MadBalloonz

Ballooning as Art?

2010-06-20T10:03:00.003+12:00

I'm not sure I've seen it yet, but this is edging towards it. Of course it helps if you have a Digital Red 4K camera to catch real HD images (and you know how to use it I guess). I'm not entirely sold on the opening "atmospheric" scenes - I'm not sure they add anything to the narrative of the event apart from clever shots, there are a few handheld wobblers that you inevitably get shooting from a balloon basket but you use them anyway. The soundtrack gets "clicky" through my speakers when the bassline kicks in and I can't watch that lovely shot of the trailing streamer without thinking of "American Beauty" and all the inherent baggage that contains. But this is just the frustrated filmmaker coming out in me (and the editor who says he would have done a tighter cut). From a ballooning perspective, I'm not sure I've ever seen a burner test done before with the basket cranked over and the envelope laid out below it, but hey I wasn't there, so I don't know the circumstances. Sure looks weird to my eyes tho'. But I'm getting picky here - the images are absolutely stunning and are worth just watching - make sure you do it fullscreen, as they more than stand the "blow up" test.

Hot Air Ballooning 4K from Patrick Lawler on Vimeo.

Adventures in Cappadocia

2010-06-20T09:16:00.001+12:00

Or should that be misadventures? A salutary story about the inherent dangers of leaving your launch time until too late. I can't begin to go into the pressures involved with commercial ballooning as I have had only slight experience with it, but should you really consider taking off when everyone else is touching down? Were they in touch with the swarm of other balloons in the area? The poster of the blog doesn't point any fingers - I'm not sure I would be so patient. Read the full story here.

Not everyone has fun ballooning

2010-06-15T11:42:00.001+12:00

A kind of scary/funny blog post about the joys of ballooning when you are maybe not always "up" for it:

http://ashleyolsonrosen.wordpress.com/2010/06/14/next-time-i-venture-up-up-and-away-ill-be-flying-on-valium-first/

But wait, there's more!

2010-05-26T09:43:00.000+12:00

The great Clifton Bridge saga continues - this time with Daily Mail telling us how it was. Never let a lack of knowledge or information get in the way of a good story. That is a great picture of the approach tho' (wonder if the guy made any money selling it to the hounds). Of course the only image missing is the one where 'The bottom of the basket just skimmed one of the suspension cables on the bridge'. Still, this will give people something to investigate for days, possibly weeks.

Beware the Splash and Dash in Britain

2010-05-25T08:05:00.006+12:00

Shock horror as balloon dips in river! I would have thought that Aunty Beeb was above this sort of reporting.

The man who runs the suspension bridge (?) may have to investigate. My response would have to be that I was practicing precision landings. What could be more precise than trying to land on water?

ANZAC Day Flight Footage

2010-05-16T11:44:00.002+12:00

Always nice when you can prove that it was you that took off in the balloon at least. Thanks to Geoff Mackay from Visualmedia, who was along once again to capture the action. Just to reiterate, that's me in the yellow balloon ZK-PUF (aka Puff the Asthma Balloon). The inflation was a little squew-whiff due to the envelope rotating a bit on it banners, but otherwise it went well. I'm definitely not in the Coke balloon. Just makin that clear okay.

Today I Talked to the Cows

2010-04-25T20:36:00.014+12:00

And it works. Using the cow burner helps as well, with a gentle turn of the tap to avoid that initial "bang" as the huge volume of gas ignites all at once. They hear the voice and at least mildly associate the noise with their favourite food source. They did what they do - walk/jog just ahead of the flightpath to the fence then turn and amble back to the grass. The horses were all good - they've seen it all in the Wairarapa.

It was ANZAC Day morning and I had headed out from Wellington to Masterton for the now-traditional (it was the second year in a row they have done so) dawn flight over the town. I left the cloudy, drizzling city around 5:45am and headed north, about the same time as three RNZAF Iroquois were heading south along the coast over the hills to my left for their own dawn parades, one of which would not return to Ohakea. Stories abound elsewhere about this tragedy, so I will just quietly continue with my own tale. I must admit to thinking as I drove that Denis' weather prognosis seemed wildly optomistic, but as I crossed the Rimutakas and dropped down to the plain I was met with a fine dawn, with the sun bouncing a deep red off the bottom of the one large cloud hovering to the east. It would be a good morning for ballooning.

I arrived at the launchsite at the northern edge of Masterton just as the group of about 9 balloons were spreading out ready for inflation. As is my habit I rolled up to Puff and made my way to the top end and started putting in the velcro tabs in the parachute. Today however, balloonman Denis had a treat in store for me (did he know it was my birthday two days before?). Dan King was flying the balloon this weekend and after a quick word it became apparent that Dan would be my guide for my first flight as a pilot for a good few years. His instructions were simple: There's the big hole. Turn on the flames. Point the flames at the big hole. If the flames stop going in the big hole turn them off. The inflation went pretty well - things started a little squew-whiff (because of the big banners on one side Denis reckons), but it all got up there. The take-off was a little "hoppy" as I think I'd let Puff get a little cool while the balloon in front set up and took off. But according to those on the ground it was just fine and not nearly as ignominious as some others (which made for some tales at breakfast).

Puff is quite a responsive wee beast and with just four on board responded well to small inputs. The key was just keeping it in level flight, which I think I did reasonably okay. We went up a bit to see what it was doing, then down a bit to catch the wee smidge right we had on the ground. Although we missed the airport (which was the target - but then I think everyone missed anyway), there were plenty of nice large paddocks to land in, so long as you avoided the giant irrigation rigs. Which I did. After a bit of a duffer on the first attempt, we flew on to the next paddock and put it down with a single hop right in the middle after about forty minutes. The farmer was happy for us to land there, the passengers were happy with their flight and after a bit of a nervous start I had a grin from ear to ear. A couple of disclaimers however: during the flight Dan controlled the turning vents to keep me facing the right direction, during which I burned to keep level flight. And while I made a good approach on the landing, Dan controlled the smartvent to give us that nice "stop". A fine contraption the smartvent is and I hope to attempt to master it soon. No photographs of the flight as I was a bit busy, but also no flight data as my useless phone decided it had the GPS abilities of a ninety-year-old Alzheimer sufferer.

Breakfast was the usual bang-up affair at the King's lovely property, during which we were treated to a close formation fly-by of a couple of Gypsy Moths. And by close I mean tight: with the trailing plane's wing tucked in behind the leader's, edging towards the fuselage and both chugging along at a steady pace. This was arranged for Pete apparently because he managed to fly directly over the cenotaph. We may have come close, but I was quite busy watching the skies around us. Anyway, after saying my goodbyes it was back home to Welly with a tale to tell for my lovely Sonnie and the boys. The spark is back in ballooning for me well and truly now after perhaps being a little lacking around this year's fiestas, including Levin. For my thoughts on the Levin event, check out the Lift Off Levin blog. For my thoughts about what goes on behind and around the Levin event, you need to come back here sometime, but maybe when I've cooled off a bit - possibly even deflated and put it back in the bag.

Some Ballooning At Last!

2010-03-29T21:39:00.002+13:00

Well sort of. The start of the Fiesta season in New Zealand began this year with the Wairarapa event this weekend past. Over the past couple of years the event has been run as a long weekend, from a Friday morning liftoff through to Sunday morning flight. This is down from its corporate-sponsored five day event, but it is a much better event for this. A much more relaxed feel to the event, without the need to pay the big-dollar piper makes this a lot more fun than it used to be. The flying is just as serious, but the bs on the ground is much less. Wairarapa turned on its usual mix of weather, from light and shifty on the morning mass ascension to just too much (for us anyway)on the Saturday and Sunday morning. A highlight for me as a crewie was being able to get the balloon landed on the trailer while still inflated on the Friday morning - any morning not having to lift the basket one more time is a good morning. The weird thing was that on the Saturday morning, the dawn wind dropped away, and quite a few balloons did a flight after breakfast - not unheard of, but certainly unusual. We were dealing with a few mechanical gremlins at the time, so left them to the thermals at that time of the morning.

