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c thursday sept 19 2002 31 economist sun stouffville tribune sports view on urban sprawl has taken air out of oncepopular activity by john cudmore staff writer sailing off into the sunset or greeting a rising sun its one thing to do so while grounded its quite another to bond with the early day sun facetoface wafting on a gentle breeze a couple thousand feet above ground level for hotair enthusiasts the feeling is ahem above all it gets into your blood i love that you never have the same flight two times in a row says ray ewing a newmarket resident who has been an aeronaut that is licensed balloon pilot for 17 years i cant really describe it its like canoeing in the sky there are not as many thrillseekers as you would expect hut there are a lot of repeat customers lots of people are nervous at first hut usually within the first five minutes theyre ok in recent years a still summers night in these parts wasnt com plete unless a burst of balloons wafted slowly across the ceiling of certain parts of york region newmarket in fact once hosted its own hotair balloon festival to which enthusiasts from across the continent arrived to compete and display their balloons but its a difficult and dwindling market for the hot air balloon industry these days in york region urban sprawl has pushed balloons to less densely populated areas actually its been a tough sell for the past eight years or so says ewing a veteran of approximately 3500 flights in his career it was once a cheap form of adventure or advertising for companies a pub lic ambassador for guests or employee incentives as sharpeyed skywatchers can attest almost any product can be displayed on high floating pop cans dogfood products cartoon figures the sky truly is the limit but the harsh reality of recession hardly legitimizes the need for a company balloon when human staff in the corporate sector is being downsized still there remains a market rides usually up to one hour can be purchased ranging from 125 to 200 on a less grand scale tethered balloon rides a quick up-and- down experience are popular and often available at events such as fairs and fundraisers obviously its an activity at the mercy of weather conditions but mother nature permitting flights can be booked seven days per week from may to october in a good season ewing will pilot 200 flights last year he man aged just 80 obviously wind is a big fac tor says ewing noting hotair balloons can reach speeds up to 60 kilometres per hour you dont steer we only launch and go where the wind takes us we really only control up and down that said there is some degree of control required on the part of the pilot even before launch the pilot and crew keep a peeled eye on weather and meterological reports preflight tests are critical until launch time in the air a pilot is on his toes for everything from powerlines to thermals rising file photosjoerd witteveen a balloon sails over brightly coloured trees in york region last fall once a familiar sight here in the region urban sprawl combined with a downturn in the economy has taken a bite out of the industry columns of warm air speed is controlled by seeking altitudes where wind conditions vary though it is difficult con vincing insurance companies otherwise hotair ballooning is probably the safest of aviation sports ewing points out there have been just three fatalities in canada in 40 years see ballooning page 32 jeff bower been there done that getting your kicks is easy atthisdojo karate is a sport that attracts partici pants for a variety of reasons local expert brad jones says he should know the newmarket native began karate training in 1969 and has operated his own dojo since 1976 while improved fitness is one of the reasons mr jones mentioned as the driving force for people to take up this challenging activity it was clear at first glance his training facility is not your standard health club a person will never be in better shape than when they go to do their black belt test featuring a shining wood plank floor and a mirror that runs the length of one walltheres little to distract participants from what they are to accomplish theres no loud electronic music no tv monitors as you would find at a tradi tional fitness centre on one wall is a chart detailing various challenges those who practise karate must complete to earn various belts on the opposite wall sits a small wooden icon through which see black page 32 nike golf bags dual lightweight stand bag 9999 reg 21999 special butt find if j- cz3 rnw f arnold palmer amies own 11 pe laylormadei 24999 300 ti ping jbag with stand golf shoes save 60 mrh mlh reg 49999 drivers i 17999 1- 3999 strata tour uitimate 2 golf balls 2999 reg 4999 dozen reg 49900 reg 39999 rh lh mens ladies from demo models sum mens ladies r shirks choose from ike reebok norman callaway ga if d 47 jj savk up to 50x from ba6b0y zz statid bag 999 reg saddle adjdns ritual 8999 two year waterproof guarantee reg 14999 dimaito jgolf 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