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By DAPHNE HITCHINSOIN Rapp*hinn«K-V Nrw* Staff 11 ritrr Bill and Lois Fitzsimons marked two years of marriage with the traditional champagne toast but the bottle of bubbly was the only standard ingredient in their anniversary celebration last week. Instead of sitting down to a candlelight dinner, the couple soared up and away from their Huntly home in a hot air balloon supplied by United Balloon Ventures.
It may be a strange way of observing .an anniversary for most folks, but to Bill Fitzsimons, it was practically a busman's holiday. A former parachutist and skydiver, he thrills and chills audiences at the Bealeton Flying Circus every weekend with his balancing act on the wings of an airplane.
There are only five or si* wingwalkers in the United States, according to Brad Bowie, a partner in United Balloon Ventures. A member of the International Council of Air Shows, Bowie puts on performances up and down the East Coast and has worked with Fitzsimons severaLtimes over the years. ‘‘We had 102,000 people watching at Patuxent River Air Show in Maryland last year when Bill flew for me. He’s about the best. He's the only wingwalker in the country who goes out to the end of the wing and hangs upside down by his knees. It’s like skinning the cat way up in the air at 90 to 100 miles per hour!”
But Fitzsimons was just another passenger last Thursday, given the same instructions as any balloon, rider. "The only thing you have to remember is to hold on tight and flex your knees when we come down,” advised John King, the other partner in the balloon business and the pilot for the Fitzsimons’ trip. "Whatever you do, don't leave the basket! And if we come down near trees, don’t get carried away with the scenery and
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