Our balloon

Here's the balloon that Paul will be flying in Japan:


For those who are interested, it's a Cameron ZL-56 made in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Joe Heartsill will be flying one that's almost just like it; his is a Lindstrand 56X, and has just 2 rows of checkerboard in each band.

Sad news

Received in an e-mail from Debbie Spaeth:

We are very sad to inform you that Masashi Kakuda, of Japan, passed away today, November 8, 2006, from complications of a myocardial infarction.

Masashi has been a dynamic force in ballooning for many years. He was the Event Director for two World Hot Air Balloon Championships in Saga, Japan and was scheduled as the Event Director at the 17th World HAB Championship in Tochigi, Japan.

Masashi believed in the power of air sports to bring people together. With that in mind, he formulated the World Grand Prix for Ballooning. Starting in 1998, this was a competition held in three continents/countries - Wisconsin,/USA; Luxembourg/Europe and Japan/Asia. Pilots from the various countries joined as one team, forming friendship across cultures and national boundaries.

Masashi will be greatly missed by his family, his ballooning friends and all who had the privilege to share time with him.

The 17th World Hot Air Balloon Championship will begin in Tochigi, Japan on November 18th. Masashi had assembled a first class team of people to work with him on the Worlds. This team will continue Masashi\'s plans for the event. Mr. Les Purfield has been named the Event Director for the 17th World HAB Championship.

Details of the funeral/memorial services and of Masashi\'s family contact address will follow as soon as it is known.

Where we're going

Some facts on the town of Motegi:

• It's in the Haga District (equivalent to a "county" in the US)
  
• It's in the Tochigi prefecture (equivalent to a "state" in the US)
• It has a population of roughly 17,000, making it about the same size as Traverse City, Michigan
  
• It's about 60 miles northeast of Tokyo
  
• It's the home of Honda's Twin Ring Motegi facility. It gets its name from the fact that there are two racetracks on the facility: a 1.5 mile oval and a 3 mile road course. For more details, see the Wikipedia entry. This is where most of our morning events will be.
  

Most of the evening events will be in the nearby town of Haga (about the same size as Motegi).

Right now it looks like the event will move to Sakushin Gakuin University for a day during the middle of the week, which is located in the much bigger city of Utsunomiya (population 450,000). According to Wikipedia "Utsunomiya is also well known for its abundance and quality of cocktail bars."

The plan

Here's an outline of our itinerary:

• Sunday 11/12 : Leave Detroit, non-stop to Tokyo
• Monday 11/13 : Arrive Tokyo
  
• Tuesday 11/14 & Wednesday 11/15 : Pickup balloon & vehicles, see Tokyo
  
• Thursday 11/16 : Drive to Tochigi, refuel balloon and check into hotel
• Friday 11/17 : Event check in, practice flight
• Saturday 11/18 : Master briefing, practice flights, opening ceremony
• Sunday 11/19 thru Saturday 11/25 : Competition flights every morning and evening
  
• Sunday 11/26 : Cash prize morning flight, awards ceremony
• Monday 11/27 : Drive from Tochigi to Tokyo, turn in vehicles, ship balloon home
• Tuesday 11/28 : Leave Tokyo, non-stop to Detroit