Defying nature, man finds security when carried by the wind in a man-made object.
Preparing the balloon for flight can be done by a small ground crew.
"Ballooning is a natural way to fly,
you never know where you're going,
you're at the will of the wind."
IT BEGAN IN GRADE SCHOOL for Jim Thiele, Topeka freshman, when he started building model balloons.
Thiele checks the balloon himself before taking off - Center
His interest in building models has developed into a profitable business for Thiele. He owns Oz Balloons in Topeka. Thiele is studying aerospace engineering at KU and hopes to apply the aerodynamic principles he learns in school to build custom-designed
"School has slowed up my ballooning quite a bit. I only get to go up about once a week," Thiele said. "I used to fly up to 10 times a
Thiee earned his commercial pilot's license at the age of 17 in October. Thiee also licensed the youngest licensed aircraft in the United States.
Treese said that his commercial rating enabled him to make money by taking people on a trip, using his balloon for advertising purposes.
"THE YOUNGEST PERSON I've taken up was two years old—that was on a thether rope. The oldest was in her seventies," he said. Tleaid said next step after his model building period was at the studio where he met the models gathered to exchange ideas, tell stories and fly their balloons.
"There are several reasons behind my love for flying and building balloons." Thiele said.
"when i'm trying and someone sees me, the first thing that they do is smile," he said. "When the balloon is up in the air you can still talk
to people on the ground. I do most of my flying at an altitude of less than 500 feet, so I can talk to people."
"One thing I like about lying in a balloon that it built is the thrill of risking my life hanging up there in something I made myself," he
THIELE NOT ONLY flies the balloon he has now—he built it.
Thiele said that there was a trend for balloonists to design balloons that were not of the usual round shape. In Europe designers created a balloon that was shaped like a pair of Levi's, with baskets hanging from each leg, he said.
ONE OF THE MOST UNUSUAL conversations Thiele has had with people on the ground while he was flying was with a woman whose house they flew over, he said.
"We were hovered above her house one morning and she was standing on the front porch. She could hear our voices but couldn't
"We told her to come out from underneath her porch and look above her house. She told us that if we lained in her yard she would have to be pulled up."
"At the time I was doing a job for the regional flower convention
grandement," Thiele said. "I was decorated like a flying floral
granagement."
"When we presented her with the flowers she became the first person to receive a balloon-delivered floral arrangement.
photos by Marianne Maurin
story by David Alford
The flight completed, Thiele waits for the follow truck to pick him up.