Hot Air Ballooning and
safety go hand in hand. It is important to know about
your balloon company and the measures they take to insure
a safe flight.
At Unicorn Balloon and
Adventures Out West we pride are selves on maintaining
one of the finest fleets of balloons in the business.
We use modern equipment built by the oldest balloon manufacturer
in the country, Aerostar. As with all aircraft, balloons
are subject to annual inspections by an FAA certified
repair facility to insure minimum safe tollerances. Aerostar
balloons are held to higher inspection standards than
other balloon manufacturers by their own merits.
Balloon Accidents are usually
the result of poor pilot decisions. Our Pilots are some
of the best in the country, see our pilot bios. Our pilots
are selected based on their extensive flight careers,
currency and proficiency in flight and local knowledge
of weather conditions. Unlike most balloon companies our
pilots are paid a fee for their services even in the event
of a flight cancellation relieving the financial pressure
to fly on questionable days.
Flight decisions are based
on current weather forcasts by the FAA and the National
Weather Service. Our experienced pilots use their years
of knowledge to interpret and read the weather at flight
time. No matter what the inconvinence or loss of revenue
to the company we will not fly if our equipment or skills
tell us not to.
Hot Air Ballooning is a
sport not unlike whitewater rafting, mountain biking or
skiing. There are inherent risks involved. Our flights
originate in rural and remote areas not at airports. Landings
can be rough though generally they are quite gentle Guests
on balloon flights should be fit and in good physical
condition ready for an adventure in the outback.
Adventures Out West and
Unicorn Balloon Co. is owned by Greg Wellens. Greg is,
33 years old and has been involved with ballooning for
his entire life. His family started flying in 1973 and
pioneered many of balloonings first in Colorado. Bruce
Wellens, his father has flown commercially for 33 years
and started the company. The wellens purchased Unicorn
Balloon Co in 2002 from long time balloonist Fred Gorrel.
The Wellens also operate Jeep tours, rafting tours and
other outdoor adventure activities as a full time business.
All balloon Companies claim to be the best and safest
but only one can be. Ask our competitors the following
questions to learn a little about them.
1. How long have you been
flying?
2. Have you ever had an
accident? And then look up the company name on the web.
3. Is this a new company
or did you purchase an existing company? People buy old
names for legitimacy.
4. Will you fax me a copy
of your insurance certificate?
5. When was the last flight
your company performed? Currency
For further information
hot air ballooning and ballooning statistics refer to
the link below. Happy flying.
http://www.facworld.com/FACWORLD.nsf/Doc/Hotairballoon
Old ballooninst saying,
"It is better to be on the ground wishing were in
the air then in the air wishing you were on the ground."
Balloon
Ride Participant Waiver and Landing Instructions
If you wish to print out
a copy of the waiver, but do not have Adobe Acrobat Reader
installed on your computer, go to http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html
and download the latest free version of Acrobat Reader.
CALL US @ 800-755-0935