It was great that the event finally got a chance to have a Nightglow after being completely and utterly rained out last year. It was a goodish crowd that gathered (maybe 5000?), and despite a fairly brisk breeze blowing up until sunset, everyone managed to inflate and put on a show. Blowed if I can find any photos of it online tho' (and I was too busy to take any of my own). I was a little backwards and forwards on the event this year - living in Wellington it is just close enough to commute, so I missed the Friday evening flight when I headed home, but I wasn't too disappointed. Even though there hasn't been an awful lot of ballooning so far this year, I am getting the feeling I am a little jaded already. Maybe it is being involved with the organising of Lift Off Levin that is taking its toll, or maybe even the lack of flying that I have done over the last while - being on the ground just ain't as much fun really. Well, Levin is only a couple of days away now, so I may get the funk out of my system. Or maybe it's time to give it a rest for a while. That makes me a little sad to say that, but it has been ten years now, with a fair amount of fun thrown in with the frustrations. The simple fact is that I will not be able to afford to fly myself for some time yet, and until then I think I'm getting a bit long in the tooth to be a crewie. And to be honest, organising events just doesn't quite cut it really. It's a bit like talking about sex instead of, you know...

Ah well, let's get Levin out of the way and see where we go from there.

Top Gear Caravan Airship update

2009-12-08T20:20:00.004+13:00

Found it! Go here to view the two parts.

Am I becoming a bit much of an Airship buff?

2009-12-07T11:07:00.007+13:00

This one is going on my list for the grand US visit someday. Some stunning photos of a trip with Airship Ventures over the San Francisco Bay Area from Bernard Zee. Check more of them out here.

More Top Gear Madness - Can't Wait!

2009-12-03T20:46:00.004+13:00

The lads are at it again, doing what they do best - caravan bashing. And the boys at Lindstrand Balloons have come to help with their next "experiment".

Find more videos like this on Aunty Monkey

Can't wait 'til it's on the box here. Courtesy of the folks at Auntie Monkey.

Coffey and a Wake-up Call

2009-11-25T23:29:00.008+13:00

So here it is, Breakfast's McCafe Great Coffey Road Trip on One (as also seen on the Lift Off Levin blog). Sorry about the jitters at the start, but it settles down. It was great to see a balloon taking part in the live crosses towards the end of the segments, but I can't help thinking we may have missed the boat/plane/train here. Earlier on in the programme the medieval market (the other big Levin event) had some kids dressed up in suitable garb and got its name and date in to the proceedings. We turn up on the day with a sodding great balloon, take the presenter for a ride, and still don't get a mention about Lift Off Levin. Methinks it may be an interesting committee meeting on Monday, as I think we needed to get a bit more info to the tele-types. I actually think we have committed the cardinal sin of providing plenty of entertainment without enough information. There are a few highlights for me tho':

The kid on the right side of the balloon as it takes off has a handful of RJs Liquorice and fires them off and up to his right and very nearly into the burners....
Paul Henry's comment about ejecting said kids during the flight to gain some lift at some stage...
Nathan's fine job of trimming the tree on his way out - the camera pans away as it happens, but you can hear the snap and some definite movement of branches at the end of the shot.

It will be interesting to catch up on how the flight went and the possibility of a return trip for the Breakfast crew in Easter 2010.

Airships from another world (and another blog)

2009-11-18T11:35:00.001+13:00

Okay, just one more crazy overseas story...

2009-10-26T12:57:00.003+13:00

Ah the weirdness that the Google search results will sometimes throw up:

Bay City News Service
Posted: 10/24/2009 11:04:35 AM PDT
Updated: 10/24/2009 02:35:24 PM PDT

A bicyclist suffered minor injuries this morning when she rode into a line tethering a hot air balloon to the ground in Napa County, a Cal Fire spokesman said.

According to the spokesman from Cal Fire's Napa County unit, the woman encountered the tethering line stretched into the roadway as she was bicycling on Henry Road, at Dealy Lane near the Napa-Sonoma county line.

"She didn't hit the balloon, she hit the tether," the spokesman said. The woman was treated for minor injuries, he said.

Cal Fire did not have information on whether the balloon had just landed in the area. According to the spokesman, hot air balloon companies usually launch farther north and work with air currents. "They come down where they come down," he said.

The California Highway Patrol received word of the incident at about 9:30 a.m. Preliminary reports said the bicyclist injured her ankle and suffered lacerations to the neck, nose and hands, according to CHP Officer John Short.

Possible scenario: Woman riding bicycle along road. Oh, what's that? A balloon? It seems to be coming down. Fascinating. It appears to be falling down in my direction, so I won't take my eyes off it. There appear to be some people crossing the road in my peripheral vision dragging a rope, but I will continue watching this balloon very carefully and intently. Hey Lady! Look out!

Careful with those crown lines out there kids - sometimes crossing a seemingly empty road with it when you are deflating may seem like a good idea, but never underestimate the meandering abilities of the public. I don't think it was a "tether" line for a second. I do get a bit disheartened sometimes reading these things that appear to be second or even third-hand account of "incidents" that somehow pass for local news on third-rate (predominantly American) news websites. I guess there are others involved with special interest hobbies or sports that are equally despairing of the kind of coverage that they get. Ah well, hope the lady on the bike was not badly hurt.

All Quiet on the Flying Front

2009-10-24T23:03:00.007+13:00

It is at this time of year that it seems like the most important thing going on is finding the perfect colour sceme to re-jig your blog with. Or just re-jigging your blog for want of something better to do. Not that you don't have something better to do, it's just that when it takes your interest it becomes all-consuming. Then, when you can't quite get it right, and the other templates you download just don't seem to fit properly, it doesn't. So you just kindof rehash what you have and carry on, realising that it has been absolutely months since you have actually contributed anything tangible whatsoever to the blogosphere. So, you ask eagerly, what has been happening? Lame.

On the ballooning front, the most recent foray was on a school tour to Featherston in the Wairarapa as a promotional exercise for the Asthma Foundation. It was a most excellent winter's day a couple of months back that allowed for inflations at the two schools in the one morning. In some ways it's great to be able to show the balloon to kids, but doing two inflations of a morning is of course twice as much work as actually taking a flight, so it was a decent workout. Pilot and ZK-PUF owner Denis Hall is currently off visiting in China, checking out various things, including the ballooning situation. I'm not sure if he caught up with this situation in China, as I'm not sure how much media gets around in those parts, particularly in English. As is always the case, when there is little going on in ballooning in this hemisphere, there is always something going on in the northern one. And of course with the media being the media, you are more likely to get stories like this one, where the news is all bad, if somewhat indecipherable.

And of course the other thing that inevitably happens in October is that behemoth on the ballooning calendar the Albuquerque Fiesta, along with the inevitable mishap that is going to happen when you get that many balloons together and competing. At least they got their special shapes back in time from China, but as always seems to happen, something happened:

Now I wasn't there, so wasn't able to clap eyes on the whole sequence, and I guess tipping your passenger over the side when hitting the tent would be a hell of something to happen, but whipping that top out from that height hardy makes it look like a controlled descent and would have been one helluva ride coming down. No one dead from this has to be a good thing.

On a personal note, the lack of distraction from ballooning has at least meant I have been productive in other areas, finishing producing a series of online videos for Skylight, the organisation where my lovely partner Sonja acts as Fundraising Manager. This was my first full HD project, done with volunteers and pretty much zero budget apart from tape costs (Sony HDV gear was borrowed). The videos are a series of interviews from young people offering advice to other young people about how to get through the tough times. It was fun to work on and produce, providing me with some real gifts in areas such as music (with some great Creative Commons track from the wonderful Josh Woodward), and certainly proved more uplifting than reading about balloon accidents elsewhere in the world. Enjoy.

The Depths of Winter...

2009-06-15T21:15:00.008+12:00

Sometimes you get lucky and you get some flying in during winter. Often down this part of the world after a good Southerly blast the following days can be very calm and clear - which of course happened a few weeks ago when Denis headed up to the Hawkes Bay to do some flying and a schools tour with Puff. Five schools in two days is good going in anyone's book and I'm not sure I could have hacked the pace if I'd been there, but I had other things on, such as my lovely partner's birthday to celebrate. Puff went down a treat with the kids and apparently it was supposed to be four schools that they were to do, but a principal jumped out onto the road in front of them and demanded that they come to his school as well. The boys and the Asthma educator who was along for the trip were only too happy to oblige. Anyways, I missed out, but there will probably be some more flying on the near horizon.

