David Levin, the Only Triple Crown Balloonist, Dies at 68

[JSngry]

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/18/sports/david-levin-dead-champion-balloonist.html?action=click&contentCollection=obituaries&region=rank&module=package&version=highlights&contentPlacement=7&pgtype=sectionfront&_r=0

An avid sky diver, skier and hiker, he was less than enthusiastic about a legal career, so he offered a receptive ear when a childhood friend and ballooning enthusiast approached him with a proposition: Why not open a ballooning resort? His friend had a spot in mind, a former sheep ranch in the San Luis Valley in southern Colorado.

The Balloon Ranch opened a year later, and Mr. Levin caught the fever. “From May to October, I flew almost every day,” he told Sports Illustrated in 1993. “It was magical — I felt like the Wizard of Oz and Phileas Fogg and Babar the Elephant all rolled into one.” ...

Mr. Levin was inducted into the hall of fame of the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale in 2015. This year, the National Balloon Museum in Indianola, Iowa, announced that Mr. Levin would be inducted into the Ballooning Hall of Fame in July.

Competitive ballooning was, in his telling, more art than science. He laid his plans carefully, sending up dozens of toy helium balloons to select the perfect target based on wind patterns. But once he was aloft, instinct took over.

“The best pilots have a feel, an innate understanding of how the wind will move them,” he told Sports Illustrated. “When you are flying well, it is like meditating; firing the burner acts as your mantra.”

I mean, who knew that you could do this with your life? I'm impressed as hell!

 

[Jazzmoose]

I only clicked on this to see how they got the horses in the balloon...

[JSngry]