Edition June 2003

When I told at work that I was going to the Czech Republic to fly in a balloon, they told me that I was going to see a lot of mess, criminality, prostitutes and more of those rough things. Nothing of these things was true. The only man in Belgium to inspect balloons , pilot Eric Martens, asked me early this year if I would like to go with him as

crew to the ?Balloon Jam?. A reasonable big event which was organised in the second biggest city in the Czech Republic, Brno, 200 kms past Pragh. Eric had ordered at the Kubicek factory, which is situated in this city, a complete rebuild of his old OO-BBX and with this new balloon we would participate at the balloon meet which was mainly composed by balloons of this brand. Michael Suchy is head of the sales-department and since quite some time I?m in contact with him regarding balloon news. He was pleased when I sended him a mail to tell him that I was going to come over for a cop of coffee. Not all the seats had been taken yet, and Eric offered me this free seat and I was even allowed to take someone extra along. It would be the rushing reporter of ?Ballonstof?, Jan Vermeulen. He was very enthusiastic when I asked him and he went to buy several rolls of film.

Our team of 5 left on Tuesday 3th of June from Eric?s home with in the trailor the 105-balloon named ?the birds?. At the Czech border we were waited by a peevish looking guard who wanted to verify our passports. He looked at the trailor and mumbled something. Eric said ?Balloony? and the man reacted with an expression of ?what do I care?.

After a nocturnal drive of 13 hours we arrived at the hotel Voronez 2 around 8 o?clock to check in. Two balloons were already in the air. Eric had arranged to have a breakfast ready at our arrival and after that we went for a nap for some hours to get freshened up. At the ground floor the registration of the balloon teams had already started so I could start to buy souvenirs to take home. Of course an official T-shirt for my daughter Nienke. We visited the city center and I immediately noticed the magnificent old buildings, the extremely clean streets and the really gorgeous women. Fashion here was clearly visible white pants with of course a string. When Geert recovered from all this beauty we came across a market square where a groupe of children was singing ?Cats?.

I took a lot of pictures of the old buildings , because otherwise at home they would tell that I?d only taken pictures of balloons. On the stage now there was a band from Brno playing called ?the Fireballs?. For one hour we were standing in the burning sun and enjoyed the rock and roll songs these 10 people performed. ?In the mood? came along and I was feeling the same way.

To me the lady who introduced the show was speaking complete nonsense and I?d got the idea that the battery had been put the wrong way in the microphone. Part of the festivities in the town was a contest of firework. Several evenings teams from different countries presented their know-how. This evening it was the Spanish turn at the chosen location of the Dam lake. We were accompanied by our hostess (with long black hair) we drove to the lake (she knew a good spot) and we enjoyed with another 200.000 Czech people the wonderful show. In our country you would easily have some disorders. Here everything went smoothly. The use of alcohol is not allowed on the streets, perhaps that?s the reason.

After the show we returned without any jams to the hotel with our car because most of the people used the tram. The trams we saw every 200 meters on our way back were so full that even a Czech mosquito couldn?t get in anymore. Everybody was pushed against each other. I may not think of all these beautiful wome...shit !!!

At the opposite site of our hotel was the exposition center of Brno where in a few days the international motorshow will take place. Between the buildings of this enormous center we would start our first flight. We rolled out our balloon in front of the large dome and greeted our guest who had been given by the organisation. A student from Brno. There were a lot of students by the way. Jan and I went with the first flight and we left in northerly direction. Beneath us several other giants arose and this gave me a kick. There was a small contest (hare and hound). The first balloon was the fox and his landingspot would be the target which had to be touched by our marker. A big part of the hills consisted out of woods but when we past them we saw hundreds of small houses hidden in the cool forest.

The people who didn?t live in the woods were living in houses with a swimmingpool in their garden. Apparently it?s hot more often overhere (32°C). Suddenly the target came in sight, a Russian pilot was hanging above and because of the great manoeuvrability he went over and over the place where we had to drop our marker.