In the meanwhile, it is an opportunity to scan the goings-on in ballooning on the wide wide world of web, particularly as things are in full swing in the other (Northern) hemisphere at the moment. The Aunty Monkey website is one that I have known about for a while, but I have finally added to my bookmarks as a place to go for interesting stuff from the ballooning community - although old hands are not always kind to the newbies, and the discussions can get a little out of hand, it is a great place to wander through and pic up ideas, like this guy with what seems like one helluva cloudhopper. Great way to start on a budget (and if you're single I guess).

Further wanderings lead me to other places (as they do) and just took me up another path completely. How about a new option for ballooning in New Zealand? Something with the impact of a special shape, but with wider capabilities than these or even classic hot air balloons? How about:

A hot-air airship? Okay, not as beautiful and slender as the helium or hydrogen airship, but a helluva lot easier to set up and move around. Cameron Balloons are the main movers in the manufacture of these puppies and they would make a sensational addition to any fiesta. Now I wonder how much it would cost to bring the first one into New Zealand? If you'll excuse me, I'm just off to buy a Lotto ticket...

Balloon Day

2009-05-11T21:35:00.009+12:00

With a very scruffy night before, we weren't expecting great things out of Saturday May 9th to set up Puff to help celebrate the Asthma Foundation's Balloon Day celebrations, but it dawned clear enough to warrant going to have a look at the tether site at the Petone Mitre 10 Mega. It was windy when we arrived, but we waited it out, and while the wind did drop slightly, it was still just too wafty and shifty to do anything with the balloon. It eventually got to lunchtime and the carpark was starting to fill up and we were taking valuable acreage, so we had to can it basically. While other parts of Wellington were calm, in the prevailing (very cold) southerly conditions, the location was just a bit too close to the Petone foreshore and the wind that gets generated up the harbour. So once again Puff doesn't get to see another Balloon Day, but admittedly he still does a helluva job in the lead up to it by raising awareness. About the only person to get some ballooning action was Ziggy, who enjoyed clambering around the basket and helped to pack the balloon away. And he was definitely dressed in the right colours.

Well, It's Been a While

2009-05-10T21:19:00.015+12:00

But if you really want to catch up on what's going on, check out the Lift Off Levin website, which keeps you updated on what's been happening in my part of the world with balloons. Or rather more to do with the balloon event that I was involved with over Easter. I was there for the briefings, inflating helium balloons to create a target at one of the events and generally running around watching balloons launch and fly off into the distance. Apart from the odd pull on a rope and the odd retrieve, I wasn't even really involved in crewing at all. I didn't even have a flight. I'm not complaining, it just felt a little, well, weird to not be entirely in the thick of it. It did mean that my partner and I and her two boys could just take in the Nightglow on the Saturday as just an event, wandering around the food stalls, jumping on the bouncy castle (the kids, not me) and taking in the glow from inside and outside the field. It didn't ever become the hot, sweaty and energy-sapping experience that working a balloon in the dark normally is. Part of me missed that, another part (the one enjoying the company I was keeping) certainly didn't.

As it was we were put to work the next night at the Basin Reserve Nightglow (sans kids this time) as my partner Sonja ran the crew on the gates and I finally got the gloves on. But even then I was just lending a hand to proceedings and still felt I could have been doing more. But it was still great to be in there taking it all in (and I did pull out and then replace all the waratah standards around the cricket pitch, so that counts as a bit of an effort). It was a magic sight on a magic Wellington evening.

So it has been about a month since then, so I have been filling in the time updating and honing the Levin Blog (and wishing I had the time and skill to update the god-awful Lift Off Levin website). During that time I also had a bit of a scoot round YouTube checking out other crazy ballooning stuff like this:

Although it did feel a little like I was killing time. So it was quite good when the Friday before last Denis gave me a call on another one of those eerily calm Wellington evenings to see if I could lend a hand down at the waterfront to put up Puff. Didn't really have to be asked twice. It was a good opportunity to raise awareness of the upcoming Balloon Day and a chance to grapple with the challenge of putting up the balloon in an unusual and limited space. It was also a frustrating exercise in how to figure out how to untangle a smartvent after the last people to pack the balloon away had somehow turned it inside out - it made me glad that I don't fly as part of a syndicate where I imagine this sort of thing (different er um ways of packing away) may well happen a bit. Anyway, it went up in the end and all looked good really, and was a good chance to get in some actual ballooning - even if we didn't get to fly.

One Week Out

2009-04-02T22:12:00.006+13:00

Well, I'm getting my toys together ready for the big Lift Off Levin event. One cool feature that I can now add is a flight tracking from the cellphone via Nokia Sportstracker, which should give some interesting results from the balloon. Here is an example I got with some testing I did driving from work to pick up the boys at school.

http://sportstracker.nokia.com/nts/workoutdetail/index.do?id=811768

Can't wait to try it out on a flight now....

What The!!?? A Ballooning Rap?

2009-03-26T15:32:00.003+13:00

I do recall seeing a cute little clip once with an old bluesman with his guitar and another guy singing along while in the basket. It kinda worked. But a ballooning rap? With the "crew" badly CGI'ed into the basket? Dope.

A Blip in a Balloon Fanned My Fiscal Fears

2009-03-26T14:18:00.003+13:00

This Times Online article makes an interesting analogy between hot air ballooning and the financial situation. It fits more than he knows it. The best way to keep a balloon in good condition is by keeping it in level flight - not with rapid climbs and plummeting descents. It seems to me that people who own their own balloons understand this - those that fly them don't always (i.e., the pilot is not always the owner and this sometimes reflects the attitude to the craft in my experience). The steadiest flier succeeds in the long term by not racing skyward, as it costs just as much energy to come down. Something that those running businesses that are not necessarily their own have seemed not to understand.

Wairarapa Day 2 Evening

2009-03-24T10:51:00.021+13:00

After a pleasant morning flight, it became clear as the day wore on that conditions were not becoming conducive to a possible nightglow. Being not quite able to have a snooze as is often the balloonist's habit after the early morning start, I felt the gradual change in temperature as the barometer must have dropped a few notches. A heavy shower at the briefing did not bode well, but crews duly jumped in vehicles and headed for the site - an amphitheatre arrangement just to the side of Queen Elizabeth Park in Masterton. It may have made a very nice venue for a glow, but we never got to find out because of an absolute deluge just before we were due to set up. The place just turned into a lake basically and that was the end of the event. While managing to avoid getting too wet, we headed back to our digs to review the situation. I did some weather forecasting and made a decision to head home early, as the continued southerly flow meant that the possibility of flying the following day was absolutely minimal.

Trolling around looking for stories about the event, I must admit to having a bit of a giggle at this little effort from the Wairarapa Times-Age. You don't expect such grandiose writing from a provincial newspaper - perhaps the scribe is suffering the slings and arrows of having to take his double major Journalism/Literature Degree out to some backwater and struggle with the burden of local news. Escher-esque "box wind" effect? Seriously? Not sure I saw any pilots flying upside down tho'. The marvellous part of this article is the balloonist interviewed lowering the satorial tone no end. Cheers Murray.

