|
"Charlie" |
Makin' Waves |
Charlie Balloon |
Dense Fog |
| Charlie Schobel |
|
"Charlie" |
Makin' Waves |
Charlie Balloon |
Dense Fog |
| Charlie is a private and a commercial balloon pilot, flying an Adams balloon "Makin' Waves". He has also taken his first gas balloon flight. But wait...there's more! He also flies airplanes, seaplanes (which he personally built), gliders and helicopters. Any more of this and we can expect him to catch a ride to the new space station! |
| Charlie was born in Baltimore, Maryland on December 29, 1951. He grew up in Atlanta, Georgia, which is a hotbed of ballooning. It was natural that he got into ballooning, and as a matter of fact, he bought a balloon from Mike Adams even before his first balloon ride. It was the last balloon Mike Adams started. Scott Ricketts finished the balloon while Mike was in the hospital. He earned his private pilot license in 1971 and his commercial license in 1980. He recently acquired a new Adams envelope, which he christened "Dense Fog". |
| Charlie has flown in rallies throughout the Southeastern United states. They include Atlanta, Louisville, and Greenville among others. His best rally was the first Lorraine, France Balloon Race. He belongs to the Experimental Aircraft Association (EEA), Seaplane Association and the Georgia Balloon Association. He believes in giving back to the community and supports the EAA Young Eagles program by giving kids their first flights in aircraft. He says it's a great program, and it's free! They are trying to give 1,000,000 (that's one million) kids their first ride in an aircraft. After the flight, the kids get a certificate, their name in the world's largest logbook, and a magazine on flying. So far, about 450,00 young eagles have soared. |
| Charlie has lived in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Knoxville, Tennessee and Cherry Hill, New Jersey, besides Atlanta. He attended Georgia State University, and currently is Executive Vice President of Biolab, Inc., a company that makes pool and hot tub chemicals. |
| Charlie says he has "lotsa crew". He says that his some of his crew members have married other crew members, and now their kids are crewing for him. Of course this proves that ballooning is a family sport! Perhaps Charlie will pass around a sheet of paper and have his crew write their names down, so they can get their names in print on this page? |
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| Charlie's personal data include: |
| Aeronautical Licenses: Private Balloon Pilot and Commercial Balloon Pilot (Required for paid rides.) |
| Day Job: Executive Vice President of BioLab, Inc. |
| Hobbies: Flying airplanes, seaplanes, gliders, helicopters and Hot Air Balloons. |
| Motto to live by: |
| Best Ballooning Experience: Flying in the first Lorraine, France Balloon Race. |
| Worst Ballooning Experience: Charlie landed in a nudist camp. Charlie says " on second thought, that was not a bad flight". But the really, really, really worst experience Charlie had was when a leaky pop-off valve on his propane tank caused an explosion which leveled his house and did damage to 4 others. This has to rank right up there in the award for the worst experience in hot air ballooning! |
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Some of Charlie's Crew. The funny hats worn by "crew" are part of the celebration of the chase vehicle turning over 100,000 miles! |
| You may contact Charlie with any ballooning question at: |
 e-mail address: cschobel@biolabinc.com |
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