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On-Line seminars

Safety Sign      Balloonists around the country have been attending in-person safety seminars all spring and the BFA has been working on its on-line seminar for 2024.  The on-line seminar is a team effort that needs many participants to make this opportunity available to the balloon community. 

      Each year the BFA partners with an in-person seminar to produce the on-line seminar.  This year we worked with the Northeast Ohio Balloon Pilots Association (NOBPA) to bring a high-quality learning event to you!  The BFA and the seminar work together to choose speakers, topics, and to share the expense of funding the seminar.  This year NOBPA had a talented group of industry speakers covering a range of topics.  BFA approved seminars must meet the BFA Seminar Guidelines. The Guidelines include information about required and optional topics which can be reviewed here:

(https://www.bfa.net/images/Education/SafetySeminarGuidelines.pdf).

      The BFA has created a three-tier education system.  All tier one topics must be discussed during every seminar. Tiers two and three include a list of topics for the seminar organizer to choose from with a minimum of 2 hours of tier two topics. The remainder of the 7-hour seminar can be filled with any topic from any of the three tiers.

The production of the seminar is done by Chris Baldwin and his company Graham River Productions.  They have worked with the BFA since the start of the recorded on-line seminar in 2016.  This partnership has been a great success in having a high-quality final product with the segment videos. Graham River Productions also works with us on the creation of segment advertisement.  We are thankful for our production company and the on-line seminar segment sponsors. These sponsors help offset some of the costs of producing the on-line seminar.

This 2024 on-line seminar speaker, topic, and segment sponsors are listed below:

  • Andrew Baird – Accident Analysis, sponsored by Cameron Balloons US
  • Ed DeVore – Flight Operations and Checklists, sponsored by Acrisure (formerly AIR)
  • Dennis Helmuth – Aviation Medicine for Balloonists, sponsored by RPS
  • Dave Sullivan – Maintenance and Repair, sponsored by the National Balloon Classic
  • Dean Carlton – Aeronautical Decision Making
  • Chase Donner – Introduction to Competitive Flying, sponsored by the Great Texas Balloon Race
  • Alex McCarthy - Weather, sponsored by Lindstrand Balloon USA
  • Ryan Carlton/Gordon Schwontkowski – Powerlines, sponsored by Digitool USA 
  • Matt Saal – Crops & Livestock
  • Seminar Quiz Sponsor - Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta 

Again, a big thank you to NOBPA, all our sponsors, and Graham River Productions.  If your club or seminar would be interested in working with the BFA on a future on-line seminar, please contact Jason Jones at owbpilot@gmail.com for more information.

The BFA On-line Seminar will be available on the BFA web site April 15, 2024.  Any BFA member can watch any of the videos in our library. To take the seminar for insurance credit members must register and pay $60.00 for pilots or $35.00 for crew.  After the seminar there will be a short quiz to verify your attendance. Watch our social media for the announcement and link when it is live.