The man was demonstrating the manoeuvrability of this Kubicek ?Grand Prix? competition balloon. Just in time he let us pass and we arrived just above the target and threw owr marker. Unfortunately from 50 meter height and the marker drifted away for some 10 meters, but... it was all for the fun. After the dropping we started looking for a landingspot. A lot of cereals and the groundwinds took us back 180°. One moment we were hanging above the electrical railway and could follow the railway in both directions. Having five fuel tanks on board was in these conditions quiet relaxing. After some time we managed to find a light breeze to a side so we landed safely. The passenger and the farmer received a package of sausages to take home and we packed the balloon at 30°.

A borrowed towel from the hotel had to eat a lot of Dutch sweat. Because of the heat we didn?t participate at the 2 hours boat-trip on the lake. So we went back to the citycenter for a bit and for the needed souvenirs.

Eric wanted to buy a new digital camera and was looking for the same as Geert en Luus had. They bought it a couple of months ago and what do you think the man in the fotoshop said: ? oh, that?s an old model, we have a newer one here !!!? Do remind that this was the country where half of the cars was from the brand SKODA (and often more than 30 years old). The city crawled with real policemen and regulary a helicopter kept an eye on things. At 16.00 hours we were expected on Medlanky Airport for a picnick. Giant beakers of 1 litres of Czech Cola, schnitzels and a big cup of Goulash soup for Eric and me. The soup we took specially for Jan who was sleeping among us (Jan insisted that the window stayed open that night). It was getting crowded on the airfield because spectators came to see the balloons.

In the meantime I showed the enormous chaise-mobile of the Festo-airship to my team. Rien Jurg and his team had also come to this hot country to fly with the ?Festo-twins? and the associated airship. In the meantime 2 balloons were inflated. It seemed to be the newest balloon which left the factory yesterday and the first balloon which had been manufactered in 1983, in that time under the name ?Aviatik?.

You can see these 2 balloons here on the right with a proud Michael Suchy from Kubicek Balloons in the front. Now we were also allowed to start preparing the balloon when a small airplane landed on the field. Jan and I would follow the balloon but it took us quite some time to get the car with the trailor through the crowd. Just in time we arrived at the balloon. After having defeated the mosquito?s we returned to the hotel where we had to refuel the tanks. Finally we went to bed for a short sleep. When the alarm goes at 04.30 a.m. you look confused around wondering if you are nuts or not. A quick breakfast and up to the briefing in a tent behind the hotel. Of course there was another hear and hound contest with launch from Medlanky Airport.

I could take some pictures of balloons because our passenger was determined to help at the balloon. In a beautiful sun a hodgepodge of colours went into the Czech airspace. Michael Suchy, my contact at Kubicek, was the first to start and would be the fox.

A small road took us from the airfield to the landingspot where Michael had just layed out the cross and so we could see the attempts of the different pilots to score the best. Michael told us the best attempt at the moment was 69 cm and Eric was getting close to that score, except ?. the unity was different ?. 69 meters. Several balloons landed on a small field in a residential area because behind this area there was only a large wood.The company Kubicek are in fact 2 factories. One where balloons, burners and baskets are built but also one where the fabric is produced which seemed to be very interesting to us. We had asked long before our departure to see both factories and this was permitted.

Even stronger, the Director of the companies, Mr. Alex Kubicek, picked us up that morning at 10.00 a.m. at the hotel and escorted us to the factory outside of town where the KBAL 1001 polyester is produced by themselves. This factory allowes no visitors. Just Benoit Simeons has been here before us now we were the first official visitors, it was quite an honour for me. We were presented by Alex to the Manager of the factory, Mr Miroslav Keslar, a man from the chemical industry.

Together with Alex, who had worked in the parachute industry, they started this factory. 20 years ago they started with nylon, but after 5 years they were convinced about the better quality of polyester so they have ventured to start producing this fabric. Miroslav explained us that this fabric resists to higher temperatures (124°C), that it is insensible to water and by this also for mouldgrowth, that it changes less in colour. In the factory we saw how the fabric is woven. Of course this is done by machinery. On a large loom a large aluminium cylinder is fixed with 10.000 small threads along of eachother with a length of 12 kms. Between these threads every few millimetres there is a larger thread. On each side of the loom there are two waterjets which shoot by a special technology a thread of 1.60m length between these long threads to the other side.

