide
ground and flight instruction to the Society members, led by "Head
Coach" and pilot, Richard Powell Sr. About a dozen Society members
gained their student pilots' certificates and logged flight instruction time
over the course of this weekend.
I was more than happy to join
in on the Sunday morning flight, performing duty as the official camera ship
in my homebuilt ultralight hot air balloon, "Oscar." Floating
amongst the other balloons on a picturesque, crisp, cold November morning in
New York state is yet another experience that continues to remind me of the
inherent beauty of hot air ballooning. I'm still
profoundly overjoyed that ballooning and all the wonderful people involved
are able to be such a major part of my life.