Wairarapa Festival Day Two Morning

2009-03-22T17:32:00.007+13:00

The evening of Day One, a fly-out from the Gala at Wairarapa College, was a no-go, because as the day went on the wind picked up, making flying impossible. Waiting at the venue, when the wind dropped, the rain started and that sent us all scurrying for cover. We did later enjoy the hospitality of one of the locals at their fantastic house that seemed ideally suited to catering to a bunch of balloonists for an informal gathering/dinner/party. On the return home we could tell the sky was clearing, so were reasonably confident of a flying morning on Saturday. This turned out to be the case, with the hint of a box wind at Henley Lake allowing some balloonists a couple of cracks at the targets on and beside the lake. It didn't start off all that well, when, with passengers loaded we were awaiting lift-off, when another balloon that had already launched flew over from behind us - a not uncommon thing in this sort of event where launch times vary as pilots try different strategies. However, we were greeted by the very worrying sight of the bottom of the basket of the said balloon brushing the top of our envelope. This creates that sick feeling of a potential disaster unfolding - one edge catches and it was all over for our balloon. There wasn't a lot of shouting and arm waving going on, because that would have done nothing to change the situation. We just had to wait it out. Then, when it had passed, we breathed out and scanned every inch of the top of the balloon very carefully. All seemed well, so they were off towards the lake. Denis dropped it in for a gentle slide along the water - wish I had been close enough for photos, but the close proximity of the launchsite didn't really give us enough time to get lakeside for a closer look. But as an indicator of how good the flying was, check out Brenda Anderson's Flickr photos - all good stuff really. With the either-way steerage, we were then placed in a position of scratching our heads as chase crew as to which side of the main river we should be on. When Denis dropped down low, it looked to us as if he was actually on the river, so this made for a tricky choice, especially in a flat town like Masterton (yes, they were flying closer to the main town this time, and with the potential to gain a bigger crowd on a Saturday morning. Point noted). So a hint for all you budding balloon crewers in the Wairarapa: if you are having trouble finding your balloon, the highest point in town that affords a very good panoramic view is... on top of the rubbish dump. I don't want to know what was under our feet, but it was solid enough to drive up there and gave us a great view as our balloon sailed straight over, allowing for a crystal-clear analogue ground to air communication as to where the landing site would be. Translation: Denis told us he (or rather Jonty who was piloting at that stage) would be landing in the next paddock.

And that's where he landed. The flight ended as strangely as it had begun, with a one-sided encounter with a woman with four dogs (actually three dogs minus one), who was very upset that one of the dogs had bolted for home. But her manner was that of a dog itself - when I approached her she snapped and snarled obscenities without making eye contact and veering off course in the manner of the aggressive/frightened dog when I walked towards her to communicate with her and find out what the problem actually was. A case of the owner adopting the habits of the animal? Funny thing was the other three dogs seemed very pleased to see us and enjoyed a bit of a run around and some attention no end, until called over by their snarling "master" or "head dog". A weird end to bookend a very weird start, with a lovely flight in between. That's ballooning for ya. Weird.

Tethered sunshine

2009-03-20T12:14:00.001+13:00

Tethered sunshine, originally uploaded by A Different Perspective.

This was probably just before I arrived to "help" on the first day. Our passenger, John the Stockmeister looks like he is coming to grips with things pretty quickly. Thanks to A Different Perspective's Flickr site for the image.

Wairarapa Festival Day One

2009-03-20T11:47:00.000+13:00

There is something about the Wairarapa Festival that does not quite gel with me. Don't get me wrong, it's a great ballooning event - this is just a purely personal battle I seem to be having. When I have ventured down there from Hamilton in the past, it was often the weather that thwarted things (and I guess that wasn't just for me either). This year was almost entirely my own doing. Having "set" the alarm for some horrendous hour of the Friday morning, my intention was to gently ferry myself over the Rimutakas in time to help Denis and team set up for the Mass Ascension. That was the plan. The execution went something like: the alarm does not go off because it was not in fact "set". My partner Sonja rolls over and says something like "It's getting late dude" (Translation: it's still early, but too late to be getting up to drive 80-odd K's over some not-so-great road). Frantic phone call to Denis, frantic pack and then a semi-frantic drive over the hill (no point in killing meself right?), with a mercifully light traffic load see me reach the Clareville Showgrounds outside Carterton just in time to see the first balloon going up. Arriving at the grounds I am greeted by the sight of Denis' son Jonty hanging on to the crown line - I won't do him an injustice by saying nervously, but he did mention that it had been a year or so since he had done it last. Maybe tentatively is more the term - if you can be tentatively dragged along by a rope by something that can sometimes perform like a deranged collie as it inflates. It was quite nice to see someone else perform the deed actually.

So as they headed slowly for the off I had the opportunity to do a little camera work before heading off on the chase. The intention this year was to post updates on the fly, so I shot some footage on a horrendously low quality setting that could be MMS'ed to the blog. Despite various attempts it did not seem to want to work, so here is the video in all its blocky glory transferred from my home machine.

So there it was - a gentle waft away by everyone to the first target (except for Howard Watson, who flew up behind everyone and stayed just hovering above the launchsite where he eventually landed again - weird). After a quick review of my footage at the launchsite, I saw the error of my ways and upped the video setting for the 1st target drop. Because he was one of the last away, Denis was able to get a pretty good bead on the target, but after coming reasonably close they decided not to throw their marker as they were not in the same paddock. So here are some slightly less blocky pictures of the target approach...

Then it was a fly on towards the second target, but flying on the opposite side of the road to where it was located led Denis to pop it down in a paddock beside a farmhouse and a quick pack-up later and that was us for the day. Almost routine really.

But here's the rub - the Clareville Showgrounds just out Carterton have always been the traditional site for the Mass Ascension for this event. This is a kilometre or two from Carterton, with a population of just over 4000 people, so people can lug themselves out of bed from there without too much effort to get to the venue. However, the main town in the Wairarapa is Masterton to the northeast, with a population of just over 22,000. Anyone attending the Mass Ascension has to haul themselves 12 k's just to get to the event - and it shows by the number of people who turn up. And the flying itself in the years that I have been there have tended to occur out to the east, turning to the south, often missing even the town of Carterton and over open (and empty) farmland. This is great for finding a nice open landing spot, but hardly draws the spectators. Admittedly I was surprised at the quite a few that ventured from the launchsite to the first target drop, but by the second target the numbers had dwindled to the keen and hardy few who had the time to drive east and south to the next dropzone in a roadside paddock. Note the Wairarapa organisers: the huge advantage of ballooning is its ability to be done pretty much anywhere there is space. Why not take it to a space where more people are going to see it simply by looking up? Why make them get in their car and drive for 15 minutes? Let them discover it for themselves when they draw the curtains, then they can spent the 15 minutes taking in our fantastic sport, either by standing at the gate, or getting in their cars and driving to the nearby dropzone where they can appreciate the pilot's amazing flying skills on display.

A Little Warmup

2009-03-18T00:08:00.010+13:00

A little Saturday morning flight of five balloons took off from Carterton on Saturday morning as a precursor to the Wairarapa Balloon Festival starting Friday March 20th. All good fun.

And a little close proximity flying is always a bit of fun

So Wairarapa here we come. Then onward to Levin.

One Month Out.

2009-03-10T12:03:00.004+13:00

30 days to go and things are gathering steam! We're now on the Living Channel events website (http://www.livingchannel.co.nz/events.php?mid=4)! This is exciting for reasons I can't even begin to understand...
By the bye I am entering this post from the Quick Blog Gadget on my iGoogle page. While some of these little gadgets can be a bit flaky, affecting the page itself, it does create a useful one-stop place to keep tabs on what's a-happening in your virtual world. I'll be using this and other tools to keep you updated on Lift Off Levin as quickly as possible from the event itself.

Aand we're back...

2009-03-04T21:34:00.058+13:00

What? It's only been four years. Hardly any time at all. Of course there has been a lot of flying between here and the last post. The reason for restarting the blog was to reflect on the changes of the last four years. For a start the old ZK-FBQ (or APW as it was known) has been replaced by ZK-PUF, or just Puff as he is fondly known, a Kavanagh 90 entering its third year of service as an educational and awareness tool for the Asthma Foundation (with a bit of help from some corporate sponsorship). Actually it was a bit of a hammers and handles arrangement; FBQ was sold to Levin pilot Nathan Murray, while ZK-PUF was the result of an older Kavanagh balloon that Denis had purchased combined with a new envelope. While the extra basket space of FBQ is sadly missed, Puff has done many appearances at schools and festivals, proving a bit easier to handle, as well as the regular round of New Zealand Balloon Fiestas, except of course at the Balloons Over Waikato event, where we are not welcome (this is a separate post all on its own, but suffice it to say that you cannot criticize the organising team at BoW for treating balloonists shabbily and expect to get away with it. Nosiree). It's probably just as well then that the Hamilton event is no longer my "home" event, as I am now living in Wellington with my fabulous partner Sonja and her two boys, Ziggy and Stone and a mad cat called Tazzie. Working part time has allowed me to spend more time helping out organising the event in the Horowhenua, now known as Lift Off Levin, and I have joined the committee to assist with that in any way I can. And the momentum is gathering: the event is scheduled for the coming Easter weekend, April 9 - 14, just over a month away. It will be our main flying event this year, as the Wairarapa Fiesta has been reduced to a three-day event as the economic squeeze has found it hard to gather sponsors for the larger events. We were hoping to take Lift Off Levin into expanded territory also, but the "r" word has meant we have to keep it in a holding pattern for this year and can just concentrate on running a successful and fun event.