16 small threads are followed by two thicker threads and so the well known block pattern is produced. The final product is roller of white fabric of 600 meters length and 150 centimeters width. This fabric is verified for errors by an assistant before it is coloured.

After colouring, the roller is put on a coating machine with a big cylinder of steal with a temperature of 110°C. The fabric passes 2 times over a coating-layer and along this big cylinder. After this a chemical reaction will occur and a junction between the coating and the fabric will occur. This machine is the biggest in the Czech Republic. After drying and a second visual check for errors the fabric is ready. After the final check samples are taken to check weight, permeability and strength in both senses.The water that is used to blow the threads is ground-water. A beerfactory beside this Kubicek factory is using the same water to produce the beer. It has been purified by the hills around the factories. With conviction and devotion and in brilliant English Miroslav told us his story and grateful for the guided tour we said goodbye.

We noticed the man was pleased by our being interested. We followed Alex to a restaurant because we were invited by Kubicek to have a meal with some dealers. During this lunch Alex made a speech and thanked all those who were present. ?Our future is with the people around this table? was a great statement. Michael Suchy (head of the sales department) told us that Kubicek is planning to start producing a 300-model next year.

We drove to the factory where the complete balloons are beeing made. At the moment Kubicek has 65 full-time-employees and several others at work. Today the doors of the company were open for all participating teams. We were welcomed by 3 (once again) charming ladies and immediately we were offered some snacks (I haven?t stopped eating since). The guided tour started at the station where the baskets are made. An assistant was braiding long parts of reed into the new basket. He would need one week to finish this job, another to finish the basket. The major part of the parts to build the burner are produced in the company. On the first floor an other lady was working on another section of the company Kubicek ?inflatables?. All kinds of models are possible like playcastles, etc. When needed the fabric can be printed by means of a large printer.

In another room 8 assistants were stitching balloons. The different visuals I?ve seen on the sight were looking great. They can even add designs by means of an ink-jet or paint-brush technique. The different balloons Kubicek had produced over the years can be seen in the gallery on their website.

You can also see the different special shapes these people had made like top of the bill the Cathedral of St. Gallen. When the weather is bad they can inflate the balloons in the Dome, where the Motorshow will be held and where we launched for the first flight.They already started to build the new building just outside the city which will be taken into service next year. A lot of free space, many parking-places and a large lawn to test-inflate the balloons. We were invited for a last visit tour and had to step down a small step. A pleasant old chilly wine cellar had been modified into a relaxing room. While we were having a drink and a snack we had a chat with Maria and Thereza, 2 ladies from the reception desk who were interested in our doing in the balloon world.

I bought some caps and a T-shirt to take home and than we said goodbye having already an appointment for next year to visit the new factory. These people gave me a good feeling after having seen their devotion in producing balloons. At the website of Kubicek you can find all information you need.

On Fridayevening Jan and I were standing for the second time in the basket and we went up in a brilliant sunshine. Just before that, the Flight Director Pavel Merinsky had some doubt about a showers behind us but we were allowed to start because it would stay far enough behind us. A beautiful flight over the buildings with several balloons in camera distance.

Suddenly the message on the radio that the showers with possible thunderstorm were growing fast and approaching us, so we were advised to land as soon as possible. We decided to do so on the first landingspot we could get and after a while we were standing in weeds of 1 meter height. A Swiss team helped us through the jungle and we could lay our balloon next to theirs. Our farmer was delighted with the salami we gave him and after we had packed the balloon we saw the man walking home with a package which had already been eaten half. Everything went well with all the balloons and after refueling, the first raindrops fell out of the sky followed by a nice thunderstorm. In the corridor of the hotel we saw Petra and she advised us to go and watch a huge firework at the corner of the street which was going to start soon. On the spot the music started and from Spilberk castle the first firework went into the sky.

You could see it from all over the city and the music could be listened at through the radio and was made audible by the hotels and buildings around the square where we were standing. This German team made something special out of it. As climax, an enormous fireball bursted apart just behind us.

