Sunday evening

Bath was Sundays launch venue in hazy sunshine with a fair breeze up high taking us to the south of Radstock for a comfortable landing . The forecast in the medium term looks too windy......fingers crossed for lighter winds!!

South Wales

Spent Good Friday in Monmouthshire....early morning launch from Monmouth in warm sun with a gentle breeze to the west. A hearty breakfast followed and then a drive up to Hay Bluff in the Black Mountains for R & R before a decision on the even flight. Whilst my fellow avaitors slept off their 99 cones, I climbed to the summit of the Bluff in hot sunshine and sandals!.....the evening flight was called off at the last due to thunder forecast.....so we parked the rig at a friends property and bused back over the bridge for some sleep before the Raglan flight the next morning. Up at 0330 on Saturday morning....whizzed back to Raglan for a great flight and another breakfast before heading back home to prepare for the evening flight from Kemble Airfield.........Flight cancelled on site.... mainly due to thunder clap interupting the safety brief!!!

Weird Weather

Flight from Cheltenham on Tuesday evening was pretty standard with the exception of not being able to contact the land owner....the weather was lovely with a light breeze.

Wednesday evening from Bath and the warmth of the day produced a few thundery looking cloud formations which looked benign but caused some unstable air and our balloon actually did a 'U' turn before landing safely in a padlocked field!

Tuesday Morning from Bath

Stunning sunny morning flight from Royal Victoria Park in light winds to the South West of the city....landing at Farnborough village....one of the passengers, Bob, an avid balloon enthusiast, had yet another smashing flight and alighted from the mini bus with the biggest grin on the planet, despite the challenges he faces in life.

Weather still Good!!

Sunday evening and a gentle launch from Monmouth down towards Raglan landing at the 'Grange'....The owner of the field refused a bottle of wine or, indeed, a landing fee, as in his own words...."The countryside is for all to share...you are very welcome to land on my property at anytime".......what a wonderful attitude to witness in these times when possession 'status' and 'greed' is the normal pattern.

Weather being good!

Friday evening and a fairly drama free launch from Kemble airfield ........forecast was for cloud and possible showers but in reality a nice evening with a fair amount of blue sky and no wet stuff! Landed on a stud farm occupied by friendly natives!. Saturday morning and a return to Ashton Court, complete contrast to the earlier failed launch...very little wind with bright sunshine and lots of other balloons taking off....like a mini fiesta! Landed at Hengrove Park next to the car boot sale.... The evening flight from Cheltenham was again very windless(is that actually a word?) and only just managed to clear the town landing in a field with access so well hidden, a 'stargate' would be easier to spot :-D.....Landowner was great and many locals helped to pack away...Cheers you lovely Cheltenham people... It's Sunday morning...Bath flight off because of fog...pilot and Chris at the London Marathon start line tethering a Virgin promo balloon....lucky bastards!!!

Boo Whooooo

Failed launch at Bristols' Ashton Court due to high winds which were due to drop out earlier than they did!!!....hey ho some you win and some you lose!

Summertime Weather

What a fantastic few days....Thursday night(7th) and a North West wind from Pandy in clear skies landing near Mitchell Troy with little drama and a happy farmer.... .... Friday morning from Raglan and the crew were hit with 'Gremlins!' as senior moments set in and the balloon bag was left un-noticed on the trailer!!!....the parachute had a knot in the lines....and Chris lost the 'plot' :-D.......but most importantly the passengers had a delightful and danger free flight ! Friday lunch followed by an hours drive back across the boarder to Cheltenham and a 'siesta' before launching from the racecourse in unusually light winds and landing at 'Freds' estate south of the town to be welcomed by very excited kids and locals! Flight de-brief took place at TGI Fridays with Stella and nibbles!! Speedy upper winds meant a sleep in Saturday morning before returning to base via the AV8 cafe at Kemble for brekky. Bathed my beautiful mini bus after lunch before heading to Alice park in Bath for a dramatic launch from a small area with loads of onlookers who gave a round of applause on launch. The landing was not without excitement as Bristol ATC told the pilot(who had been given permission to fly up to 1500ft) to land immediately as Ryan Air were about to take off......basket in one field...envelope in the next field....luckily no damage or holes!!! Sunday was back to back flights from RVP in the morning and the Maze field in the evening. The AM flight was pretty standard with the exception of a farmers wife who was convinced that I was going to run over her ducks(I love ducks!)....that the field the pilot landed in was ruined ... she would lose her livelyhood (short grass field) .... when she realised 2 other balloons had landed in other parts of the farm, it took the diplomatic efforts of myself and 2 pilots to smooth things out......we failed. That particular farm is now classed as a 'sensitive area' which means that unless it's an emergency no more landing there. The PM flight by contrast was the exact opposite......Very still air meant a launch to 5000ft and very little else for an hour before gently landing half a mile from the launch site on friendly farm land!! That is now 18 flights in the first month of the season....bloody brilliant.!!!

Cross Channel Record attempt

Good luck to all balloon teams taking part in the cross Channel record attempt!.........meanwhile back in the West Country, we are preparing for two days away in Monmouthshire and Cheltenham before returning to Bath for Saturday evenings flight!

Good News

Looks like fair weather from Wednesday PM through to the weekend!!

Blowing out

Looks like the winds could drop and give us a flying window on Saturday night/Sunday morning!!!