A step back first. The seeds of this expansion plan were sewn at last year's event. The NewArtland documentary and setting up on the beach on Oriental Parade in Wellington gave Denis the impetus to realise that there were many things that local pilots wanted to try beyond the standard flying events and enjoyed flying or inflating in new places.

Another event that further fertilised his active mind was a promotional exercise for the Asthma Foundation just prior to Balloon Day, where he (in Puff) and Chris Bransgrove in Remax inflated on a wide pier at the Viaduct in Auckland.

View Larger Map

It made the New Zealand Herald, so was a very successful enterprise. It went kind of like the clip below:

Armed with this experience, Denis set about developing the idea of a balloon tour to be added to Lift Off Levin, making its way up the North Island, stopping and flying at various locations (including re-experiencing ourselves with Taupo), culminating in a Nightglow in Auckland. As it was coming together I arrived on the scene in Wellington, so was able to help out with the promotional material and we set about seeking sponsorship for the zero gravity tour. This included forwarding a DVD of our previous and planned exploits to potential sponsors.

But then of course things slowed down a little - okay, a lot. With the funding set for Lift Off Levin, and without a major naming-rights sponsor to back the tour, it was decided that we should do what everyone else was doing: tighten the belt another notch and steady-as-she-goes. That's not to say that there won't be some fun and excitement at this year's event - there is already another exciting little side trip to Wellington planned. More news soon.

Taupo in the Springtime

2005-08-18T10:54:00.003+12:00

But Wait There's More!

2005-08-10T10:30:00.001+12:00

Just when you thought the organised side of Hot Air Ballooning in New Zealand had finished, a kindly promotions board organises a Nightglow to be held in the depths of winter. Not that we're complaining - there will be a small gathering of us at Taupo on Saturday August 16 to put on a bit of a show for the folks down by the big lake. Fingers, toes and everything else are crossed for the weather at the moment. We'll keep you posted.

Sunday AM: Final Packdown

2005-04-17T17:41:00.000+12:00

Last day. Last flight. And as it turned out, last chance to get the cash as the junior Balloonmeister (they had run as a father and son team) decided to re-run the cash grab (not the organisers it should be noted). As it turned out the fluky conditions meant that still no one got near the target pole and instead made for wee dips in the lake before flying over to the Hamilton East area and landing.

Because of the rubbish Propane gas (actually it was probably LPG, a propane/butane mix) Denis had to drop a passenger today, which of course turned out to be me as I was the only one left who could drive the vehicle. Still, Elisabeth was on board to fly the Hamilton flag (and I know if it came to a choice I'd choose her over me as well) and taking some of her unusual snaps, like this one for instance.

The landing proved tricky in a funny sort of way as well, as the conditions were so light on the ground that it became difficult to get the balloon down without dropping it from the sky. Upon landing Denis declared that he was quite happy to be on the ground now, and despite the fact that I'd been on the deck that morning, I knew how he felt. It would be a hard thing to say you were sick of ballooning, but I guess we were tired, if not of it, then certainly from day after day of flying.

The frustrations of Wairarapa nearly three weeks before seemed a distant memory as we sat down for a farewell lunch and prizegiving. Even that was a bit of a hoot as Denis managed to buy a special shape balloon of the Sydney Harbour Bridge in the charity auction for $60. The plan: paint it up and use it as a static display (it has been decommissioned) at next year's Levin event. And I guess for this blog that will be the next phase, the beginnings of next year's events. It may come up as another blog, but I'll keep you posted. Until then, you're clear above, so fly on.

Saturday Night

2005-04-16T23:30:00.000+12:00

Nightglows are a funny business for balloonists really. While it is a great thing for the crowd to watch, from a pilot and crew point of view they are a little, well, tedious basically. We get there mid-afternoon and have to be basically locked into the place while all the traffic arrives. We wait around, then semi-inflate while it's still daylight, then get it all up just after dark, burn for about 45 minutes then pull down and pack up in the dark, normally while the firework show is on. Ohh and ahh and it's all over. At least these days we get a decent nosh at the end (crew used to be locked out of the end-of-glow gatherings).

This year the glow worked fairly well, with just a few radio glitches and a dodgy character named Guido. Heaps of burning done, so subsequently lots of venting. I took over the burner from Denis after the condensation on the cow burner (the soft flame used for the best "glow" effect)caused the metal around the fitting to freeze, making it very uncomfortable to use. I had gloves on, so I took over. And we had fun co-ordinating the burns and all that stuff. Even with the gloves on, I had a dead little finger by the end of the glow because it had basically snap frozen.

I had a scan over the interweb for Nightglow images, and particularly of yours truly doing his thing on the burners. About the closest I came was this set of images, which despite being positioned very close to us, couldn't seem to get a decent exposure where you could see any detail of what was going on. We may be revelling in the digital age, but there are some very ordinary images out there folks. Back in my film days I'd have been there with a tripod and a B exposure to make sure I got a good shot...

No Balloons at Nightglow

2005-04-16T21:42:00.000+12:00

Something a bit different as baskets without envelopes provided a musical respite for the other complete units.

Us at Nightglow in Hamilton

2005-04-16T21:36:00.000+12:00

I'm in there somewhere. Marie comes up trumps with the photos again.

Tethered Rides

2005-04-16T17:04:00.000+12:00

This was my only flying experience over the three weeks due to tricky flying conditions - tethered rides for the public shared with Daisy (Denis' daughter, also doing pilot training). This was mainly because we needed to clear the tanks of the poor quality gas we got from one of the refuelling points. It was all good, gave heaps of people of different ages a ride - except for the last group who only got about a ten-foot flight due to running out of gas halfway up on the rope. I'm the reason why the balloon is listing to the right in this photo.

Saturday Morning

2005-04-16T14:30:00.000+12:00

It was Cash Grab time, where skillful flying allows you to pluck a bag of money off a pole, so everyone gets a bit serious about it. But this didn't mean we couldn't expose more people to the fun of flying. This time friends Rob and Natasha got to head for the lake, this time with a serious goal in mind. As it turned out, with the shifty conditions and without a lot of steerage, no one really got close to getting the cash, so like Denis and passengers they flew on to the northeastern suburban sprawl of Hamilton. Before, during and after the flight Natasha took heaps of photographs, which is something we really don't get a chance to do. So she has documented the whole event that is a flight quite nicely. So check out "The Anatomy of a Balloon Flight" in this slideshow.

Friday Night Parade

2005-04-15T22:06:00.000+12:00

Denis decided, probably quite wisely, to take a break from the flying this evening, but we entered into the spirit of things by cruising down the main street of Hamilton firing off the burners at regular intervals in convoy with several other balloonists. All in the name of event promotion you'll understand. D had arranged for us to be towed by a convertible 80's Mercedes, so we all looked the part and I had furnished Jonty with a supply of water pistols, which, on reflection, may not have been such a hot idea. Daisy, Elisabeth myself and Jonty all took turns on the burners as we headed down the street. It was kind of weedy with the band and marching girls and stuff, but at the same time it was fun, I guess because it was something different.

After that we headed out to where I lived for a bit of a meal. I had had the notion that we might be able to do an inflate and have like a mini Nightglow with some folk from work invited, but it was so totally dark outside when we got out there that I just ended up doing the same as the parade and giving the burners a bit af a blast for the folks. Disappointing for them, but ah well, it would have meant more work for us.

