New Great Park Balloon Shines a Brighter Orange in the Sky

New technology protects pigment and uses internal illumination

DECEMBER 4, 2009 – IRVINE, California – The iconic Orange County Great Park Balloon got a new look today with a technologically advanced envelope to shine brighter in the sky. The new balloon envelope now features a dye impregnated fabric with UV protected pigment that will protect its beautiful bright orange hue for several years. The balloon envelope is the actual fabric that gives the balloon its round shape and is filled with a combination of helium and air. The envelope is now also enhanced with internal illumination that will light up the balloon improving its night time visibility for miles.

It took a crew of thirty people over five days of vigorous work activities to install the new envelope. The process included deflating the original round envelope and removing it from the landing platform. The new envelope was then laid out on the platform and pumped full of 210,000 cubic feet of helium. The crew utilized 400 sandbags to ballast the lift until the net could be attached to the existing tether.

“The new Orange County Great Park balloon is spectacular,” said Larry Agran, Chair, Orange County Great Park Corporation. “Its bright orange illumination at night and deep orange brilliance during the day will attract even more visitors to the Great Park.”

The Great Park Balloon originally launched on July 14, 2007. The Orange County Great Park Balloon is the first iconic feature of the Park and the round orange shape denotes the county’s agricultural history of an area where one of the primary agricultural crop was oranges. The new balloon envelope carries the same specifications as the original, being 73.69 feet in diameter and weighing 1,985 pounds. It is attached to the original gondola.

“The Great Park Balloon continues to draw visitors from all over the country,” said Mike Ellzey, Great Park Chief Executive Officer. “Now people can watch the current Park development that will include a sports park, art and exhibition buildings, agricultural pavilion, community farm and farmer’s market as they take a ride in the new updated balloon.”

More than 100,000 visitors have taken a ride on the Balloon to date.
For more information about the Orange County Great Park Balloon and upcoming flight times, call Great Park Visitors’ Center at 866-829-3829 prior to coming to fly the balloon.

For more information about the Orange County Great Park, go to www.ocgp.org

Press Contact:
Jenn Starnes
Public Information Officer
Orange County Great Park Corporation
(949) 724-6574