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Since 1972 Forbes Balloon Ascension Division(BAD) has traveled the globe to fly the company’s hot air balloons at national and international meets and events. Since 1983, these have included the“special shapes”—inflated, free-floating renditions of normally earthbound objects. Custom-made balloons depicting the Chateau de Balleroy(modeled on the Forbes property in Normandy, France), a Harley Davidson motorcycle, the Santa Maria Spanish galleon under full sail, and the
Great Sphinx, have decorated the skies from New Jersey to China—and many points in between. Founded by the late Malcolm Forbes, who became a licensed hot air balloon pilot and enthusiast in his early 50s, the BAD is now led by Director Dennis Fleck, who just celebrated his 30th year with Forbes. Forbes still owns more than two dozen balloons, with the majority stored at Malcolm Forbes’estate, Timberfield, in New Jersey.
Mr. Forbes named his first balloon after his wife Roberta, and had it designed in red and gold. The uniforms of the BAD still reflect those colors today. The latest balloon created was made in Bristol, England and was commissioned in June 1999 for the debut of Forbes Global magazine. This balloon, in the special shape of a globe, will be flown at the Tamar site as part of the second annual Forbes Global CEO conference, held this year in Hong Kong.
In 2001 BAD team members escorted some shapes to such diverse locales as Inner Mongolia, Belgium and Singapore. In August, Mr. Fleck traveled to the Far East of the Inner Mongolian Grassland Hot Air Balloon Nadamu(Nadam translates to party and games in Mongolian), and in mid-September he visited Singapore, in conjunction with the Forbes Global CEO Conference.
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