Friday AM

2005-04-15T18:38:00.000+12:00

Mangakino say the sponsors. Mangakino. two hours driving to a town where you can't fly because it's surrounded by lakes and mile upon mile of pine trees. With all apologies to Mangakino, the idea of getting out of bed at four in the morning to go and do a tethered flight in the middle of nowhere seemed more of a young man's game. So we didn't go. Note to said sponsor Mighty River Power: if you are going to sponsor an event, do just that - don't start dictating to the entrants that they have to take passengers every single day and then have to travel to far-flung spots (and some were seriously flung - like to Turangi, a full three hours down the island) with nary a petrol voucher in sight. Note to event organisers: send the locals who haven't travelled to get to the event and younger balloonists who are up to the early-morning travel to these distant spots. Turangi. For Pete's sake.

Anyways, having got alot of that grumble off our chest the previous evening, we ambled out to a launch spot with the intention of a lake fly-over and then on. Newby today was associate Sir Michael from Auckland, then Denis (obviously) Dave and Daisy, Lissie, and then I clambered in. Which left no one to drive, but that was okay, because it was a better day for flying than driving anyways.

We launched and flew in tandem with the Bransgroves in Remax, coming over the lake watching the eerie swirl of patterns on the water. As it turned out the last few feet above the lake was really hard to break through, but D slid it down and gently into the water - the soles of our feet were gently dampened.

Then we flew on through what were fairly flukey conditions. It become clear that we were going to need a sort of quick drop and glide for the landing and Denis chose the number two ground at Waikato Stadium. When you've flown with Denis so many times, you kind of take for granted his experience, but that landing just reminds you that he's been doing it for a long time and he's very good at it. The drop took us to the goal line at one end of the field, the glide then swept along its length, keeping the light standards to our right, and then with a final drop, mindful of the grounds staff pride in their pitch, plonked it down over the goal line like a showboating centre-threequarter with about the same impact. Not a skidmark in sight and handy enough to the posts for the conversion. Perfect.

Then Denis called a cab to go and get the vehicle, and I put a scorch in the scoop because I didn't turn off the pilot light before we pulled down. Doh! Kind of reminds ya who the experts really are.

Thursday Night Shuffle

2005-04-14T20:29:00.000+12:00

Evening flights can be a funny business. It's usually a case of waiting for the wind to drop, but not so much that you're left hanging there, then hoping that you don't run out of daylight at the end. And that dropping wind can play some funny tricks. As it did in this case, with everyone taking off fairly well apart in time and distance and then all bunching up towards the end of the flight, with the unusual conditions funnelling everyone together and haing to do some fairly serious manoeuvring. Passengers on this flight were the ever-present Dave and Daisy (in Hamilton at least), workmate Kim and a chap I dragged that was standing around watching. Denis had wanted him to drive, but I gave him the ride anyways as I figured the retreive could get tricky, so I took the ground option.

And it did prove as tricky a retreive as the flight. As the balloons bunched up, they did so over one of Hamilton's main arterial routes in rush hour, with crews and other mad balloon chasers (who can be a real problem on a retreive) joining the frey.

So it was gridlock above and below. It was tedious on the ground, but quite exciting in the air - although the first-timers were blissfully unaware that this sort of traffic jam wasn't a normal part of the flight, particularly towards the end of it. Meanwhile, on the deck, even when it came time to land in the suburbs it was still a problem with the neighbours jumping in their cars (does anybody walk anymore?) and driving to the landing sites and choking up the back streets.

As it was Denis put down on a school playing field with three or four others and I missed them by a street and they'd already ripped out, but we were there to lend a hand in the final stages of the packdown amongst hordes of kids. Workmate Kim was buzzing. Turned out our unknown passenger was a plastic surgeon at the hospital - the favour of giving him a ride could come in handy when it comes time for that reconstruction...

Shadowland

2005-04-14T14:57:00.000+12:00

Shadowland, originally uploaded by madballoonz.

Thursday AM Flight

2005-04-14T14:39:00.000+12:00

Competition time, so everyone disappeared out to the south of Innes Common to catch the prevailing southerly wind. A park out Glenview way provided our launch site, flying newbies this time were my nephew Brett who had been helping out and had done a good job on the retreive from farmland the day before, my cousin-in-law Chris from Auckland, and a woman who was supposed to fly with us last night, but for obvious reasons didn't (see previous posting). Lissie and I followed on the ground. It became clear from takeoff that there was more left shift than previously thought and Denis promptly disappeared into the industrial wasteland of Kaihikatea Drive. A quick touchdown after a short flight and the decision was made to relaunch slightly further east to get the right angle back towards the lake. After a couple of false starts for launch sites we set up on a green patch and reinflated. During this time the dreaded wind came back up again and once again the decision was made to rip out. I guess it was disappointing for the first time fliers only getting twenty minutes in the air, but they had one good landing against the possibility of a very rugged one later on. After two set-ups and one and a half packdowns, how did I feel?

Exhausted, originally uploaded by madballoonz.

Evening Flight

2005-04-13T22:33:00.000+12:00

The Wind was still up, but everyone got out on the field to set up. The wise heads (Denis included) had a look at what some of the pacesetters were doing on their inflations. One of the first up, an Australian, was struggling to keep the balloon on deck as the wind shifted around. He had the opportunity to rip out the top at any stage, but he proceeded to load a photographer and take off. Well, not so much take off as motor across the ground at about twelve feet off the deck. He didn't seem in any hurry to climb, or the wind from above was keeping him down, but he then proceeded to go clanging a scaffolding that was strategically placed in his path. Which would have been okay if he'd either climbed out of it or just ripped out there and then. Instead the dangling crown line hooked around the scaffolding and made the decision for him - he was coming down, but not on the safe side of the scaffolding. Instead he was spun on to the road side of the scaffolding and had to put down amongst parked cars and traffic. The local paper (whose photographer was on board) put a spin on it, saying it was a measure of his skill that he managed to land between two cars without any further damage. However, in my book, a true measure of his skill at the very beginning, while the basket was pirroetting about on the ground, with the balloon gyrating above it, would have been for him to not bow to the pressure of taking the pretty young blonde photographer for her first flight, ripping out and saying "Sorry guys it's too windy to fly". That would have been brave - not foolhardy.

Watching that unfold left that dry taste in the mouth. And after watching that, the mouth of our own envelope that had been pulled from the bag in preparation for the possibility of flying was packed firmly back in. So here's an image of better times, from the Mass Ascension this morning

Hamilton, oh Hamilton, Biggest little city ina Noo Zealand

2005-04-13T12:49:00.000+12:00

MassAssHam1, originally uploaded by madballoonz.

When the Mass Ascension rolls around, you kinda forget the wobbly wheels of the event organisation - the blood starts pumping as you work on inflating around thirty other balloons. Except there maybe weren't thirty balloons. And the conditions were a little breezy, so people didn't muck around on the ground, so therefore the "mass" part was lost from the ascension. Our biggest surprise was when a woman wandered up to us and announced she was riding with us this morning, as a treat from the sponsors. Great, thanks for telling us at the morning briefing organiser dudes. Anyway, it's kinda hard to argue the point when you're ready to roll, so we bundled her in.

And we trundled along, at a fairly good clip - a nearby pilot with all the gears clocked between 40 and 45 km/h, which in a balloon is moving along. Tricky little wind at Flagstaff started pushing us backwards, so rather than risk an awkward landing we headed for the country, where a highlight was being pursued by a hawk, watching the determined look on his face as he steadily beat after us thinking "man, if I bring this down I'll be eating for a month."

We lost him as we had to gain considerable height over power pylons (probably more than Denis was comfortable with). That combined with the windspeed meant this had the potential to be an interesting landing, but Denis dropped it with a double-hop and a twist on one corner and down - no drag. In fact I can't recall ever having a drag-landing with Denis and only one tipover in the five years I've been flying with him. I think this is mainly down to him making his decision on the landing before he even takes off, which is why those two pull-downs all that time ago in Masterton make sense. But more on that later.