And so our nightsleep was shortened again while my neighbour Jan had to be musical as well. The flight on Saturdaymorning was cancelled because of showers which were nothing at all after all. We visited some churches and we were amazed to see the perfect condition of the contents. In the big Cathedral a children choir was singing a song. The acoustics of this big church were giving me gooseflesh. It was magnificent. From the organisation we received free tickets for the motorshow which we visited of course. In several halls spread all over the exhibition-centre a lot of new cars and style-models could be admired, of course also the last models of Skoda, which is a beautiful car which resists all comparisons to other brands.

Even in this industry this country is growing Fast. Between the buildings there were several fountains where people and of course children were gathered to fresh up a little. Geert was delighted to see all these good-looking women. On Saterdayevening we launched from a field near to the lake so everyone was hoping for a splash and dash.

Unfortunately the wind was blowing a little stronger as the predicted 4 knots so it was not possible. Some pilots managed to get close to the large mirror. Jan and I were allowed to make our third flight and we met a cameraman from a local television-channel who was going to take his huge camera with him. He wanted to take his tripot with him as well but we could convince him that there was not enough place for it and even if he could, he would not be able to use it because the basket is always rocking. So he had to carry the big thing on his shoulder . A beautiful sight above the water while at the same time the ?up-side-down? Festo- balloon was getting airborn. In my mind I was thinking of Arend Jan?s sweat. Because the basket is hanging inside this special shape there is no cooling and he has to drink litres of water.

He invited me to fly with him in this shape to see how< it feels to fly in this shape, but no thanks. We made a really beautiful flight just passing the trees of the hills while we were having a wonderful view of the environment with all the balloons around us.

It was all going so relaxed, marvellous. Some girls who were leaning out of their bedroom windows, threw hand-kisses while we were landing. That evening a dinner was prepared in a restaurant in the vicinity of the hotel. Jan and I were waiting in the receptionhall of the hotel when suddenly a very well known man past us. It was Josep Starkbaum. A famous Gordon Bennett gasballoon-pilot who managed to win this championship 7 times in his life. More than that, he won the Gordon Bennett 6 times on line for his country Austria. He invited Jan and me to drive with him to the restaurant. A very communicative and friendly guy who spoke English fluently and even Czech because his family had lived in this country.

To me it was an honour to speak to this man. Josep will be present at the Gordon Benett as a steward. In 1998 he set the record level to 15 kilometers with his Kubicek BB.30. We went to bed quite early (00h30?) because we wanted to make the optional Sundaymorning flight, from a parc in the center of the city, as well.

Once again it was a nice spot for launching where I found a tramp sleeping in his sleeping-bag in the middle of the field. During inflation he woke up and was looking sleepy wondering what was happening around him. I had the feeling that he was enjoying it because he stayed watching. After the take off of our ?birds? I helped the English Kubicek dealer Crispin Williams to get his silver balloon into the air with our fan. After this Jan and I could start retrieving. Eric managed to pass low above our hotel and made a wonderful flight together with Geert and Lucinda. Eric wanted to land next to a charming church but didn?t manage to do so because of the variable wind-directions on the ground. He put down his balloon in a garden of a large house under construction. Of course the fence was closed, so crew and passenger left the basket and with a robe we pulled the balloon over the fence.

With the help from the neighbours and a ladder the passengers were able to get over the fence while we were packing the balloon in thistles. Jan and I were determined to wear shorts in stead of long pants so the ?Oehs? and ?Ahs? were our favorite shouts on that moment.

Satisfied and with a huge cuddle from Petra we said goodbye to Brno, a place that changed my view of the Czech Republic completely. After a drive of 13 hours in a Citroën Evasion with airco and sleeping-seats we arrived back at Eric?s home for a cup of coffee and a nice bed. After breakfast we start our way back to our beloved ones. I have enjoyed this balloonweek enormously in a country where it is nice to be and to fly. The balloon has flown 6 times on 7 and I was allowed to see 3 times Brno out of a basket. At least 400 digital pictures I have taken with me at home to go through it once again together with the bottle of Kubicek champagne that Eric gave us when we said goodbye.

Bennie Bos
A lot of pictures of this brilliant week you can see on "Ballooning Pictures".