Welcome to the home page of the Cool-Ray Hot Air Balloon Team located in Decatur, Alabama. Here you can find out about the Wahl family and our crew's adventures in our hot air balloon, duly named 'Cool-Ray'. Why, you may ask, is our balloon named 'Cool-Ray'? Well take a look at our pictures and you may discover the reason.
In an effort to help our readers understand the sport of hot air ballooning we have also included some explanations of how hot air balloons work, and about the sport in general. Follow the links to your left and begin your own fantastical journey into balloon flight!
Who is the Cool-Ray Balloon Team? We'll here they are!
Mike Wahl
Pilot, captain, and class clown
Cathy D. Wahl
Pilot, co-pilot, and peacekeeper
Michael (Robbie) Wahl Jr.
Pilot ...yes Mike reproduced, be afraid
Molly Wahl Davis
Crew...claims she's the sane one
James Davis
Crew, husband of 'the sane one'...who himself is not (hey, he married her)
Nikki Craft
Crew, and actually the 'most certifiable sane person on crew'
Philip Gentry
Crew, claims no relation to the insane family he crews for
Lynn Gentry
Crew ...embraces and encourages daft behavior
Lauren Gentry
Crew, raised by wolves and balloonists.
How Stuff Works - Balloons
Balloon Federation of America
Wikipedia - Hot Air Balloons
Blastvalve.com - Source for Balloonist
Aerostar Balloons
Cameron Balloons
Lindstrand Balloons
Head Balloons
FireFly Balloons (The Balloon Works)
Alabama Jubilee
Natchez
The Gulf Coast Hot Air Balloon Festival
Fayett, AL Arc Balloon Festival
www.wahlsupply.com
Robbie Wahl's Website
Heart of Dixie Balloon Club
In June Robbie took Cool-Ray down to Foley, Alabama where he and some locals who voluenteerd to be his crew few at the 4th Annual Gulf Coast Balloon Fest. This is the second time Robbie did the trip instead of Mike or Cathy who have been otherwise engaged during that weekend the last two years. We only got to fly once and glow once because of the rain this year; but otherwise it was an excellent trip.
Fyffe, AL will host it's annual UFO Day's festival August 22-23, 2008. Cool-Ray and crew will be in attendance and hope to have as much fun this years as we have the last two at this laid back rally.