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By Kenneth, March 1, 2013 12:25 pm

Hi there, thanks for visiting our blog.

I am not a regular contributor, but I felt it was only right to post something at the end of  a very sad week.

The terrible accident in Egypt on Tuesday has deeply affected everyone within the ballooning community. In over 30 years of involvement in ballooning, this is the worst incident I have heard of and our thoughts and deepest sympathies are with everyone involved.

At this point we do not know the specific cause, but naturally after something like this there are bound to be some questions about the safety of ballooning in general. This is completely understandable and I think it is important to reassure people. Hot air ballooning still remains a very safe activity and, despite the scale of ballooning globally, incidents of this kind are extremely rare. The international shock that follows such an occurrence does highlight how unusual it is.

Speaking specifically about the UK, in the region of 50,000 people fly safely in commercial balloons here every year. This is because of the high level of regulation we have from the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) and I wanted to explain how this works.

Any hot air balloon operator offering commercial public transport flights in the UK needs to hold an Air Operator’s Certificate (AOC) issued by CAA. They are then subject to regular audit by the CAA.

All hot air balloons registered in the UK also require a Certificate of Airworthiness, like any other form of aircraft, and they are rigorously inspected for airworthiness by specifically appointed balloon inspectors.

The pilot of a commercial hot air balloon flight, such as are paid for pleasure flights, needs to hold a CAA issued Commercial Pilot’s Licence for balloons, CPL(B). To achieve this status pilots must demonstrate a high level of flying skill as well as knowledge of Human Performance, Navigation, Meteorology, Balloon Systems, and Aviation Law. It takes years to gain a CPL and British pilots are considered among the best in the world.

Here at Virgin Balloon Flights safety is paramount and we continually invest in new equipment to ensure it is the best it can be. Our pilots are all experienced professionals and many have flown balloons all over the world.

Ballooning first started over 200 years ago and still today flying in a balloon is something many dream of doing. I sincerely hope people will continue to have the confidence to fulfill this dream in the UK.

If you have any questions about ballooning safety please visit the CAA website or please get in touch.

Best wishes

Kenneth Karlstrom

CEO & Chief Pilot

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By Kirsty, February 5, 2013 2:30 pm

Each year Virgin Balloon Flights takes a team of pilots, crew and guests out to Mondovi in Piemonte, Italy, for a stable and balloon friendly climate to carry out annual check flights and training for pilots.

This year a group of 38 balloon enthusiasts enjoyed a ten day trip to the centre for ballooning in Italy, which included Chief Pilot and CEO Kenneth Karlstrom and 16 of our Virgin hot air balloon pilots from across the country.

A total of nine flights went ahead over the ten day period where required tests and checks were carried out on the Virgin balloon as well as completing group conversions where experienced pilots are certified to fly bigger hot air balloons.

Kenneth said: “The trip was hard work but we achieved everything that needed to be achieved. Another successful event which meant the opportunity for socialising, eating pizza and drinking good wine!”

Here’s a selection of photographs taken by balloon crew member and annual staff photography competition winner Neil Marshall and a video put together by pilot Richard Prowse.

Mondovi January 2013 VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

The start of the UK ballooning season will commence in March and we’ll be taking to the skies from over 100 locations across England, Scotland and Wales. Be part of it by calling 0844 8448080 or visiting virginballoonflights.co.uk

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By Kirsty, September 7, 2010 12:35 pm

So the pilot and passengers have floated up into the sky and the job of the crew has only just begun. Former Virgin Balloon Flights crew and guest blogger Jess Baughan tells us what happens next.

Once the balloon has taken off, the crew will load everything that doesn’t fly back onto the trailer (this includes the inflation fans and various other bits of equipment) and keep an eye on the balloon to get a fix on the general direction and speed that the balloon is going at.

Once a rough speed and direction have been calculated, friends and family of the passengers are told what area to head for if they want to be close when the balloon lands. They are also told two other important bits of information…

1. Please don’t follow the crew vehicles, if we make a wrong turn its already tricky to reverse an 18 foot trailer up a country lane to turn it around, an extra 10 or so cars behind the trailer make it even more of a challenge.

2. If they get to the exact spot where the balloon lands, please do not enter the field that we have landed in unless the crew invite you to enter.

What happens next depends on the wind. If it’s calm, the crew may talk with the friends and family of the passengers answering ballooning questions and sharing experiences before leaving to chase the balloon. If it’s breezy (and the balloon is heading off fairly quickly) then the crew will not hang around and will start to chase the balloon as soon as possible.

The chase – while the balloon is in the air the crew’s job is to stay as close as possible to the balloon on the ground, in most cases playing a game of leapfrog where the crew get ahead of the balloon, let it pass over them and then get ahead of the balloon again. This continues for around an hour before the pilot lands the balloon, always looking to avoid fields with livestock or uncut crop.

