Topper: 1975 - 2005 (and counting)!



 
Shown here in 1997, Topper has led a distinguished career that's still just getting off the ground!

Topper has enjoyed a lengthy career, and now has a new top (pun
unavoidable) that should assure many more years of crowd-pleasing!

Built in 1975, Topper is, as far as anyone knows, the oldest continually-flown "experimental" hot-air balloon in the U.S. (and maybe the world!)

In 1975, homebuilt balloons were nothing new in the United States and elsewhere. Many were flying, and homebuilders were becoming ever more adept at bringing their skills and creativity to bear on the art of aerostation. 1975, in fact, was the year homebuilding scored a major coup: David Schaffer won the World Championships in Egg, a balloon of his own design and construction. 1975 would also turn out to have been a momentous year in homebuilding for another reason: 1975 was the year Topper was born (her first tether was in April). Folks might have wondered, but surely no one knew: Topper would live to bear the honor of being, as far as anyone knows, the oldest continually-flown "experimental" balloon (flown at least once a year) in the United States. She may even be the oldest continuously-flown hot-air balloon in the world (at least one production balloon has been flying longer, but it hasn't been established that it's been flown at least once every year).

Topper was built in upstate New York by the Heable brothers of Buoyant Flight Systems, and sold to local radio announcer Robert ("Bob") Batcheller and his wife Dorothy ("Dottie"). Topper is not, like some homebuilts, just some clone of a production balloon. On the contrary, many elements of her design are unique. Originally built with a volume of 56,000 cu. ft., the envelope was a double-layer design (the insulating inner envelope was scrapped when its extra weight forced the balloon to fly too hot). Her capacity was increased, too - twice - first to 80,000 cu. ft. and then to 88,000 (by the hands-down king of homebuilding, Brian Boland). The increase brought with it a color change, too, with white stars on blue replacing the original top's blue stars on white). While the hand-woven basket (built by the Batchellers) is fairly standard, the suspended tubular superstructure is unique, and instantly identifiable. Another innovation not common in '75 was her shrouded burner, which emits a sound recognizable to all who know her. The burner was also designed with an adjustable nozzle, whose 5 settings allowed fuel flow to be optimized for different temperatures (this was redesigned when the inner envelope was eliminated).

Sadly, neither of the Batchellers is with us any longer, but Topper flies on, under the skilled and affectionate command of Robert "Bob" Sommer. Bob's wife bought Topper for him in the '80s, and he promised keep the balloon flying as long as he could. He's been true to his word, flying her maybe a dozen times a year ever since. Recently, her top was replaced, and she shows no sign of slowing down. Today, Topper's time in service is commemmorated with a range of items like T-shirts, ball caps and cards, created by R. Riley Signs, whose proprietor, Randy Riley (also a professional pilot), is one of Topper's staunchest supporters. Now, to celebrate her thirtieth year in the air, Topper's friends present this collection of images of, and words about, this one-of-a-kind survivor.



IMAGES
Click on any of the images below to open a new window with a larger version.
Some are as large as 200KB (although some are tiny), so downloads may take a while.



A patriotic balloon at a patriotic time - July, 1976. A fixed-wing pilot asked to use her original registration number, N1BF, and Batcheller kindly agreed (note Batcheller's initials at the end of her new number, N134RB).

Photo: Paul Stumpf

Topper's "bottom-end" (basket, burner and support cables) are of a unique design, a fact obvious even to the non-enthusiast at a glance. (alternate angle, photo by Mark Abraitis), (burner by itself, photo by Bob Sommer).

Photo: Mark F. Abraitis

It's not always obvious when she's alone, but in company it becomes clear - in her current form, Topper is a pretty tall balloon. This was not so dramatically true of Topper in her original configuration, as you can see in this shot from the spring of 1977 (Photo: Paul Stumpf).

Photo: Bob Sommer

No fancypants hi-tech pyrometer for this balloon (though it is wireless...) - this temperature gauge hangs at the top of Topper's envelope. (Here's an alternate angle, showing the thermometer's dimensions a bit more clearly.)

Photo: courtesy Randy Riley

Topper's custom-decorated trailer acknowledges her considerable time in service. Other homages to Topper include this jacket patch. The crew's T-shirt design, and trailer decoration and refinishing, as well as cards, license plates and ball caps are all the work of R. Riley Signs, home of Topper's good friend Randy Riley.

Photo: Maureen Sommer

Bob Sommer in his Topper hat, acting as Balloonmeister, giving the go-ahead to fly at the Wellsville, NY balloon Rally.


Topper has enjoyed her fair share of press in recent years, as word of her staying power has got out (though reporters occasionally get details off by a bit) (page 2).

Photo: Mark F. Abraitis

Topper enjoys landing in developments with underground power lines, and lots of children to give tether rides to in exchange for their helping to pack up the balloon.
The remaining photo captions on this page are provided by Mark Abraitis, whose many photographs of Topper rise to the level of portraiture.


Photo: Mark F. Abraitis

 

Photo: Mark F. Abraitis

 


 

Photo: Mark F. Abraitis

"Topper rises majestically from the University of Rhode Island athletic field"

Photo: Mark F. Abraitis

"Robert Sommer scans the horizon for obstacles"


 

Photo: Mark F. Abraitis

 

Photo: Mark F. Abraitis

"Topper scores on the hare balloon during the hare and hound competition event"

Photo: Mark F. Abraitis

"Landing at North Hampton Airport"

Photo: Mark F. Abraitis

"Above the Connecticut River - UMASS in the background"

Photo: Mark F. Abraitis

"Robert Sommer inflating Topper"

Photo: Mark F. Abraitis

"Dorothy Batcheller accepts an award on behalf of her late husband, who built Topper some 27 years earlier"

Photo: Mark F. Abraitis

"Robert Batcheller, Topper's builder, and Robert Sommer, Topper's current owner, prepare the balloon for my first flight in Topper"
Thanks to Bob Sommer, Mark Abraitis, Randy Riley and Paul Stumpf, without whose contributions of images and words this page would consist of a title and a scroll bar. Thanks also to John Craparo, for his efforts in regard to the International Aeronauts League, on whose forum pages began the discussion that culminated in the creation of this page.



Home    Links    Requests    FAQ    '73 Worlds    Adams    Avian    Barnes    Cameron    Piccard    Raven    Semco    Stokes    Thunder    Other