Back in Hamiltown

2005-04-12T17:55:00.000+12:00

Now I must admit that although the dating is for the day, this blog is being done in retrospect. Oh I tried to keep it up to date on the road, but the vagiaries of Public Libraries and other internet sources meant that a fair few of my posts disappeared into the ether (I see they have something now called "recover post" - translation: gee I hope I can get it back...). It has given me the opportunity to look back on the events of these past few weeks and find out if my initial feelings about the situation still held. This preamble is basically because the feeling I had back on this day has now been reflected in a bit of a bunfight in the local media.

Tuesday was registration day for Balloons Over Waikato - the premiere international event on the New Zealand ballooning calendar. Denis, as always, was going to be arriving late. he had been told that there was going to be no accomodation available, but one of the entrants had dropped out, so I was going to see if we could use his room when I went down to register as crew. But at the registration tent things seemed very chaotic. Entrants were arriving with no prior details about where they were staying, where to refuel, they were just finding out as they arrived. Those that were travelling later were literally in the dark about where they were headed.

At the Balloonists dinner that evening at the Waikato Stadium (which seemed an odd time to have it anyway, before the event actually began), there were basically a bunch of confused balloonists and it just had the feeling that the wheels were about to fall off. Y'know the sensation when the cart starts veering a bit and you're thinkin' "uh oh, this ain't right". The food was okay, although despite haggling with the organisers, I still wasn't sure if Denis had accomodation when he would finally arrive. So probably like many of the entrants I went to bed a bit concerned. Just what ya need with an early start the next morning.

Last Flight In Levin

2005-04-11T14:42:00.000+12:00

Starting to recover from my flu and after all the running around on the ground, I must admit I had a serious urge to be in the air this morning. And Denis duly obliged by bundling me into the basket with a few others who had volunteered their time to the event. One such person was Daniel, who had done a marvellous job organising the volunteers into teams and setting them loose on the balloonists. He initially seemed keen to give his ride to others, but we finally got him into the basket. As we took off he was very quiet, and it wasn't until I turned to him after about 15 minutes in the air that he actually spoke and relaxed a bit. It was a strange wee flight. It was a lovely morning with a beautiful view up and down the coast and back to the ranges (I'm trying to track down photos), but there was very little wind, and what of it there was, was very close to the ground. It was an odd sensation of ascending into stillness, just sitting in the air going nowhere. The higher we went, the less we moved - in fact at one stage over the main highway we started drifting backwards. After the discussions pre-event with CAA, there did seem a certain irony in the safest flying being at the lowest altitude.

Welly Over Levin (Photos by Marie) Originally uploaded by madballoonz.

So the flight became a park-hop through Levin as we angled to reach the target line at the furthest park, swapping passengers and working the balloon around the parks on the ground to get the best angle. We figured as the organisers that if we couldn't win by fair means we would basically cheat. With the conditions so still we were eventually able to lead the balloon towards the line from the ground, until we were ransacked by one of the other crews who took exception to our nefarious methods. So we landed pretty close to the line and took kids young and old for tether flights to finish off what was a very special event. While it was great to be heading back to Hamilton and to sleeping in my own bed, as I cruised back up the North Island, I felt that I was leaving a little something behind in Levin - the possibility that a balloon event could be about fun for the participants and spectators, without a heavy corporate mentality breathing down their neck looking for a return.

Sunday Morning - On Target

2005-04-10T18:34:00.000+12:00

It really did feel like the morning after following last night's successful Nightglow. But everyone stirred themselves for a spot of skill testing with a marker drop exercise. Being a pretty rough and ready event we didn't actually tell the pilots where the target was, but most managed to find their way somewhere close to the target - some very close (some had two goes tho'). Unfortunately another skill test was in the touchdown, as the wind picked up and gave a few some pretty hairy landings. All returned safely however, although some balloons (and balloonists) were sporting some minor damage that would need repair. No snaps as I was far too busy on the ground to take pics.

With the wind up and about, Sunday afternoon was a no-fly zone, except for Brian Boland, who launched one of his highly maneuverable sport balloons and headed for town at a great rate of knots. The rest of us just watched from the ground.

Setting The Night On Fire?

2005-04-09T23:55:00.000+12:00

Saturday morning in Levin. And it's raining. steadily. Solidly. Suddenly we know how the Wairarapa organisers felt. Although the success of the event for balloonists did not hinge on the Nightglow, they are hugely important for the public and a way of generating revenue to cover all the work that had been done and also get the ball rolling for next year. A washout? It didn't bear thinking about.

As the day wore on (we didn't fly that morning) the rain stopped, but the wind continued. Early in the afternoon Denis was faced with making the call - pack it down or carry on. It basically got to a point where we had to carry on because everything was starting to roll anyway. As it turned out, the wind dropped we threw open the gates and waited for we didn't know what.

A few pilots flew out from the Showgrounds, the stallholders set up and the people started trickling in. The big difference with this Nightglow was that people were allowed to mingle amongst the balloons instead of being stuck miles away. We even half inflated an old 210 balloon (very large) and let people wander through it to check out what balloons actually were. Balloonists were saying the interaction was great and they were getting intelligent questions asked about their sport.

Pretty soon the trickle become a flood and as darkness fell people came through the gates in a rush. In fact we got a bit overwhelmed by it all. by 7pm the balloonists were ready to pull down, but the people were still coming through the gates. In the end we stopped charging for the last half hour or so and let people come in and check out the remains of the show. And it all turned into this big sort of party. Even after the pilots had had a meal and were heading home, people were still milling around enjoying the scene. Estimates put the crowd at 15,000. I think that was a little on the high side personally, but it wouldn't have been far short of that. A magic night.

Pre-Nightglow

2005-04-09T16:46:00.000+12:00

Some interesting photos that I received recently from Levin were taken by Marie, who with other half Dan were in the Generation 4 balloon at the event. Some shots of something I missed due to organising other things was early on in the Nightglow and that was of Denis' old 210 balloon being cold-inflated on the ground and then people let loose inside. Such a simple idea but people really got a buzz out of it as for most it was the first time they were able to get really up-close to a hot-air balloon - and inside one to boot.

The Ol' 210 (Photos by Marie)

2005-04-09T16:42:00.000+12:00

Playing around inside. Huge Fun.

The Ol' 210 (Photos by Marie)

2005-04-09T16:40:00.000+12:00

Or creating your own window to have a look inside.

Later That Same Day...

2005-04-08T23:51:00.000+12:00

After the Mass Ascension the wind lifted quite considerably. Just on sunset we gathered at a field expecting it to drop, with us spread out all over the show. I borrowed a small boy's bicycle to get from person to person and proceeded to destroy it, bending the rear wheel to some crazy angle (not before it had gained revenge by piching me headforth over the handlebars however). The wind did not drop and most of stayed groundbound. Two balloons inflated and flew. One was Brian Boland (naturally), while the other was one of NZ's World Championship representatives Mike Oakley, who with considerable skill launched and flew his balloon straight outta town, landing not too soon later, also on the beach. The rest of us stood back and admired the skills, then went and had Fish n Chips and Pizza.

Levin Levitates

2005-04-08T22:41:00.000+12:00

Levin 05 Mass Ass 3
Originally uploaded by madballoonz.

Sorry, I have to stop doing those awful illiterations for titles. But here we are, 10 balloons airborne over Levin. That may not sound like many, but NZ's first fiesta in Hamilton had four balloons attend - so I think ten on the first morning is a pretty good effort. I heard the comment that the Mass Ascension somehow sounds religious and rude at the same time - I'm not going to say any more about that one. It was quite a tough time for the new crew volunteers who had not done any inflations before (our theory was how can you train crew when every pilot has variations on their inflation methods - teach 'em yourself on the job), but everyone came through admirably. Not all the balloons are in the photo (these are off my phone if they don't look the best, but it was all I had), but as Mass Ascensions go this one was pretty impressive, because all the balloons lifted off together and then bunched in the sky with a little nudging goin on(more pics at http://flickr.com/photos/madballoonz/sets/240808/), before gently sailing away to landing sites not too far away from one another on the northern edge of town. It was all good fun and jolly and somehow that much more special for being a part of making it happen. What was especially great was seeing the kids from Foxton still in their pajamas watching the sight of the balloons flying over in close formation heading for the countryside. I lost where they headed to, but was delighted to find out later that they had made their way to the landing site and had all posed in front of balloons and baskets and had a great old time. That makes it special. Also important was that Denis flew our major backers, the owner-operator of the Levin New World Supermarket and also the Mayor and his wife. Oh and Brian Boland flew to 7000 feet then landed on the beach. That's just cool.

