House Resolution 111 - Introduced HOUSE RESOLUTION NO. 111 BY BODEN A Resolution honoring Phil Gray for his contribution to 1 aviation in the state of Iowa. 2 WHEREAS, Mr. Gray took his first balloon flight with 3 pilot Gene Dennis at the 1972 National Hot Air Balloon 4 Championship held in Indianola, and soon afterwards 5 helped form the Hawkeye Aerostation Society, LLC, a 6 10-member balloon club presided over by Mr. Gray, with 7 Mr. Gray being chosen by club members as the first 8 member to receive flight training; and 9 WHEREAS, Mr. Gray began flight training on 10 January 3, 1973, with Matt Wiederkehr, embarking 11 on a three-hour flight from Indianola to Alleman, 12 culminating with a high-wind landing on frozen 13 ground; and 14 WHEREAS, completing his first solo flight after 15 receiving only six hours of training, Mr. Gray piloted 16 his balloon by himself for two hours and 30 minutes 17 over central Minnesota; and 18 WHEREAS, Mr. Gray completed his “check ride” with 19 Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) flight examiner 20 Lowell Sonquist, obtaining a commercial balloon license 21 on February 2, 1973; and 22 WHEREAS, during his “check ride”, Mr. Gray made a 23 brief landing during which time the examiner exited 24 and his first student entered the balloon to fly for 25 his first time as pilot, while Mr. Gray flew as the 26 instructor; and 27 WHEREAS, in 1973, the same year he was certified as 28 -1- LSB 6279YH (13) 90 th/jm 1/ 3

H.R. 111 both an FAA designated pilot examiner and an FAA safety 1 officer, Mr. Gray also began a certified aircraft 2 repair station that same year, and later became a 3 dealer for Raven Industries; and 4 WHEREAS, Mr. Gray began commercial pilot work in 5 1973 and continued such work for the past 50 years, 6 flying for multiple companies; and 7 WHEREAS, when he was not flying commercially, Mr. 8 Gray used his artistic talents to create commercial 9 signs for pilots and many ballooning events; and 10 WHEREAS, Mr. Gray helped form a race circuit for 11 balloon enthusiasts, giving pilots the opportunity to 12 race and receive meaningful prize money; and 13 WHEREAS, Mr. Gray was determined to achieve more 14 so he went on to manufacture his own balloon he named 15 “Azure”; and 16 WHEREAS, following the success of building his own 17 balloon “Azure”, making its first maiden flight April 18 28, 1979, Mr. Gray and his wife, Linda Gray, began 19 their quest to manufacture a balloon based on his own 20 design, and on July 15, 1981, their company, National 21 Ballooning Ltd., received “type” certification from the 22 FAA; and 23 WHEREAS, after finalizing the manufacturing process 24 on July 22, 1982, National Ballooning Ltd. received an 25 FAA production certificate, becoming the only balloon 26 manufacturer in Iowa and the midwest; and 27 WHEREAS, always innovative, he constructed a special 28 basket with a door that had a large enough opening 29 for a person using a wheelchair to board a hot air 30 -2- LSB 6279YH (13) 90 th/jm 2/ 3

H.R. 111 balloon, calling the balloon “Serena’s Song”, it 1 features a 60-feet-high wheelchair-accessible symbol 2 wearing a red heart on a solid blue balloon, and 3 on July 28, 1992, the balloon was issued a standard 4 airworthiness certificate, making it the world’s 5 first wheelchair-accessible hot air balloon approved 6 by the FAA and the first aircraft that was designed, 7 built, and certified specifically for persons with 8 disabilities; and 9 WHEREAS, since 1982, Mr. Gray has continued to serve 10 as the CEO and chief engineer of National Ballooning 11 Ltd., the only FAA certified aircraft manufacturer in 12 Iowa, and continues to manufacture hot air balloons to 13 this day; and 14 WHEREAS, Mr. Gray was awarded the Wright Brothers’ 15 Master Pilot Award for 50 years of safe flying, 16 becoming the only Iowa pilot to receive this award 17 for safe flight with a lighter-than-air aircraft 18 certificate, with all flight hours in a hot air 19 balloon; and 20 WHEREAS, Mr. Gray’s passion for ballooning has 21 reached far beyond just the sport, hobby, or dream, 22 and has now ascended into aeronautical history; NOW 23 THEREFORE, 24 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, That 25 the House of Representatives honors Mr. Phil Gray, who 26 holds an excellent safety rating having reported zero 27 accidents, for his contributions to balloon aeronautics 28 and for his endeavors to make ballooning accessible and 29 memorable for all. 30 -3- LSB 6279YH (13) 90 th/jm 3/ 3