Jack Klein

Jack Klein was born in El Paso, Texas, in 1951.

After graduating from high school in Houston, he lived in Hawaii for several years, making a living as a carpenter while he enjoyed the surf, sun, and tradewinds. He was a natural, instinctive hang glider pilot with a flair for swooping the launch platform on top of the cliff at Makapuu. He met his future wife, Carol, when she was learning to fly and needed an experienced pilot to "check her out" for her first flight at the Makapuu Ridge.

Jack was drawn to Alaska in 1978 by the lure of adventure and high-paying pipeline work. Arriving a little too late for the pipeline boom, Jack was nonetheless able to make a living thanks to his common sense and carpentry skills. His fledgling company, Advanced Construction, took off (along with several roofs) because of the destructive Anchorage wind storm of 1980.

In Alaska, Jack was introduced to ballooning by a fellow hang-glider pilot who had been doing "glider drops" from a friend's hot air balloon. However, Jack was so intrigued by the balloon that he put his hang glider away and bought a balloon instead. He and Carol got their commercial balloon licenses in Anchorage and did passenger flights in Anchorage and Fairbanks for many years. They opened a certified balloon Repair Station, and Jack's handyman skills found another expression in balloon fabric and industrial sewing machines. In the late 1980s, issues with airspace, insurance, and the economy essentially ended commercial ballooning in Alaska but opened the doors to ballooning in other parts of the world.

Jack and Carol worked for two years as "balloon safari" pilots in Kenya. Thanks to the many people they met overseas, and the sponsorship of British Airways and Lufthansa Cargo, they embarked on years of "adventure flying" in many countries. Among Jack's most inspiring and influential friends was Peter Blaser, a Swiss lubricant producer and world-class balloon pilot, who introduced Jack to the ultralight, easily transportable balloon designs of Brian Boland and other outside-the-box thinkers. Jack added his own unique touches to those designs and began building his own lightweight systems, often embellished with his trademark "Alaska Flag" logo. Jack also developed an extremely lightweight yet powerful inflation fan, the "Kleinfan", that has a small but fiercely devoted "fan base" all around the world.

In 2012, after a serious illness, Jack returned to Hawaii with Carol and decided to build a custom home with a view of the sea and the mountains. He seemed to sense that this was his last "big project", and worked tirelessly to finish the house while he was physically able to do so. While bringing a load of flooring back to the house on October 22, 2013, Jack was killed instantly in a 1-vehicle accident near Kapolei.

Jack did things his own way, oblivious to the constraints of convention and fashion. Although he could not always explain the "science" behind his work, Jack could build anything out of anything and would have been the ideal person to be stranded with on a desert island.

"Tinker, sky sailor, carpenter, music lover" (in the words of a friend) - not to mention outstanding cook, - he has left a tangible legacy of beautiful and useful things, for people as well as his beloved cats. His kindness and generosity will long be remembered by all who knew him.

"Ua la'i ka nohona i ke alo pali."

There is tranquility before the face of the cliff.