Putting the final flourish on redone grandstands at Clarkston Junior High School’s stadium, the pressbox is lowered by crane into place on Aug. 22.

By Casey Curtis
Leader Staff Writer
When Shawn Raya steps into the wicker basket, pulls the blast valve and lifts off into the sky, all the cares of the world seem to vanish.
‘You can have the worst day in the world and then you step into the balloon and you’re away from the world’s problems,? he said.
But sometimes, flying a balloon can’t be as easygoing, like when Raya’s up against 34 other hot-air balloon enthusiasts for a national championship title.
The Oxford resident spent July 18-23 doing just that at the Balloon Federation of America’s (BAF) Hot-Air Balloon National Championship in Anderson, South Carolina.
Although Raya placed 18th in his first attempt at the national championship, he was listed as being 33rd in the nation last year before qualifying for the event.
He said he learned a lot from attending the race, like how to be more accurate with his targets.
Each balloon pilot uses bags of sand, called markers, to drop on a large ‘X? target at certain spots. Points are received depending on how close the bag comes to the target.
‘It’s all about depth perception and timing,? he said. ‘The only control you have is up and down. Left and right depends on the wind. There’s a delayed reaction from the time the balloon responds (to) the time you give it heat.?
Depending on the task given to each of the pilots, Raya spent anywhere from 15 minutes to three hours in the air. His ‘crew? followed his balloon, named Fast & Serious, in a chase vehicle and transported him to each task.
One thing that made the race even more exciting was that Raya was able to fly against three friends who are also balloon pilots from Michigan while at the national championship.
Raya’s love for hot-air ballooning started young after his father taught him the basics.
He piloted the balloon for Father & Son Construction and currently gives hot-air balloon tours for Sky Adventures. Every year he logs an average of 120 hours of flying.
& Son Construction and currently gives hot-air balloon tours for Sky Adventures. Every year he logs an average of 120 hours of flying.

Trenton Myers, 3, of Oxford, visited the Oxford Public Library on Sunday dressed as comic book legend Superman. Find out why on Page 6.
Photo by C.J. Carnacchio.

No, they weren’t doing impersonations of Superman, but Jacob Elder, 6; Joshua Elder, 4, both of Oxford; and Joel Siemen, 6, of Brighton were flying high during the Lake Orion Lions Jubilee carnival in downtown Lake Orion. The trio took a spin on this helicopter ride, one of many at the event. For more carnival photos, see this week’s print edition!.

Eko Carpenter reaches for a kite at a summer kite fly in Springfield Township. See page 8A for more photos. Photo by Laura Colvin

There are many ways to become a pilot.
Max Nordlie, an 11-year-old Lake Orion boy, is the type of pilot that lives for the rush, the crash and the landing.
He earned his Skymasters? Miniature Aircraft Pilot License Sunday, August 11 after flying his prototype foam airplane under the careful scrutiny of Skymasters? instructor Neil Krohn. Max received his sign-off flight certificate at the Skymaster’s RC field off Scripps Road.
Max started in the ‘buddy box? last year, with radio-control in hand and an instructor at his side, wired to his control. If the plane took a plunge, the instructor took over with the flip of a switch. After a couple of flights this summer, he was granted his wings.
Orion Township resident Brad Muzzy used to fly full-size planes in college, and recently took to radio control flying in the last two years.
He earned his license certificate right quick.
‘I came out here with the white plane after flying on a simulator for a year because I didn’t have time to get a plane and come out here. On the second flight the guy said, ‘ya, I’d sign you off,?? Muzzy said. ‘So after four flights I was a pilot. But I spent hundreds of hours on the simulator.?
The simulator is more or less a videogame, using the same mechanics of his radio-remote control that launches his real, 192-ounce model plane to the heavens.
Some people, like Clarkston resident Dan Berry, simulate flight in the mind.
‘It’s kind of like shooting a basket and seeing it go in, and then actually have it happen,? he said. ‘That’s what I did as I kid.?
Fifty years ago, in the ‘I wanna be a pilot when I grow up? stage,? he slept with his radio controller.
‘I held my transmitter and laid in bed at night just dreaming what it would be like to move the sticks, and then it actually worked for me,? he said. He has been flying since he was eight years old.
‘For young people, it’s not only a way to get them off the streets, but it brings them into the sciences and aviation. A lot of pilots start their careers flying model airplanes,? he said. ‘There’s a lot to learn. There’s electronics involved, internal combustion, engine operation, not to mention aerodynamics. There’s a lot to it as far as education, plus when you put it all into one ball, it’s just a lot of fun for everybody.?
What goes up must come down, and sometimes it comes down fast.
‘You just get another one if you crash,? new pilot Nordlie said. His goal is to buy a radio-controlled jet, which goes a lot faster than the average model plane. He had a major crash two days before he got his license, but didn’t hit anyone.
He will get a new card in the mail saying ‘Pilot? instead of ‘Student? for the Skymasters? RC of Lake Orion.
Skymasters? Instructor Bill Saunders from Rochester Hills flew his plane into his ‘buddy? at the time of sign-off, chief flight instructor Greg Brausa.
‘I usually get hit by an airplane and not hurt, but still, it was just a nick,? Brausa said, showing off his scar on his elbow where the plane sliced him.
Saunders ducked.
It took a lot of ‘blood, sweat and tears,? to pass Saunders, but Brausa explained the trickiness of using the sticks. He learned how to fly by himself.
‘You’ll have a problem with it coming back to you,? he said, referring to turning the model plane around in the sky after flying it away from you. ‘It took me six airplanes to figure out which way you’re going to turn it to make it go the right way, when it comes back at you the ailerons (wing flaps) seem reversed, when you push the right stick to the right, the airplane seems to come to the left,? he said.
Saunders flies a T-28, which is easiest for him, and also a P-51 Mustang.
‘I like any challenge, I like getting new planes and trying to learn how to fly them and hopefully not crash them. I’ve put two in the dirt this season already, and those two are gone,? Saunders said.
But crashing is a part of learning, and each pilot moves on happily to the next plane, never even wincing with the money or time invested in a crash landing.
‘That’s what you do all winter, you build up these planes. You bring them out over the summer, and you hope that they survive,? Saunders said.
A crash here and a crash there is neither common nor uncommon, it is just accepted on the field, and a bit of entertainment.
‘The nice thing about this club is that everyone is willing to help,? he said. ‘I would never have learned how to fly and do the things I can do now without the support of the people with experience who are out here.?
The Skymasters RC club was created in 1974, and located in fields all over South East Michigan since its inception. It finally found home at Bald Mountain State Park a little over 15 years ago, laid down its sod and called itself a runway.
Flight instruction is available every Wednesday night until Labor Day, from 3 to 8:00 p.m. at the Skymasters? Field including a potluck dinner at 6 p.m. The Skymasters? RC Club is always looking for fresh pilots, girls and boys.
‘I would say young boys? parents want them to do something and they bring them out and we put the transmitter in their hands and teach them. But it’s nice to see some women come out here and maybe get a start in aviation. That’s pretty exciting,? Berry said.