I love strapping GoPro action cameras to my balloons when I fly. I love the post-flight challenge of creating timelapse videos that encapsulate the spirit and emotion of the flights I’ve flown, as well as, allowing all those involved to relive the memories and experiences. One problem though is that, no matter how many GoPro cameras I buy, how many strange locations of the balloon I discover to attach and hang cameras from, I’m always shooting aerial footage away from the balloon. I’m looking out rather than looking in.

My friend Grant, however, owns a DJI Mavic Pro drone and he’d come along to shoot some footage of the Beat balloon (G-ISOB) on a flight from Streatley Recreation Ground, allowing me to finally get that allusive “looking in” flying shot. I’d been so impressed by the footage he’s got of Beat inflating and launching initially into the sky that I decided to buy my own drone – forgetting that you can either fly a drone, or a balloon, but not both. Read more