Long Distance

Each October, as the main ballooning season eases down, the Great British Long Jump competition is held. The aim is to fly non stop and without picking up any fuel, as far as possible within the British Isles. Entries must be made before the start so one can’t wait to see if the weather will be suitable. The competition is open from dawn on the 1st until sunset on the 31st of October.

In 2002, Mike won the competition with a flight in Chad from Caernarfon to Wattisham, 8 miles from Ipswich. After flying over Mt Snowdon at 14,000 ft and 73 mph, he changed heights to zig zag around the controlled airspace of Birmingham and East Midlands Airports before flying over Huntingdon and Cambridge. The straight line distance was 231 miles in six and a half hours with an average speed of 35mph.

In 2003, the winds weren’t so favourable but he still flew 167 miles from Beattock, south over the Pennines to near Humberside Airport, averaging 25 mph. Report and pictures here (pdf 140kb).

The 2005 Great British Long Jump has an informative web site with entrants, previous flights and news. Mike made a flight on 2 October as the winds were too strong for passenger flights in Sussex, details will be posted in due course. For more details visit www.thelongjump.com.

High Altitude

In April 2002 Mike made his first high altitude balloon flight, flying to 20,600 feet (6,400 metres) near Cambridge. It would have been higher had there not been a problem with his oxygen kit, it didn’t like the cold. It was minus 42C.

During the descent, both pilot lights went out and couldn’t be re-lit until the balloon had reached 13,000 ft. After regaining control, Mike landed very gently and safely on the only grass in thousands of acres of wheat, a large back garden by a windmill. The height qualified for the gold badge award. He is now awaiting suitable weather to go above 30,000 ft.

Ballooning in Switzerland

Every January, 60 balloons gather at Chateau d'Oex for some Alpine flying. These pictures may give you an idea of how interesting and challenging it can be.

Chad and the Veteran Car Run

The London to Brighton veteran car run passes through our flying area and we’ll fly over it if possible. It is held every year on the first Sunday in November. Recently, we entered into the historical spirit by inflating the Chad balloon and standing it on the green at Staplefield as the veteran cars drove past. It created much interest.

2005 was too damp but we did meet one of our pilots and a passenger and his brother who had entered cars. Our client’s brother likes to be one of the first arriving at Brighton and displays his collection on www.brighton-early.com The site for the event is well worth a look, www.lbvcr.com.

Interesting Flights

On 26 May 2005 a new 'first' was made when BBC Southern Counties' Radio reporter Steve Cranford flew in Chad and made traffic reports as we flew from beside the beach huts at Hove, over the town, then Preston Park and on to Ditchling Beacon. Plans for a permanent tethered balloon or aerostat, in Brighton had been announced two days earlier.

Special permission was granted for a flight from the main lawn of Wakehurst Place on 9 June 2005. After take off, passengers had stunning views of the gardens with the colours of the trees and plants enhanced by the sunrise. A few ripples were created as we skimmed the water in Ardingly Reservoir and flew south west for an amazing view of the Balcombe Viaduct.

As the morning mist cleared on 9 August, Chad Minor took off from Borde Hill Garden with Jack the Lad on board. He is an adventurous reporter with Southern FM, a large radio station from Brighton. He made several broadcasts during the flight giving our locations so many listeners waved or followed as we flew over Oathall, Scaynes Hill, Chailey and on to land at Ripe.

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©2006 Chad Ballooning