31 32 33 34 35 36 Neal Blackwell Kenny Shumate Jennifer Goldbloom Bert Padelt Jon Radowski Dave Berka 37 38 39 <strong>Book</strong> a Balloon Ride at <strong>the</strong> <strong>Fair</strong> with BALLOONATICS & AERONUTS 908-454-3431 email: fly@njballoonrides.com $195 per person* Fly over beautiful <strong>Warren</strong> <strong>County</strong>, NJ (*discounted from our flights year round) Christine Dick & Mary Beth Young Keith Sproul friend and Neal to go for a ride and pay for <strong>the</strong> propane. They flew from Twin Pines south into <strong>the</strong> city of Trenton and landed in <strong>the</strong> middle of a soccer game. The kids had as much fun as <strong>the</strong>y did. From <strong>the</strong>n, Dave talked Neal into crewing – at least that is what <strong>the</strong>y called it. Neal called it working for no pay. After crewing for a few years Neal <strong>the</strong>n earned his private pilot license in 1981 and his commercial rating a short time <strong>the</strong>reafter. Since <strong>the</strong>n he has flown countless flights; trained several o<strong>the</strong>r pilots; met his wife who was a student pilot in 1989, and developed deep friendships with o<strong>the</strong>r pilots and crew. His current student is a 17 year old boy who has been chasing, flying and crewing with <strong>the</strong>m since he was 6 years old. His 14 year old sister will probably be his next student. Neal and his wife, in addition to participating in several regional balloon events in New Jersey, Maryland and Canada, have also had <strong>the</strong> wonderful adventure of flying over <strong>the</strong> Alps in Switzerland and Austria a couple of years ago. The opportunities of ballooning are just as endless as <strong>the</strong> sky! 32 Kenny Shumate is from Orlando, Florida where he has lived for over 49 years. He recently retired after 30 years from Walt Disney World as a Firefighter. Kenny used to hunt on <strong>the</strong> property that Disney now owns and helped with <strong>the</strong> excavation of <strong>the</strong> Walt Disney Resort before going to work as a firefighter <strong>the</strong>re. Kenny has been flying hot air balloons for over 29 years and has logged over 2,000 hours in <strong>the</strong> air. He is a certified Flight Instructor and has trained over 56 new pilots. He has flown balloons of all sizes and shapes from <strong>the</strong> 2X Cloud Hopper models to <strong>the</strong> large 210,000 cubic foot 10 passenger balloons and special shapes such as The Brazilian Clown Balloon. Kenny puts his emphasis on providing a safe, fun and exciting adventure that you will remember for years to come. Kenny has flown all over <strong>the</strong> United State, Canada, and New Zealand. His favorites are Freedom Weekend Aloft in Anderson, South Carolina, several festivals in Canada and now <strong>the</strong> <strong>Warren</strong> <strong>County</strong> <strong>Farmers</strong>’ <strong>Fair</strong>. He has sent his balloons as far away as Japan for <strong>the</strong> world Championships in Saga, Japan. He has met so many people from many different walks of life, enjoys life to <strong>the</strong> maximum and appreciates <strong>the</strong> gift of flight. 33. Jennifer Goldbloom writes, I fell in love with ballooning during my first flight in Gallup, New Mexico in 1982. I earned my commercial LTA rating in 1992 and have been involved in many aspects of <strong>the</strong> sport over <strong>the</strong> years. Ballooning has given me <strong>the</strong> opportunity to travel and fly in many states in <strong>the</strong> U.S., as well as Canada and France. Floating above <strong>the</strong> earth, seeing new places and making new friends through ballooning’s chance encounters makes me think to myself, “What a Wonderful Whirled!” 34 Owner of “Best” Aviation Services in Bally Pennsylvania, Bert Padelt and his wife Joanie run a full time repair station for both hot air and gas balloons. He is a builder of both hot air and gas balloons, and his balloons hold FAI world class records in AX (hot air), AA (gas), and AM (Rozier) categories. His thousand meter gas balloon design has flown fur<strong>the</strong>r <strong>the</strong>n any o<strong>the</strong>r balloon in <strong>the</strong> Gordon Bennett. Involved in ballooning since 1972, he was <strong>the</strong> Systems 34 Director for Steve Fossett’s round <strong>the</strong> world balloon attempts, including his successful flight in <strong>the</strong> Summer of 2002. In 2007, Bert built <strong>the</strong> smallest manned gas balloon to ever cross <strong>the</strong> Atlantic Ocean when David Hempelman Adams flew his 37,000 cubic foot balloon from St. Johns Newfoundland to Nolay France, and in so doing breaking 5 FAI world class distance and duration records. In 2011 Bert was awarded <strong>the</strong> Montoglifer Diploma for contribution to <strong>the</strong> sport of gas ballooning. This international award is <strong>the</strong> highest recognition in ballooning; is was voted on by over 16 countries. Bert is also <strong>the</strong> Vice Chairman of <strong>the</strong> Gas division of The Balloon Federation of America. 35. Jon Radowski has been involved in ballooning essentially his entire life. His interest took off at <strong>the</strong> age of two when his family attended <strong>the</strong> Bloomsbury Balloon Festival. Jon knew from a very early age he would become a balloon pilot, and made all <strong>the</strong> necessary preparations in his life to help allow his plans to unfold. He first flew in a balloon at <strong>the</strong> age of 12, began flight instruction at 14, designed and built his first hot air balloon at 17 while a junior in high school, earned his private pilots license later that year, and gained his commercial pilots license at 19 to begin ballooning as a career. From 2003 onwards, Jon served as <strong>the</strong> chief pilot of <strong>the</strong> Space Shuttle Patriot balloon, still <strong>the</strong> tallest special shape hot air balloon currently flying in <strong>the</strong> world. Towering an impressive 190 feet from nose to ground, with a wingspan of 115 feet, Patriot is 40% larger than <strong>the</strong> actual NASA Orbiter. Patriot appeared with Jon at <strong>the</strong> helm at <strong>the</strong> <strong>Warren</strong> <strong>County</strong> <strong>Farmers</strong> <strong>Fair</strong> in 2003.
Big dreams. Bold vision. Brighter future. We’re proud to support those who go above and beyond. www.jcp-l.com 35
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