Comments (2)

By Kirsty, February 13, 2013 5:01 pm

The 2013 flying season sees seven new pilots welcomed into the Virgin Balloon Flights team. With over 100 launch sites across England, Scotland and Wales, we have a large network of wonderful pilots taking passengers to the skies all around the country.

Each and every pilot is hand-picked for their expertise and experience and we’re extremely proud to have some of the world’s very best hot air balloonists working with us.

Meet the new high-flyers….

Celia Morley
Flying over southern Scotland
Most memorable flight: “There have been so many memorable flights: I’ve done two channel hops, the first in 2005, and the second in 2011 had a Spitfire doing circuits around the balloon. I flew a lady on her 98th birthday, flew in the Italian Alps and did a splash and dash in the Rio Grande.”

Steve Richards
Flying over Surrey
Most memorable flight: “After nearly 30 years of flying, there are so many memories of fantastic flights. Flying over the Alps, landing at the very peak of one highest mountains in the area and getting out one by one to leave footprints in the snow and the fun of landing between the gigantic vineyards in South America are the best.”

Tim Parker
Flying over Essex
Most memorable flight: “Being a balloon pilot is the best job in the world. There is nothing better than a perfect flight with great landscapes, good weather, happy passengers and people waving up at the balloon, my most memorable flight was seeing a non-domestic big cat on an early morning flight over Somerset!”

Lawrie Ellis
Flying over north Scotland
Most memorable flight: “One of my most memorable flights was a channel hop to the Isle of Wight from Southampton. Quite a different way to get to the Island from my days before ballooning when I frequently sailed to the Island and circumnavigated it in a number of Round the Island Races.”

Piers Glydon
Flying over Derbyshire
Most memorable flight: “Flying in the Himalayan mountain kingdom of Bhutan, taking off in remote villages 10,000 feet above sea level and soaring on the wind over the mountains has got to be my favourite flight, but i love the British countryside and the views of the Peak District are stunning from the air. The area around Bakewell is a beautiful one in which to fly.”

Gavin Chadwick
Flying over West Midlands
Most memorable flight: “I enjoyed many balloon flights during my younger years and by the age of 10 I’d decided I wanted to be a balloon pilot. At school, the careers officers weren’t sure how to react when I informed them of the unusual career that I’d picked. I have also partaken in several competition events in the UK, Italy, and France – where I was selected as the UK entrant for the European Cup for Young Balloon Pilots.”

Martin Cowling
Flying over Mid Scotland
Most memorable flight: “One of my favourite flights was flying over the Valley of the Kings. We took off from Luxor and as we rose up in the air, the ground below us was green for a couple of kilometres then just faded into desert. You get a complete different perspective when you’re up in a balloon. To float above the river Nile and the Valley of the Kings really is something else.”

To fly with one of our new hot balloon pilots from just £79 per person simply visit virginballoonflights.co.uk or give us a call on 0844 844 8070

Comments (0)

By Jade, June 21, 2012 6:02 pm

Our 2012 flying season is well under way and despite the Great British weather, we’re off to a great start. Not only have we added some beautiful new launch sites but we’ve gained 4 fantastic new Virgin Balloon Flights pilots.

The first of our new additions is experienced pilot Bart D’hooge. Bart began his journey of balloon piloting in his home country of Belgium in 1992. Since then he has worked in France, New Zealand and most recently in Holland where he flew the biggest passenger rides balloon in the world – carrying 32 passengers in total! We are now lucky enough to have him join us in southern Scotland, covering several of our scenic launch sites. When we asked Bart what his favourite memory of ballooning was he simply replied “I have been fortunate to work in a lot of special places over the years, which makes it really hard to choose a single flight. However I can still remember my first solo flight in a balloon, I really had a sense of freedom I had never experienced before.”

Our next new pilot is the lovely Chris Oxby who has taken reign over some of our launch sites in Yorkshire and the North East. Chris almost bought his first balloon in 1990, after designing the balloon – colours and artwork included – he suddenly remembered that he had never flown one before! So to confirm his instincts, he booked a balloon flight to see if he actually liked flying, of course he absolutely loved it and went on to achieve his commercial rating in 1993. Over the years, along with his wife Linda, Chris has experienced an array of balloon rides from inside the Arctic Circle to the Middle East and not to forget the journey across the English Channel not once but twice!

No stranger to us here at Virgin Balloon Flights, is our third new pilot is Peter Philpot who began his airborne career with us as a crew member and has gone on to become an experienced pilot,  flying our passengers over the Lake District. Initially flying balloons in Australia in 1999, Peter worked on a huge promotional frog balloon and since his ballooning adventures have taken him all over Europe and he even spent a winter in Burma flying over an area of 2000 Buddhist temples. Here’s what Peter had to say about his job “I have flown all over the Midlands in the UK and love flying in the gorgeous Lake District. I love everything about my job. I’m a real enthusiast about ballooning and love the fact that every flight is different and we get to see the best times of the day from the best places. I love it when people shake my hand after a flight and tell me what a great time they had – it’s a real buzz.”

Last but by no means least, meet Russell Collins who achieved his lifetime ambition to become a balloon pilot in 2003. Since then he has taken to the skies from many countries including New Zealand, Thailand, India, Italy, Austria, the Swiss Alps and is now flying over the beautiful Warwickshire and Gloucestershire countryside in the UK. Russell enthusiastically told us why he simply loves ballooning “Balloon flying privileges you to see the beautiful countryside up-close and at a pace where you have time to enjoy it and take in the detail from above. The job satisfaction gained from witnessing someone’s balloon experience and seeing them beaming after their flight is hard to beat.”

To see beautiful Britain in all its glory and experience the magic of ballooning with any of our Virgin Balloon Flight pilots, simply call 0844 8448080 or visit our website.

Comments (0)

By Kirsty, August 6, 2010 11:08 am

Here at Virgin Balloon Flights we have a brand new pilot who has
seen  some amazing sights and flown in some spectacular venues, there is one thing for sure… you won’t have to worry about lions after landing here, we just serve up Champagne!

Born in Australia in 1965, Brad grew up in Melbourne where he became a tour guide in the travel and tourism industry. He soon became hungry to travel himself and embarked on a two year backpacking trip where he ended up in the UK looking for part-time work. This was his first encounter with hot air ballooning when he became a part-time crew member working his way up to chief crew and eventually taking his commercial pilot’s licence.

Ten years on and Brad has piloted balloons in France, Italy, Austria, Turkey, Egypt, Kenya, Portugal, New Zealand, UK and of course in his homeland Australia! He has knotched up around 850 flying hours and is as passionate about ballooning now as he was on his very first flight.

His most memorable flight to date was in Kenya, flying over the Masai Mara. “We had a fantastic flight and the passengers were excited to have seen the animals below the basket. When I landed the balloon, the passengers climbed aboard the 4×4 and Lions started to circle the empty balloon,” said Brad.

“It’s common for the animals to be close, but it was an exciting experience to really have them that close pawing the deflated balloon envelope!

“I just love ballooning. There is nothing else like it and my office window is now the fantastic British countryside from around 3000 feet in the air. What could be better?”.

Out of Africa to England, Brad’s home is now Shropshire and his career with Virgin balloon Flights started in April 2010. He will be flying passengers from launch sites in Telford, Shrewsbury, Nantwich, Whitchurch and Stafford’s Amerton Farm.