Tuesday, September 4, 2007

FLYING SUZY BLUE PART 5 - 3 Special Events

(Please enlarge all pictures for detail)
Here I am again with 3 very special events that Suzy Blue and balloonist Mickey were able to participate in.
Parachute jumpers LOVE to jump out of balloons!!!! March 31st Mickey allowed 4 young men to participate in this adventure.
Mickey flew 2 of the young men at a time. Which means we launched the balloon with 2 aboard and after they jumped Mickey brought Suzy Blue down and the other 2 young men climbed aboard and they took off for their jump.
The pictures above show them in the basket and ready to launch.
The lower right picture shows Mickey with his parachute on.
Mickey is not a jumper and has never jumped BUT an explanation is necessary here.
The lift and flight of a balloon is controlled solely by the application of the heat from the burner and wind direction. There is no steering wheel!!!!
The skill of the balloonist is of utmost importance.
The other factor in ballooning is the weight that is being carried in the basket.
When you take off with 3 people in the basket and 2 of them proceed to jump out
the balloon immediately skyrockets upward from the loss of the weight.
Mickey had the parachute as a safety precaution in case he lost control of the balloon and needed to jump. He did not!!!!
These pictures show the parachutes as they were floating toward ground and 2 of 4 very happy and ecstatic jumpers.
The event was a total success for all involved.

A wedding in Suzy Blue!!
On June 1st we had this privilege as Dale Bagby & Tammy Robinson were married.

The event took place from Veterans Park in Tulsa.

The guests were all seated in lawn chairs on the grass. The top left picture shows Tammy walking toward the balloon with her bridesmaid, the best man, the groom and preacher waiting outside the basket. Mickey, dressed in a suit, is already in the basket of the inflated balloon.

The lovely bride and handsome groom are helped into the basket.
The bridesmaid, best man and preacher remain outside the basket
and the wedding vows are exchanged.
Just as the preacher pronounced them Man & Wife, Mickey applies the heat to the balloon and they begin to rise and fly away.
At the time we had a horn on Suzy Blue Chase Vehicle that played various tunes---
one of which was the wedding march. As they are flying away the wedding march is being blasted from the chase vehicle.

The bottom two pictures on the left were taken at the end of the hour flight.

Mickey is toasting the new couple after landing the balloon

As I post this I realize that this young couple would have celebrated their 25th anniversary this year!!! WOW, how times flies. We kept in touch with them for several years and when their first child was born we took over a little Suzy Blue T-shirt for the baby. Wish I could give you current information on them but we lost track of them after we moved to Albuquerque in 1984.




Live radio broadcast from Suzy Blue !!
This event took place on July 21st. I hope you will enlarge and read the letter from the Tulsa Park & Recreation Department giving us permission and explaining the event.
Be sure not to miss the C.S. (cheap shot) at the end of the letter!!!!
John Erling had the morning radio show on KRMG for years in Tulsa and was, and still is, quite the Tulsa celebrity.
We felt honored to be chosen to participate in this event.

Thanks for sharing in these 3 very exciting fun times with us.

There are still some REAL adventures coming up--so stay tuned!!


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15 comments:

inspired said...

Wow
;o]

Pen of Jen said...

Filled with *hot air* sure is a cheap shot!!(I may resemble that one myself)

Love the wedding!!
Love the parachuting!

Suzy Blue could have a whole line of children's books, in addition to a book of her travels!
Jennifer

Cindy Swanson said...

Wow...sounds like Suzy Blue stays busy! I've always thought hot-air balloons looked like so much fun, but I don't know if I would chicken out or not! Thanks for sharing.

Susan Skitt said...

What fun! That's on my hubby's adventure to do list, ride in a hot air ballon :) He's all ready bungee jumped and sky dived :)

Frazzled Farm Wife said...

Oh my gosh Susan, you sure have had some wonderful adventures in Suzy Blue! Such wonderful memories you have made with her!

Tammy said...

What fun! I just loved the wedding photos!

retha said...

I can see you had a lot of fun. To me it would have been a lot of eyes closed and muscles pulled up. To high you see.

I am waiting to read more about Suzy Blue!

Barbara said...

You really did have fun on Suzy blue.
I nevr realise dhow small the basket was. Think I would have been real nervous.

... said...

always so interesting. you truly have some amazing stories. thanks for sharing them here with us.

p.s. i took you up on your blogging advice tag.

Annie said...

What a neat way to get married!
You guys had some really neat experiences with Suzy Blue!
Where is she now?

Nadine said...

How awesome. The wedding was cool. I always wanted to go for a ride in one, but now I don't I would...I would be too scared.

Ruth said...

All 3 events are so neat. What a cool thing to have been a part of. That's really LIVING life!! The CS was funny. =o)

Carole Burant said...

I so love reading your stories about the Suzy Blue...I loved the fact that someone actually got married while inside the basket, how very cool is that?!! As for jumping out of the balloon, I guess it would be a thrill! lol xox

Momma Roar said...

What another fascinating post - and how neat that you have so many memories! It would be awesome if you'd connect with that couple again!

weavermom said...

Fun, fun, fun! :)