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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, May 22, 2012 2:59 pm

There’s nothing better than letting Dad know just how much you care and Father’s Day is the perfect celebration to strengthen those paternal bonds and thank Dad for just being him.

To say thanks in style, lets steer clear of the sock aisle, leave the ties to someone else and give Dad an experience of a lifetime with Virgin Balloon Flights!

With over 100 launch sites in England, Scotland & Wales, Dad’s adventure is never too far from home and includes a three to four hour experience with around an hour in the air on-board one of our iconic Virgin balloons.

What’s more, he’ll celebrate his voyage with a traditional Champagne toast after landing and will be presented with a certificate signed by the pilot and endorsed by Sir Richard Branson.

Now, for a short time, we’re offering up to a whopping 40% off Virgin Balloon Flight vouchers starting from as little at £89 per person and have luxury extra gifts from just £4.

Go on, make his day and take Dad to the skies!

UP TO 40% OFF BALLOON RIDE VOUCHERS – EXTRA GIFTS FOR DAD – 100+ LOCATIONS

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By Kirsty, November 28, 2011 1:58 pm

53 year old Richard Shaw of Batley, West Yorkshire took to the skies recently in his Dudek (Polish) Reaction, a 31 square metre reflex paramotoring wing, and met one of our lovely Virgin hot air balloons up there!

The father of four, who has been paragliding/paramotoring since 2003, took off from a farmer’s field in Snaith near Selby with three other pilots before seeing us in the sky. Richard has already flown in a balloon with us from York so has seen the beauty of ballooning from two wonderful different viewpoints.

Recently becoming semi-retired from his role as an electronics engineer Richard has spent all his time and efforts organising the British Paramotoring Championships and has this year taken on the job of team leader to the British Squad for International and World Championships abroad.

Speaking of his encounter with Virgin Balloon Flights over the Yorkshire landscape Richard said ‘I’m just interested in all things that fly!’, how could he pass on an opportunity to take these fabulous snaps?

You too can take to the skies with Virgin Balloon Flights from York or any other of our 100+ launch sites, for further details please visit www.virginballoonflights.co.uk or call us on 0844 8448070.

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By Kirsty, September 7, 2011 12:28 pm

Joe Churcher, 39, from London, was on route to catch a train home on Friday evening when this spectacular sight caught his eye, a Virgin hot air balloon.

“I was alerted, by a crowd of
animatedly pointing tourists stood
outside a shop, to  the presence of an aerial attraction. Looking up to see the balloon making its majestic way over Oxford’s spires, I reached for my camera and took some shots of its voyage using Oxford Castle as the foreground. As it disappeared behind the battlements I was about to head off to the station when it occurred to me that it was about to reappear between the crenellations so I hung on and snapped it,” said Joe.

Joe, who works as a political journalist, enjoyed his very own airborne adventure a few years ago with his father. Whilst gliding above the Hampshire countryside, Joe also snapped this picture below.

“The contrasts of immense peace
and intense burner noise, the views, the  nervous excitement at being able to see exactly what it is that’s holding you in the air. On the flight I took a bird’s eye view of the Hampshire farm we had recently discovered had been worked by our ancestors – as well as Roman Abramovich’s half-constructed mansion!”

For further information about flying from Oxford please visit www.virginballoonflights.co.uk or call 01952 212750.

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By Eve, July 25, 2011 4:26 pm

Hello my name is Bailey, Bailey Jones,

For those of you that have already met me out in the ballooning field and for those of you have yet to, I thought you might be interested in learning about my exciting hot air ballooning lifestyle.  Well, why wouldn’t you?

As a rule, I have two types of day depending on whether or not I am chasing the big red thing.  If I’m chasing it, it means getting up very early indeed. Sometimes too early for an old fellow like me (I am 8 but sometimes I feel like I am 12, other times I feel 3; just depends what mood I am in).  I then sit in the back of this big black thing that takes me from one place to another.  Not sure what it is but it is very high off the ground and has comfy seats inside.  To get into it I have to place my two front paws upon the seat and then my human owner very kindly lifts me up.  If only he knew I can do it all by myself he he!

We then arrive at this lovely big field and I can’t wait to jump out of the big black moving thing. I then meet lots of nice humans who pat me and stroke me. Some of them even have dog biscuits with them which is brilliant!  I’m not sure why they have them but I’m not complaining. Once the humans have said hello to me I’m put safely back in the moving thing and I watch them set up this big red thing. Personally, I can’t work it out.  There’s a big flame, the red thing gets big and then the humans jump into a big basket and off they float into the sky.  I just watch, it’s most perplexing.  Once the big red thing is in the sky I jump out and have a good run around the field.

After a while I get back in and off we go again. I watch the fields pass by my window until we stop at another field and the humans who floated off into the sky are all there again. Wow! It’s amazing – how did they get there?

Maybe the big red thing took them all there which sounds pretty exciting to me.  Anyway, if it’s safe to do so I’m allowed out again to stretch my legs and find the lovely humans with the dog biscuits.  Yum! I never forget which ones they are.  Sometimes I sit down and raise my paw, do you know it works every time! Once the humans have packed up the big red thing off we go for breakfast which I love. More treats if I’m lucky.

Then it’s sleep time; dreams of fields and humans giving me biscuits, bliss.  If the big red thing is needed in the sky again later in the day we do everything all over again (but without the breakfast of course).  I sleep very well on those long exciting days but it isn’t long before my human owner soon appears wiping the sleep from his eyes saying “Come on Bailey, here we go again!”. I don’t mind though, it’s so much fun.

