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!!!!!