Once the balloon is on the ground again the fun of getting to the balloon starts for the crew, where possible the pilot will keep the balloon standing upright so that it can take off again if the need arises.

In most cases the crew will need to find the landowner in order to gain permission to enter the land and retrieve the balloon (strictly speaking permission is not normally required because of legal complexities surrounding commercial passenger aircraft, so this is done more out of courtesy and as it follows the Code of Conduct agreed between the BBAC and NFU). Landowners are generally very friendly and will come up to the balloon, often with a camera and a smile.

Once the crew are in the field with the balloon the envelope will be deflated and packing the balloon away begins, this is pretty much the reverse of setting it all up, the basket is loaded back onto the trailer, the envelope is rolled up and put in its bag and put back on the trailer and everything is strapped down.

Depending on the landing site, Champagne (and soft drinks) may be bought out at this point for the traditional toast before everyone is transported back to the original launch site to bid a final farewell.

Once the flight is over the crew will take the balloon back to their base and the whole thing starts again. All being well the time is now around 10am. The next flight will probably be around 7pm.

Just enough time for the crew to catch a bit more sleep, Zzzz …

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By Kirsty, September 6, 2010 5:07 pm

While it is easy to focus on the pilots and the passengers in hot air balloons it is worth remembering the other important people who play a vital role in getting the balloon into the air. Guest blogger and former Virgin Balloon Flights ground crew Jess Baughan explains in part one of ‘A Crews View’.

The balloon crew’s job starts as soon as the previous flight has finished with simple things like refuelling the balloon (with most balloons carrying 400 litres of LPG this can take a while), refuelling the inflation fans with petrol, replenishing champagne supplies (or soft drinks) and making sure that the balloon and everything associated with it (trailer & tow vehicle etc) are ready for the next flight.

What happens next is the same for crew and passengers alike, we phone the flight line to find out whether the flight is going ahead and liaise with the pilot to decide what time to set the alarm clock for. In general the crew will start around three hours before the flight so for a 6am flight this means a 3am start.

The first job is to get to the launch site which in itself can represent anything up to two hours of travelling, once on the launch site the crew join up with the pilot, most of the time the pilot will arrive separately to the crew due to very strict restrictions on working hours for the pilots.

Between the pilot and crew a decision will be made on where to set the balloon up and which direction it should face, A lot of the time this decision is based on the way a small helium balloon flies when released from the launch site (weather & wind forecasts are good but not as good as releasing a small balloon and watching what the wind does to it.)

While all this is going on the crew are also meeting and greeting passengers and checking passenger names & vouchers against the flight manifest.

Once the decision has been made about where the balloon is to launch from, the basket is taken off the trailer and laid on its side while the envelope (that’s the balloon part) is laid out in a straight line. It is then attached to the basket itself, while the basket is attached via a quick release system to the tow vehicle.

The envelope is then pulled out to its full width ready for inflation and the inflation fans are used to start filling the envelope with cold air. While the envelope is filling this is one of the busiest times for the pilot and crew as they carry out final checks on the balloon along with preparations for flight.

The envelope is now almost fully inflated with cold air and at this point the inflation fans are stopped and removed. The burners are then lit and fired into the mouth of the envelope to heat up the cold air that is inside. Gradually the temperature inside climbs and the envelope starts to lift. Once there is enough heat inside, the envelope stands straight up and brings the basket the right way up.

Now the basket is standing up the passengers are allowed to climb aboard and are re briefed by the pilot regarding safety (this briefing can also take place before the balloon is inflated depending on conditions on the day). Once the briefing is over the pilot starts using the burners again to create enough lift to carry the basket and all of the passengers. Once there is enough lift the quick release is activated (to separate the basket from the tow vehicle and the magical part of the adventure begins for the passengers as the balloon slowly climbs away from the launch site. The job of the crew is only just beginning…

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By Kirsty, July 14, 2010 4:17 pm

Jamie and Sarah enjoying their Champagne toast after landing

Each year we fly over 30,000 passengers all around the UK, but unfortunately every season a small number of people miss their flights because they don’t arrive in time.

One couple who recently had a close call was Jamie and Sarah, from Liversedge in West Yorkshire, who last week had to make an unexpected dash to catch their early morning Virgin balloon ride.

Pilot Martin Collinson was preparing for take-off, balloon fully inflated, at the York Racecourse launch site when latecomers Sarah and Jamie arrived.

 “I called over to them to hurry as we were quite close to take-off and the couple sprinted over. Fortunately I had time to give them the necessary flight safety briefing, then I completed my preparations, pulled the pin and we were off.

“It isn’t uncommon for people to believe the basket is empty due to its height and not realise that, actually, everyone is already seated inside ready for launch. Luckily, on that day, conditions allowed them to catch the flight at that stage, but generally people arriving after check-in are not able to fly,” Martin added.

