The National Balloon Museum in Indianola, Iowa will host Paul E. (Ed) Yost, the father of the modern hot-air balloon, at a special �ED YOST DAY� open house on Sunday August 1, 2004 from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m. Mr. Yost will be available to greet visitors during the open house and will speak about his experiences in developing the modern hot-air balloon at 2:00 p.m. The public is invited to attend. Yost is no stranger to Indianola and the National Balloon Museum as he played a key role in bringing the first National Hot-air Balloon Championship event in to be held in Indianola where it was hosted on the campus of Simpson College in 1970. For that event Yost served as the �Clerk of Course� (a position now referred to as �Balloonmeister�). He also later served on the National Endorsement Committee which helped develop support for the building of the museum. He will also be introduced at the opening ceremonies at the National Balloon Classic on Saturday, July 31 at 6:30 p.m. at the balloon field east of the city.

Yost is credited with inventing first practical hot-air balloon system capable of sustained flight. The design included the balloon envelope as well as a propane burner to heat the air in the balloon. The invention was the result of a commission from the U. S. Navy�s Office of Naval Research (ONR) which was assigned to Yost�s newly formed company, Raven Industries, of South Dakota. The ONR wanted an aircraft that would carry one man and enough fuel to fly for three hours and be able to carry a load to an altitude of 10,000 feet. The system also needed to be small in size and weight and have a fast inflation time, require a small crew to launch and it had to be reusable.

By 1955 Yost had made the first moored flight of a modern hot-air balloon. The envelope was plastic film and the heat was provided by plumbers� pots burning kerosene. The first un-tethered flight of the new system occurred with Yost as the pilot on October 22, 1960 at Bruning, Nebraska. For this flight he had improved the system by changing to an envelope made of nylon and a burner using a propane gas. The inflation of the balloon took only six minutes. The gross weight of the system with Yost and the fuel was just 404 pounds. He was in the air for 25 minutes, rose to an altitude of 9,000 feet and landed 3 miles form his takeoff point. Subsequent flights exceeded the 10,000 foot altitude and proved the technology was practical. In November of 1961 Raven Industries sold their first sport balloon launching the new sport of hot-air ballooning. All hot-air ballooning today owes its existence to Yost�s invention; hence the reason he is called the Father of the modern hot-air balloon.

Ed Yost was born in Bristow, Iowa in 1919. He had an interest in aeronautics and aviation since his youth. He graduated from the Boeing School of Aeronautics in Oakland, California in 1940. He flew for airlines in Alaska and the Artic in the 1940�s. By 1949 he was Senior Engineer and Tracking Pilot at the High Altitude Research Division of General Mills in Minneapolis. While with General Mills he sent a 3.2 million cubic foot balloon aloft carrying U. S. Navy instruments into the stratosphere to study cosmic Rays, as a part of a scientific project that spanned many years. He left General Mills and together with three others, formed Raven Industries (now known as Aerostar) in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Yost holds over twenty ballooning patents. He has many honors and accomplishments related to ballooning including the first hot-air balloon crossing of the English Channel with fellow crew member Don Piccard in 1963. That flight used a 56,000 cubic foot Raven balloon named �Channel Champ�.

The National Balloon Museum is located on Highway 65/69 (1601 North Jefferson Street) on the north edge of Indianola. The museum contains many exhibits about ballooning since the first balloon flight occurred in 1783. It is the official depository of the ballooning artifacts belonging to the Balloon Federation of America which is also headquartered in Indianola. Admission to the Museum is by a suggested donation of $2 per adult and 50 cents for children. Regular hours from May through December are 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Monday through Friday; 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. on Saturdays, and 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. on Sunday. It is closed most holidays. Winter hours are in effect February through April 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. on Sundays. The Museum is closed during January. Guided tours are available for groups and schools for a fee. For additional information contact the museum at 515 961 3714 or on the web at http://www.nationalballoonmuseum.com .

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Media Contact: Becky Wigeland +1 515-961-3714 flamingbecky@aol.com