Less than 12 hours after the maiden flight of the Beat hopper, with the weather again perfect for flying, and still buzzing from the night before, it was back to a launch site for another flight. This time it would be a more private flight, the only balloon launching into the air, although this time …
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After the Beat Hopper – G-ISOB – was launched at Norwich Cathedral I have been trying to come up with somewhere special to take off from for its maiden flight. It seemed somehow wrong to simply fly from my local recreation ground, or the field behind the pub, that I use every time I fly …
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Hot air balloonists usually arrange the use of a handful of local launch sites from which they can fly, allowing them to plan flights that avoid any problematic areas – like controlled airspace or dense pastoral farming – to enjoy the relaxed time in the air. I have 3 regular launch sites – in Streatley, …
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Hot air balloons work by trapping a bubble of hot air inside the fabric envelope. In very simple terms, the larger the bubble the more weight you can then carry; whilst the hotter the bubble (compared to the external air temperature) the faster the balloon will climb. This means that once you’ve sewn the balloon …
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I’ve written before about how, as the holder of a commercial pilot’s licence, I have to undertake a competency flight test with an examiner if I wish to earn money from flying. Over the last few years, however, my battle with anorexia has meant that I haven’t flown much, and what little flying I have …
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Good or bad, an old boys club with closed doors or a tight-knit community of like-minded adventurers, hot air ballooning is the preserve of a small minority of people. This minority means that, whether proceed by reputation or rumour, simple acquaintance or long-lasting friendship, everybody seems to know everyone and, more often than not, will …
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Hot air ballooning doesn’t really have a sacred list of places to fly, meets to attend or flights you must make. Some claim you have to experience flying in the snowy mountains or the packed skies of Albuquerque before you can truly extinguish your burner, but I’ve never been driven by a desire to tick …
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When my family ran a small ‘rides’ company, offering flights to members of the public in Rainbow Blue – the 4-person balloon that was the first to carry the family colour scheme, we used to say there were two types of passenger. The first would book their flight long before they wished to fly, only …
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The ‘Beat balloon’ was delivered by Cameron Balloons in October 2016 and the first consideration was how Beat’s staff could get to see it. Photographs are all well and good, but until you see a balloon up close (and especially a cloudhopper) you just can’t quite grasp the true size, scale and beauty of it. The problem …
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