The human in charge of the big red thing I have to chase is called Neal, he is always smiling so I guess he must love doing what he does.  To find out more about me and to see more of my hot air ballooning photos from my adventures with Virgin Balloon Flights you can visit my very own Facebook page. I very much look forward to seeing you there, bye bye for now.

   Love Bailey x

PS: Don’t forget the dog biscuits if you come to see me, I’m not fussy with the flavour.

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By Kirsty, June 13, 2011 5:57 pm

Eight year old Olivia Staveley is the lucky winner of a pair of Virgin Balloon Flights to treat

her deserving Dad with for Father’s Day this coming Sunday! The Cliviger school girl entered the Draw Dad competition though the Burnley Express newspaper and judges picked her drawing as the ultimate Dad image.

You too can give Dad an experience of a lifetime with Virgin Balloon Flights, this super Father’s Day gift starts from just £89 per person. With over 100+ launch sites to choose from, Dad’s adventure is never too far from home. Show him just how much you care and see beautiful Britain from a totally new perspective.

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By Alex, May 29, 2010 6:27 pm

Throughout the hot air ballooning season we receive comments, suggestions and messages of thanks from customers who have flown or are waiting to fly with us at Virgin Balloon Flights. Reviews are much appreciated as the good ones let us know we’re going in the right direction and, occasionally, the not so good ones help us to improve.

Generally the feedback we get is very good like this message from Kyle Barrett and Narelle Summers after their recent flight over York

‘Thank you so much for our wonderful morning from start to finish. Thank you to Martin our pilot and crew. We managed to capture some wonderful pictures we thought we would share with you.’

Virgin hot air balloon over York

Airborne Adventurers Kyle and Narelle

Balloon shadow over Yorkshire

Understandably some passengers experience frustration with the ‘great’ British weather which comes through in some customer reviews. Ballooning is a very weather dependent activity and sometimes flights have to be cancelled because of this or other factors outside of our control. Some of these conditions may be high wind speeds, poor visibility, unusually wet ground conditions, low cloud, rain or snow. We know that having flights cancelled can be frustrating, particularly as sometimes conditions can look and feel fine on the ground, but can be unsuitable at height, or the conditions are forecast to deteriorate.

Our highly-experienced pilots base their decisions on the latest forecasts from the MET office and local airports and they will always proceed with a flight if it is safe and possible to do so. Occasionally the weather forecasts we are given prove to be incorrect. This may mean that either we have to cancel a flight at the launch site, or a flight is cancelled when conditions would potentially have been flyable. Obviously weather forecasting is not an exact science, but it is this careful consideration of conditions which makes ballooning such a safe activity.

Many people fly on their first attempt but for others it can take a few tries. It really is down to luck and each year is different. So hot air ballooning can take a bit of patience, but the more bookings you make the quicker you’ll get airborne and we can assure you it will be worth the wait. It is also important to point out that the expiry date on vouchers is a ‘book by’ date, not a ‘fly by’ date and we will always look to extend balloon flight vouchers if people suffer cancellations near to their expiry date. So keep your reviews coming in and, if you have any questions, please get in touch.

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By Kirsty, May 27, 2010 8:04 am

A question we are often asked here at Virgin Balloon Flights is why we don’t offer hot air balloon rides in the middle of the day. We offer a number of different voucher options which all include only early morning or evening balloon flights. The answer? Simple science!

First of all, the basis of how a balloon works is actually pretty easy to understand with the theory being that hot air rises. To make the balloon ascend, the pilot heats the air inside the nylon envelope (this is the actual balloon) which makes the air less dense and therefore lighter than the air that surrounds the balloon. The amount of buoyancy or lift the balloon gets depends solely on the difference in temperature between the air inside the envelope and the atmospheric air surrounding the balloon.

So why can’t this happen during the day? When conditions are calm, hot air balloon pilots can finely control the altitude of the balloon by heating or venting the air inside. But during the main part of the day the sun heats the ground and causes something called thermals. These columns of rising warm air spiral skywards and displace the air above causing up and down drafts which can sometimes affect the pilot’s level of control.

This process can also cause the mixing of calmer, slower winds closer to the curvature of the earth, with the generally faster paced winds higher in the sky. This ‘mixing’ can lead to strong gusts and unpredictable conditions.

Conditions do vary during the year and sometimes cooler temperatures at the start or end of the season (in March or October) allow flights at different times. These are what we call ‘Day’ flights. But generally we fly AM and PM hot air balloon flights from our 100+ launch sites throughout England, Scotland and Wales as this is when conditions are at their best.

So it’s not that we want to get you out of bed early or keep you up late for any reason other than to give you an unforgettable Champagne balloon ride.

Join us on an airborne adventure with national Virgin Balloon Flight vouchers from as little as £109 per person.

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By Alex, May 19, 2010 5:41 pm

Throughout the hot air ballooning season we receive comments, suggestions and messages of thanks from customers who have flown or are waiting to fly with us at Virgin Balloon Flights. Reviews are much appreciated as the good ones let us know we’re going in the right direction and, occasionally, the not so good ones help us to improve.

Generally the feedback we get is very good like this message from Kyle Barrett and Narelle Summers after their recent flight over York:

 ‘Thank you so much for our wonderful morning from start to finish. Thank you to Martin our pilot and crew. We managed to capture some wonderful pictures we thought we would share with you.’ 

Understandably some passengers experience frustration with the ‘great’ British weather which comes through in some customer reviews. Ballooning is a very weather dependent activity and sometimes flights have to be cancelled because of this or other factors outside of our control. Some of these conditions may be high wind speeds, poor visibility, unusually wet ground conditions, low cloud, rain or snow. We know that having flights cancelled can be frustrating, particularly as sometimes conditions can look and feel fine on the ground, but can be unsuitable at height, or the conditions are forecast to deteriorate.