America Online Hot Air Balloon to Appear in Washington D.C. During National Cherry Blossom Festival.WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 9, 1998-- AOL (A division of Time Warner, Inc., New York, NY, www.aol.com) The world's largest online information service with access to the Internet, e-mail, chat rooms and a variety of databases and services. Balloon Embarks On Three Year, 100 City Tour Across America America Online See AOL. , Inc., the world's leading Internet online service, is sending the new AOL hot air balloon This article is about hot air balloons themselves. For the associated activity, see Hot air ballooning. The hot air balloon is the oldest successful human-carrying flight technology, dating back to its invention by the Montgolfier brothers in Annonay, to the National Cherry Blossom Festival The National Cherry Blossom Festival is an annual spring celebration in Washington, D.C. commemorating the March 27, 1912, gift to the city of Japanese cherry trees from Mayor Yukio Ozaki of Tokyo. in Washington D.C. The AOL hot air balloon crew will offer tethered Attached to a data or power source by wire or fiber. Contrast with untethered. rides, weather permitting, at Gateway Park in Roslyn, Virginia on Saturday, April 11 from 8:00-9:30am and 4:00-5:30pm. From an altitude of 35 feet, the tethered rides will provide a panoramic view of the city and the National Cherry Blossom Festival. At seven stories tall, the majestic, royal blue balloon will be an eye-catching goodwill ambassador for the online service, with plans for appearances at more than 30 events in cities around the country per year for the next three years, including the Kentucky Derby, the Portland Rose Festival The Portland Rose Festival is an annual civic festival held during the month of June in Portland, Oregon. It is organized by the volunteer non-profit Portland Rose Festival Association with the purpose of promoting the Portland region. , and the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta. "America Online is the leading Internet online service not only because of the content and dependable service it offers, but also because of AOL's ability to bring people together through e-mail, instant messages, and community chat rooms," said Eddie Leonard, Vice President of Brand Marketing for America Online. "These strong online communities are what AOL is all about. By visiting as many cities as possible over the next few years, we hope the AOL hot air balloon will help connect the online community to people in the offline world." About the AOL Balloon: The balloon's fabric "envelope" features two 30-foot tall AOL logos and was hand-constructed using more than 1,345 square yards of nylon, and more than 56,712 stitch holes were made using 5.3 miles of thread. Some 90,000 cubic feet of lift, provided when air inside the envelope is heated to a temperature greater than the outside air, will provide the impetus to carry a pilot and two guests in the balloon's basket, which took 85 hours to weave by hand. "A great deal of craftsmanship and skill are involved in making and operating a balloon this size," said balloon pilot Bennett Schwontkowski of The Apple Balloon Company. "Our balloon team is looking forward to flying with AOL as it reaches out to communities across the country." America Online, Inc., (NYSE NYSE See: New York Stock Exchange : AOL) based in Dulles, Virginia, is the world's leader in branded interactive services and content. America Online operates two worldwide Internet online services: AOL, with more than 11 million members; and CompuServe, with more than 2 million members. America Online also operates AOL Studios, the world's leading creator of original interactive content. Other branded Internet services operated by America Online include AOL.COM, the world's most accessed Web site from home; AOL Instant Messenger See AIM. , allowing instant communication with all Internet users; and AOL NetFind, AOL's comprehensive guide to the Internet. The Apple Balloon Company (ABC ABC in full American Broadcasting Co. Major U.S. television network. It began when the expanding national radio network NBC split into the separate Red and Blue networks in 1928. ) based in Palatine, Ill., will be operating the AOL balloon on its nationwide tour of more than 20 special events and cities. ABC provides safe, hot and cold air balloon operations worldwide. Pilot Bennett Schwontkowski is a 20-year veteran with more than 1,400 balloon flights and 6,000 passengers flown. CONTACT: America Online Inc. Kathie Lentz, 703/265-3286 or The Apple Balloon Company Bennett Schwontkowski, 847/991-9475 |
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