Call Us On

01404 823102

Home Blog Learn to Fly

A Day In the Life of our Hot Air Ballooning Crew Posted in Devon Balloon Rides, Learn to Fly on  July 19, 2011 Ever wondered what it is like to be part of a Hot Air Balloon flight crew? Having worked as part of the administration team in the central office for several months, I decided it was time to diversify and undertake the training necessary to become part of a hot air balloon crew. Following a rather damp June, I finally got the chance to begin training on Friday 1st July. We met the passengers at around 6am at the Hartnoll Hotel which is set in the picturesque Mid-Devon landscape just north of Tiverton. Having checked-in all the passengers, we embarked on a short drive over towards Waterloo Cross which is located just off the M5 Junction 27 near Uffculme. We made our way into a field which we regularly use for launches near Tiverton and began to unload the balloon. Pilot Training Ground School Posted in Learn to Fly on  October 25, 2010 With the winter season just around the corner we're already preparing for 2011's Pilot Training Schedule and we thought the following information is relevant to anyone looking at learning how to fly a hot air balloon. At the start of 2011 (usually in February or March) there will be a ground school run by the Western Region Balloon Club. Basic requirements of pilot training Posted in Learn to Fly on  June 29, 2010 Hot air balloons are not easy to pilot, rather that, they are very difficult. They must be flown early in the morning or during the evening. This is because the air during this time is still quite controllable for pilots. During the day, a lot of interference may be there with hot air rising (thermals) which give instability to hot air balloons. As regards decision of any of you to become a pilot you will find that there are many types of pilot licenses that require thinking and planning. Planning has to be done with respect to money and time. It needs to be checked first of all what are the rules in the area one is living. A total of 16 hours of flying time has to be showed as experience (in the UK). There is a time limit for achieving this and this is usually 2 years. Four instructor flights have to be shown which are perfect in every sense without any errors, which result in a “Completed without help” tick in one’s training book. As well as a checkout, recommendation and solo flight must be conduct in that very order. Only after having completed this requirement, a friend can be taken along for the ride with the student now being a fully qualified private hot air balloonists. Requirements for Becoming a Hot Air Balloon Pilot Posted in Learn to Fly on  June 07, 2010 Hot air balloons are not easy to pilot rather they are very difficult. They must be flown early in the morning or during evenings. This is because the air during this time is still quite controllable for balloon pilots. During the day, a lot of interference may be there with hot air rising (in the form of thermal pockets) and can give instability to hot air balloons. As regards decision of any of you to become a balloon pilot you will find that there are many types of pilot licenses that require thinking and planning. Planning has to be done with respect to money and time. It needs to be checked first of all what are the rules in the area one is living. A total of 16 hours of flying time has to be showed as experience. There is a time limit for achieving this and this is usually 2 years. Four, faultless, instructor flights must be conducted allowing the student to prove their proficiency at handling the hot air balloon. After having completed this requirement, the trainee pilot can look at doing a 'recommendation' flight and a 'checkout' flight. Becoming a Pilot- The Exams Posted in Learn to Fly on  May 15, 2008 After having spent time in Spain and Austria flying and studying. I’ve now taken all my exams for my PPL (private pilots license). There were 5 exams in total, Navigation, Meteorology, Human Factors, Ballooning Systems and Air Law all of which have 20 questions (except for Human Factors, which has 10). In the end the exams were a success, I passed Air Law with 100% in Spain (with the famous Kevein Meehan and Tim Revel as my instructors/tutors) and then at Cameron’s Factory in Bristol I passed the other exams with Colin Wolstenholme as the examiner. On the whole I was happy with my results, granted I had to re-do Navigation (obviously, the hardest exam), but in the retake I got over 80%. Page 1 of 2 << Start < Prev 1 2 Next > End >>