Amherst Experimental Balloon, Hopper, Chariot, and Airship Gathering

Dan Nachbar, the man behind the Personal Blimp asked us to point out the following announcement for the XLTA a small gathering of experimental LTA builders/pilots that he hosts annually.

Third Annual
Amherst Experimental
Balloon, Hopper, Chariot, and Airship
Gathering
sometimes known as XLTA3 and/or XLTA-Amherst)

June 1-3, 2007

Amherst MA (two hours by car West of Boston
in the beautiful Connecticut River valley)

All builders, owners, and fans of experimental and ultra-light LTA aircraft are invited.

This is a small private event: no paid rides, no public audience, no muss, no fuss. Just experimental LTA and the people who love to build and fly them (as well as friends and families, of course.) This event provides both an opportunity to exchange ideas and experiences amongst builders and a chance to fly together informally.

My goal is to have a generally pleasant and easygoing event. However, in order to keep things reasonably well organized:

PLEASE REGISTER ONLINE BY MAY 15!!!

The online registration page is: http://www.xlta.org/regform2007.php

Each participating pilot with an aircraft is asked to chip in $50 to cover his/her entire entourage. (All money collected will be put towards covering the fixed expenses of the event. This is a purely non-profit affair.) Folks who come on their own (i.e. without an aircraft) will be asked to chip in $20 per person or family. Non-flying folks will also be asked to lend a hand with crewing and other logistic stuff. This is a participatory, not a spectator event.

To repeat, registration in advance is required. There is limited space available. Please don't just show up on the day of the event. You may well be turned away.
However, all registration fees and food/fuel deposits are fully refundable if you can't make it. So sign up and send a check by May 15 and everything will be just peachy.

I hope to be able to accommodate everyone who is interested in attending this year. However, things were pretty cozy last year. I can take some steps to make more room, but only if I have sufficient notice. After May 15, I'll only be able to accept registrations on a space-available basis. Again, I'll happily refund any money you put down if you can't make it.

Last year's event went amazingly well in spite of truly rotten weather that grounded everyone all weekend. The previous year we had faboulous flying. This year, who knows? And, while I can't promise anything about the weather, I do know we'll have:

• Nearby or (depending upon winds) on-site launches.
• On-site field for tethering to show off your latest design.
• 24 hour on-site inexpensive propane available for purchase.
• On-site workshop/sewing facilities for experiments/repairs.
• Pleasant on-site daytime hang-out, cooking, and eating space.
• On-site camping and RV parking.
• A wide variety of motels and hotels available nearby. (Be advised motel rooms in this area in June start at $110 per night. Some less expensive motels are a 20 minute drive away.)
• Local launch and chase crew available.
• On-site catered group meals available (with sign-up in advance)
• Nearby dining/entertainment/culture for rainy day amusement of both pilots and non-flying family members.
• On-site playground and indoor playroom for kids of all ages.

(For all of the above, the term "nearby" means less than a 10 minute drive by car.)

Again, please remember to register by May 15!

Contact Dan Nachbar at 413-549-1321 or dan at nachbar dot com for more information. (If you don't get a quick response to your email please assume that your message has mistakenly fallen prey to spam filtering and give me a phone call instead.)

So the registration deadline is just about two weeks away, please register at http://www.xlta.org/regform2007.php, take pictures or videos post them on flickr or youtoube and share them with us.