School kids learn about balloon flight

    Martins Creek – A presentation full of hot air entertained Martins Creek and Peachtree students Monday morning.
    As fog blanketed the school, the bright red top of the Re/Max hot air balloon welcomed students to the Martins Creek School field to get a close look at the mechanics of balloon flight. Once back inside the school, Tom Lattin, a pilot for the Re/Max balloon program in the Carolinas, provided the children with a program that shared the history and science of balloon flight.
    During the presentation, he used the Wright brothers’ photo of their first aircraft in flight to show students the importance of documenting their work. He then used the Montgolfier brothers’ experiment while inventing the hot air balloon as an example of using failure as an opportunity to learn. They launched the first manned hot air balloon flight in 1783, as Ben Franklin, Thomas Jefferson and John Adams watched.
    The highlight of the presentation was when he showed the children an experiment where he made a tissue paper balloon fly to the roof of the gymnasium, and then did the same with a garbage bag to show the shape of the balloon doesn’t matter.
    He concluded the presentation showing the children images of hot air balloons shaped like familiar characters including Mickey Mouse and Darth Vader.
    Re/Max is the largest operator of hot air balloons in the world with 120 balloons in its fleet. Lattin has been flying balloons for 33 years, 28 of those years with Re/Max. Lattin visits 40-50 schools in the Carolinas each year, and this visit was sponsored by Re/Max Mountain Properties.
    The business chose the school for the presentation for a special reason.
    Several members of the team, including owner Jessica Poltrock, are members of the Ritz family. Joshua Ritz, who was a Martins Creek student when he died, would have been graduating with this year’s senior class.
    The Ritz family recently established a scholarship for graduating seniors who were Martins Creek students. The scholarship may be used for any postsecondary education, including trade schools.