Jamie, 27, and Sarah, 31, were relieved to make the flight which they took to celebrate both their birthdays and the recent arrival of baby son William. Not realising just how late they were, an apologetic Jamie said: “I made a special effort to help pack away the balloon after landing to make it up to the others!

“We loved it though and, despite Sarah’s initial reservations with her fear of heights, we thoroughly enjoyed it. A fabulous morning,” he added.

Topped-off with a Champagne toast after landing and a certificate signed by pilot Martin and Sir Richard Branson, the fortunate couple got to accomplish their airborne adventure…unfortunately not all latecomers are so lucky.

When you have booked your balloon flight, remember to call your designated flight line, found on your booking confirmation, to hear your flight status and pilot message. This will let you know where and what time to meet to ensure you don’t miss your ballooning experience.

If you arrive after check-in it is at the pilot’s discretion whether you can fly and generally it is not possible. As with any airline, it is your responsibility to arrive on time. If you miss your balloon flight we have still incurred the same costs as if we flew you and therefore voucher will become invalid.

So, to avoid disappointment, please plan your route to all possible launch sites (primary and back-up sites) and leave plenty of time to get there.

Don’t miss the boat (balloon)!

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By Eve, June 15, 2010 4:22 pm

“It’s a beautiful day so why have you cancelled my hot air balloon ride?”

We often get asked this question by frustrated would-be passengers.  When you are told that your flight is cancelled it is incredibly disappointing, especially if it is a clear day and the sun is shining.  We understand this very well.

When we cancel our flights due to the weather our sole purpose is to ensure the safety of our passengers. If there’s a slight chance weather conditions are not going to be 100% safe for our passengers on a particular flight then our Virgin Balloon Flights pilots will take the decision to call the flight off.

Our pilots are highly qualified and governed by the laws of the UK Civil Aviation Authority. Many of our pilots are worldwide record holders in their field so rest assured you are in extremely capable hands. Weather conditions are assessed right up until take-off so there is still a possibility that your flight may be cancelled at the launch site. Again, this would be the pilot’s last but necessary resort but may happen if weather reports were incorrect or conditions deteriorate.

Our pilots assessments are based on weather reports from the MET office and local airports and also take into consideration wind speed, visibility, ground conditions for landing, cloud level and precipitation.

To improve your chances of getting airborne, if weather conditions look more favourable from your launch site’s back-up site then your pilot may schedule the flight from there instead.

Before your flight you are requested to telephone your designated flight line to listen to your flight status message from your pilot.

Do not get too disheartened if your flight is cancelled due to the weather as your balloon ride voucher will automatically be extended if your voucher is towards the end of its validity to allow you to book onto another flight. If you have a refundable ticket and your flight is cancelled 7 or more times you are entitled to a refund or exchange of gift experience (more info in our T&Cs).

Remember; what feels and looks like perfect weather conditions to you at ground level can be extremely different at 5,000ft. It is due to our pilots’ careful assessment of weather conditions that ballooning is such a safe and enjoyable activity. So, if you are cancelled, please be patient, we absolutely promise a flight with us is worth the wait. If you don’t believe us, see here for some independent reviews.

You may also like: Why do hot air balloon flights happen at dawn and dusk?

And our FAQs page.

Balloon Shadow over Kent

Balloon from the Bottom

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By Alex, April 19, 2010 4:27 pm

Virgin hot air balloon casts a shadow by Steve Lindridge

Virgin balloons are some of the only things to be seen in the sky as the volcanic ash cloud from Iceland continues to disrupt the world of aviation.

Hot air balloons are not affected by the ash because of the way they work and we are continuing to fly as normal when the general weather allows.

Kenneth Karlstrom, director and chief pilot, said: “Balloons are powered by propane gas burners which are not affected by any ash particles like jet plane engines are. So we are quite safe to fly as usual and we have consulted the Civil Aviation Authority and air traffic control on this.”

Pilots and passengers in many parts of the UK have been reporting clear and peaceful skies over the last few days.

Conrad Van Wyk, Virgin Balloon Flights’ pilot in the north of Scotland, said on Friday: “We had a fantastic champagne balloon flight from Perth this morning and the sky was pretty clear. You didn’t really notice the ash as we were probably flying at a lower level. The airwaves were totally silent and it was great to be literally the only thing in the air.”

Virgin balloon ready to launch form perth by Steve Lindridge

Passenger Michael Niklewicz, from Perth, said: “I received the balloon flight for my 60th birthday and I was concerned it wasn’t going to go ahead, but it did and it was excellent. Our pilot Conrad pointed out where you could see the ash as haziness in the sky, but we had a great view all the way to the Tay Road Bridge at Dundee.”

Pilot Conrad Van Wyk captains a balloon ride from Perth in Scotland By Steve Lindridge