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A load of hot air!

Posted on August 12, 2013 in Phil Jennings   

It’s 12pm on a Sunday night and I’m parked up at Dover dock heading out on another adventure. I’ll save that story till the next update as this entry is all about the excellent weekend I’ve just had.

Every year Paramania’s Pascal Cambel-Jones does a display at the Bristol Balloon Fiesta and until just I had never been. This year after doing a solo display for the last 8 fiestas the CAA allowed him a second pilot so he brought along French acro ace Sylvain Dupuis.

The 4 day event is the largest balloon fiesta in Europe and attracts 250000 spectators on the Saturday alone so it has great potential to show the public what we can do.

The day starts typically early with a mass balloon ascent at 6.30 where around 100+ balloons all jostle for a space in the small arena to launch and fly over Bristol. It’s amazing even at this hour how many spectators have come to watch. There are small sport balloons, competition racers, shaped and sponsored and even the big commercial ones with baskets for 16 paying customers. It’s an amazing spectacle to see.

Once the arena is clear they have various other displays through the day from wing walkers to model planes even a display from a Typhoon Jet. Pascal was given 3 slots during the day which weren’t ideal with mid day thermals and stronger winds it meant his display couldn’t showcase the full ability of our great machines.

The afternoon saw another mass balloon ascent and then once it was dark they lined two rows of 9 balloons either side if the main arena for the ‘night glow’

All the pilots get their balloons inflated and tethered to the ground and then light the burners to the music being played. This was such fun and as we had ring access we were stood right in the middle if it all!

Sunday morning we got up early to watch the final mass ascent and I had been asking around for a basket space. Sure enough one of the Cameron demonstrators was going up and luckily for me had room for one. We launched so smoothly over the crowd and deliberately just brushed the tops if the trees before gently drifting right across Bristol centre. It was a perfect sunny morning and all I could see was about 70 hot air balloons in front of us in the distance. We passed the Clifton suspension bridge and I could see the Severn Bridge in the distance, it was an epic flight just floating over the rooftops of the houses with everyone rushing outside to wave. We landed after about an hour on a golf course just 18km from the fiesta and had just enough time to pack before the golfers arrived to play.

So although not a 2 stroke fueled, crazy blast around the countryside it was an amazing flying weekend and all I can say is if you can make it to the fiesta weekend it’s well worth a visit, and its free to get in.

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