Bristol International Balloon Fiesta 2008

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Bristol International Balloon Fiesta 2008

Posted in on July 30, 2008

This annual event celebrates its 30th anniversary this year and it’s looking better than ever! Held at Ashton Court from the 7th to the 10th of August over 130 balloons will be attending the 4 day event.

The fiesta is the second largest annual hot air balloon festival in the world. Spectacular balloons of all shapes and sizes attend every year to a crowd of over half a million during the four days. This year make sure you’re there on Thursday the 7th for the mass assent of the special shaped balloons, this will commence from 6PM onwards and will feature balloons from all four continents.
Day 1 Filzmoos Balloon Fiesta- Arrival

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Day 1 Filzmoos Balloon Fiesta- Arrival

Posted in on February 07, 2008

Finally the 29th Annual Filzmoos Balloon Fiesta kicked of on the 12th Of January, with 40 Hot Air Balloons taking part in the small village of Filzmoos (South Salzburg, Austria). I joined Alba Ballooning for this event comprising of a team of 1 pilot and 4 crew, 1 land rover and 1 balloon.

Day One of Filzmoos Balloon Fiesta

After arriving at Salzburg airport we drove south up into the Alps to the village of Filzmoos and ’signed in’, collected our hot air balloon banner, gassed up and went to the weeks briefing in the local centre. Once the administration was complete we had a quick drink and pizza before retreating to our apartment.
Day 3 Filzmoos Balloon Fiesta- The First Flight

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Day 3 Filzmoos Balloon Fiesta- The First Flight

Posted in on February 07, 2008

We woke the following morning (Mon 14th January) to a clear and beautiful blue sky, so after the “all clear” at the briefing we marched to the launch field with eager attitudes and inflated our Alba Balloon. A flight of 1hr 30mins took part that morning for ourselves, due to a heavy load and indecisive winds. Meanwhile however our Dutch friends flew for 3hrs!

Upon returning to Filzmoos we gassed up and went and got a hot chocolate and rum each and helped it to go down with a cake, had a sleep and then went out for the evening to the local bar ‘Kennedys’, where we enjoyed the local hospitality and met up with our Dutch and Swedish friends.
Day 4 Filzmoos Balloon Fiesta- The Long Haul Balloon Flight

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Day 4 Filzmoos Balloon Fiesta- The Long Haul Balloon Flight

Posted in on February 07, 2008

Now with one flight under our belts and a clear sky above our heads we went out on Tuesday (15th January) with optimistic hopes. We had got, once again, got the “all clear” and rumors had started spreading about a low band of pressure coming in for the next couple days, making today a very important day to get a nice flight in.

So we inflated the balloon and sent up David and Sue from Alba Ballooning along with Pete Forster the pilot. Armed with 6 gas tanks they flew for a total of 2hrs 52minutes getting in a total of 52kms in that time. After Tam and myself found the balloon, we packed it up and traveled back to Filzmoos to gas up and debrief.
Day 5 Filzmoos Balloon Fiesta- A Journey to Salzburg

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Day 5 Filzmoos Balloon Fiesta- A Journey to Salzburg

Posted in on February 07, 2008

The briefing today was a disappointment, no weather information was given a simple “no flying today” was all that was said. Sadly the weather had started to break and was coming in from the North West (low cloud and snow fall).

Fortunately a member of our team needed to go home today (Tam), so we drove the 50min/1hr drive to Salzburg and ventured round the city. It was a surreal experience, with a river separating both the old town and the new town. The photo’s below are of the famous castle and Mozart’s birth place.
Day 6 Filzmoos Balloon Fiesta- Fresh Snow and 1 Sledge

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Day 6 Filzmoos Balloon Fiesta- Fresh Snow and 1 Sledge

Posted in on February 07, 2008

Another disappointment today, the snow had fallen during the night and was still falling. So with flights once again canceled, David and myself went for a coffee and cake and wandered the streets of Filzmoos. As disappointed as I was with the flights being canceled it was a lovely day to walk around the village. The old Austrian village and architecture looked idyllic and complimented the snowfall amazingly.

After the morning snow died down we purchased two sledges and re-lived our youths going down the ski slopes, in preparation for the night. That night we were due to be going up the mountain in snow-bashers to a little hut for drinks/food and then afterwards 11/12pm we were going to have to get back down the mountain somehow (hence the sledge practice). The night to be honest is a bit of a blur for this PUT (Pilot Under Training), i went of the slopes on the way down at midnight on my sledge and cut my neck/hit my head, consequently the night is a blur to me.
Day 7 Filzmoos Balloon Fiesta- The End

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Day 7 Filzmoos Balloon Fiesta- The End

Posted in on February 07, 2008

The last day of the fiesta was today (18th January), so we were keen to get a flight in. Sadly however it was still snowing and the weather had only got worse. Low cloud was now all around us and visibility was less than 500metres meaning there was no chance what so ever of flight.

Luckily though for us, all balloonists are health conscious individuals, so we prepared a walk for ourselves in an opposite valley. It was a breath-taking day so after 1hr we stopped for drinks and food and took in the scenery, before we turned around and returned back.
Tavistock Balloon Fiesta Summary

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Tavistock Balloon Fiesta Summary

Posted in on November 17, 2007

During the August bank Holiday Aerosaurus Balloons went to the Tavistock Balloon Fiesta. We’d like to thank all at the Tavistock Lions and Round Table for our invitation and here’s a summary of how the weekend went.

Event Summary 2007