High helium prices limit gas balloons as sport

[phantom power]

Price is just about to drive gas ballooning extinct in this country," said Andy Cayton, an avid gas balloonist and retired army helicopter pilot who runs balloon rides in Georgia.

The price for a full tank of gasoline for cars might be exorbitant these days, but filling up a helium-filled gas balloon could cost over $12,000. And that's just the gas; buying a gas balloon itself can cost about $30,000.

Two to three years ago, the cost to fill a helium balloon of the same size was about $3,000.

http://www.reuters.com/article/marketsNews/idUSN2745687620080630?rpc=401&

[tridim]

1. Walken is pissed..