Weird June

Been a funny old month weather wise..........two to three days flying followed by a week of crap weather....then a couple more flights...etc etc...........The pilot bought a new towing vehicle this month....Toyota landcruiser 3.5ltr.......I was a die hard landrover fan but this bit of kit combines power and comfort, is brilliant towing, good on rough ground and very quiet! It is being converted to LPG next week so the running costs will be great too! Weather for the next few days looks good but the winds are far too speedy!!!!!........fingers x'd for the weekend!

25 May 2010

Cannot believe the month has gone so fast..........loads of launches, many quite exciting landings......including a horse show!!!(neurotic horse owners please note that the horses were fine, it was the spectators who were spooked!!!!) We have had our fair share of 'gremlins' with the vehicles too........elctrical problems with the LR followed by a gearbox problem......electric winch switch failure....mini bus starter etc etc etc.......it don't rain...but it pours...sometimes........however this balloon team always have their glasses half full.......tenacious sprinkled with a wicked sense of humour......a winning combination!

1st May 2010

Saturday morning starts @ 0330 with a meeting at the 'barn' at 0430 to travel to Cheltenham for a launch at 0705!!.....lovely flight SE over the Cotswolds landing on a large estate, two large fields from the road! Estate gamekeeper was really helpful, guiding the recovery vehicles through various gateways to the balloon....one passenger fainted,....probably due to champagne at altitude and a long time since breakfast!!....but seriously, after a few minutes in a 'sitting up' recovery position and checked over by the first aid trained crew, passenger was transferred to the landrover whilst the task was completed and on return to the racecourse, handed over to her daughter who was a nurse. All is well and everyone had a great time.......weather due to go poo poo until Tuesday morning....typical bank holiday!!!!!

Busy April

So busy since the last blog...have not had time to keep up!!!......balloon launched all over the area, two flights per day in many cases and a few funny incidents too!........including the three emergency services rushing to the landing site after someone reported that the balloon had landed in a tree on fire!!!!....not true, a normal landing .......firecrew were just happy it was a false alarm......that same landing took another twist when we had to get the landowner to cut down a tree so we could gain access!

Many of the recent flights have been in stunning weather with great visibility and very happy clients.

April 25th took the pilot and myself to London to 'tether' a balloon at the start line of the marathon as Virgin were main sponsors........1.00am start from Wiltshire.....4.30am flight brief!!!......breakfast at a nice cafe which included smoked salmon!!!!
What an inspirational site watching all those mad people going through the start line. Puts my faith in humans, knowing the pain many of them go through to raise money to help others.........

April 8-10

Three brilliant days of ballooning....started in Bath on Thursday morning, with a lovely clear sky and light winds.....then onto Marlborough in the evening where Julian jumped in his bi-plane and took photos of the balloon in flight. Friday morning saw us in Raglan for an early start in brilliant sun and light winds.........then off to Cheltenham for the first of two flights.......stop over in the Premier Inn next to TGI's, where we got fat and had beer!!
The following morning was another cracker.....light winds and no cloud with a lovely gentle landing at Staverton Airfield..........Saturday night was a breezy affair from Atworth.....landing in Radstock, where we had to wait for a chap to unlock the gate to retrieve.......said chap was in no rush like......hinting that the summer fair was coming and donations would be accepted!!!

Winds are up to much for the next few days..........

Bad Bank Holiday

What a poor bank holiday for the balloon world.......far too much wind and cloud.....lets hope that high settles over the country next week!!!

SUNDAY 28TH MARCH 2010

What a day.......launch from Bath was fine....landrover refused to start again!!!!.....Had to chase balloon with mini bus only....balloon landed in waterlogged field!!..........9 hours to retrieve(access to field had be excavated), with the help of 2 range rovers, driven by a 4x4 club team who were brilliant!....don't want too many recoveries like that this season!.

Bristol 27 March 2010

Got an early morning flight from Ashton Court on a partly cloudy Saturday morning.....launch delayed by Bristol ATC because of visibilty.....managed to launch by 0830 to the SE and landed at the Chocolate Factory(soon to close).....Landrover refused to start for an hour!!!......causing a bit of a delay on retrieval, passengers taken back to their cars while waiting for assistance. Before the RAC turn up, the bloody thing decided to start again!!! Crew and pilot finish the recovery of the basket and envelope and all is well!

Pandy Sunday 21 March 2010

0530 start to get to the eastern edge of the Black Mountains for an 0730 meet with the passengers........beautiful morning, cool but hardly a cloud in the sky.....unlike the day before which had welcomed heavy rain........and caused the landrover and trailer to bog down as we entered the launch field!!!.......thank goodness for the generosity of Jonathan the field owner with his tractor!!! A text book launch in a South Easterly direction......closely followed by getting the minibus bogged down!!.......landrover able to rescue it. The flight covered approx 17 miles back across the border to England, just north of Ross-on-Wye in a fairly dry field apart from the dung which had been recently spread exactly where the pilot landed, the other 2/3rds of the field being untouched!!!!....end result...happy passengers and very smelly crew...hey ho!!!!

New Season Starts!!!!

Here we go again.......First launch of the year from Bath on the 19th March 2010.

Met the passengers at 10am......launched in light breeze with high cloud at 1035. Headed NE towards Marshfield.....eventually landing just north of Marshfield, south of the M4. Landowner requested landing fee of £25 and registered a complaint that his was a 'no land' site, which had not been updated on the pilots GPS! The gentleman was, however, amicable to both crew and passengers......and he had a lovely black 'Labrador!'....First of a long, warm light winded season we pray!!!!!