Levin Is A Go (Almost..)

2005-04-07T20:01:00.000+12:00

Levin Thursday 05
Originally uploaded by madballoonz.

After a busy day of organising this and that, our briefing time for the arriving balloonists was coming up fast. So what did we do? Went flying of course! Four of us who had arrived early gathered at a park on the edge of town and flew back across the city just on dusk.

This created a huge amount of interest with people jumping in their cars and tearing around after us. The other three balloonists landed in a large field on the other side of town. Denis flew on from the traffic jam and landed just as the wind dropped in a rather startled market gardner's car park. But it was all part of the fun and a great lead-up exercise.

This meant our "briefing" ended up being beer n nibbles (no hors de ouvres) and a friendly chat with everyone as they arrived in the evening. Things were definitely beginning to build...

Livin' In Levin

2005-04-06T23:31:00.000+12:00

Well, it kinda felt like it anyways. After a brief rest in Wellington, it was back up the coast to Levin for the next four days to get into the nitty-gritty of organising our "own" Fiesta. This event was always aimed to be organised from the balloonists perspective, sponsors were being taken care of by a single balloon (Denis') to avoid putting pressure on pilots to have to fly other people apart from those they wanted to take. Balloonists were paid an amount relative to their participation (some could not make the whole event) and could then arrange their own feul and accomodation and food - so they could go luxury and burn it up, or go budget and come out with something at the end. having said that, we suddenly started to have a new-found respect for the professionals who organise the other events - even though they may not always know much about ballooning, the peripheral stuff takes up so much time and effort it is astounding.

In some ways we felt a little removed from it until the Tuesday night, when we had a meeting of volunteers and interested parties from the community, and suddenly it became very real. Here were a group of people working really hard to bring something special to what some have referred to as a dieing community. We even had our very own protester, who had written letters to the Council and CAA (Civil Aviation Authority - New Zealands regulating body) before before the event had even begun. this gentleman had set himself up as the spokesperson for the people of Levin, questioning the validity and safety of the event. Until now he had been the nagging voice of reason that you could almost believe, but after the meeting it became obvious that he was speaking for no one but himself.

We were also generating some media interest - although like much media interest these days it wasn't particularly well informed. If you check out the link you'll see that they have set an expectation by posting a picture of the two big lovely Buzzy Bee balloons - there was never any way we were going to afford to bring those two to the event. We had the local special shapes and that was going to be about it. To generate the interest in the town we took up local DJ Dave Key from More FM Horowhenua for a flight on the Wednesday morning. With a live radio link and a flight right over the town the effect was astounding and there seemed to be an almost electric atmosphere develop in the town. Could we come up to expectations?

Lift Off? Yaaaaayyyyy!!!

2005-04-03T23:49:00.000+12:00

Finally, some air time. After much careful maneouvring to get us heading over the Key Grab target area - we missed completely. So we landed beside the lake, got a few bods to drag us around the shore a bit and tried again. And still missed. With balloons above us and below us it was certainly an interesting flight, but by no means a long one. Touchdown was safely and gently in a park. So at least we'd gotten something out of a frustrating week. We had been over to Levin a few times where our little event was taking place and had seen that the weather would have been good for flying when it wasn't so in Wairarapa. Would the tables turn the following week and rain on our parade? We'd find out soon enough. Meanwhile it was farewell to the other pilots and a reminder to those flying with us where and when to be there.

Lift Off? So close...

2005-04-02T23:23:00.000+12:00

Lining up at Henley Lake in the early morning light, letting off pibald after pibald go to try and judge the wind, it became obvious that not everyone was going to fly today. So it proved, with a brave few taking to the conditions, including one pilot who took out a fairly substantial chunk of his envelope on a tree. While he was able to safely fly on, it did put a few off taking an early morning dip. After a bit of wandering around, Denis decided to inflate Welly. I was sceptical to say the least, but when the wind dropped during the inflation, I was beginning to think I should start calling him Nostrodenis for being able to pick the conditions. However, there was still too much wind up top, so once more we ripped out and packed away, agonisingly close today.

For the organisers it was a big fingers crossed for the Nightglow. This had to succeeed, otherwise they were staring down the barrel of a lost event. The weather cleared, the wind died and it was a successful event. Nightglows are a funny thing for Balloonists, it is quite a removed experience sitting on the ground firing the burners slightly off-cue and watching everyone else do the same, staring into the darkness where it was assumed there was a crowd. From a distance it must look marvellous, but close-up it's just hard work. But the organisers would have breathed a sigh, and all in it looked good (by the way, if you check the link, we're the balloon just to the left of the winking daisy).

Lift Off??!! Arrrggghhhh!!!

2005-04-01T18:36:00.000+12:00

The April Fool was on us this morning as we trudged out of Masterton in the darkness to Martinborough - a town so enamoured with the empire that the founding colonists laid the streets out in the shape of a Union Jack. The flood waters had receded enough for us to actually reach the town, but it was nothing but greay skies that greeted us there. In misty and then rainy conditions, some balloonists braved the elements to at least give the folk something to see. The Wairarapa Times-Age gets it about right with this one.

Having trudged back to Masterton by about midday, it became obvious that the weather was clearing ever so slightly, and Denis the pilot decided that we would do an inflate on the lawn of the Copthorne Hotel, as we were starting to get a little buggy with the lack of flying. So the inflation went ahead and we managed to get everything upright. Suddenly the sponsors appeared, as they were desparately looking for a return on their investment, so I guess they figured a ride was the least they could expect. Then along came some serious wind and started knocking us about, to the point where the basket was tipped over. It became obvious as we dragged sponsors back to the vertical that we were not going to fly in these conditions, so we ripped out and put it all away again, mildly dispondent. Funny thing was that about thirty minutes later the wind settled and a couple of other balloons took off carting aforementioned sponsors. Denis the Pilot headed to Levin for more organizing over there, while I, having felt like I had already done a day's work, headed off for a bit of rest.

I was awakened late in the afternoon by the roar of engines passing the door of our room. Everyone was off for a flight, and grabbing the chance with both hands as it could well have been their last. With no way of getting our balloon to the site (and no pilot) I tagged along and helped out a couple of other crews get airbourne. And at least there was finally something to smile about for the Wairarapa event. It was quite a buzz.

Lift Off? Not

2005-03-31T08:20:00.000+12:00

Well, we can't say we didn't try. It was obvious that we weren't going to fly first thing in the morning with the weather the way it was, but there was hope for the afternoon. This turned out to be a no go as well, so Denis and I headed to Levin to do some more sorting for the event to be held there next week. This in itself was a bit of fun as Denis is a very gregarious character who can keep you amused and alternately terrified for hours with his conversation and driving.

Lift Off (Still Not Quite)

2005-03-30T11:27:00.000+12:00

As predicted in the last entry, the weather has proved to be the winner on the day, just dropping from the sky at very regular intervals. It was looking ominous on the drive down yesterday and set in just after coming through Eketahuna (find that one on the map). So this morning's Mass Ascension became a Mass Depression - not really, because balloonists take the weather in their stride, it's all part of the sport. The forecast is for clearing, so meanwhile it is an opportunity to enjoy the delights of Masterton on a rainy afternoon. Hmmm. I think a movie may be on the cards.

Lift Off (Almost)

2005-03-28T12:35:00.000+12:00

The time has crept closer. Since my last (and first) blog back in January things have definitely firmed up on the ballooning front - although we don't really like fronts as they can cause havoc with a flight. First thing out of the way was getting time off to pursue three weeks of madness. Having got that confirmed I have had to work my way through the last few weeks of mayhem, but with the goal of March 30 in my sights. Now it is just a day and a bit away. Tomorrow will be for travelling down to the Wairarapa and linking up with my pilot, ready for an early morning mass ascension on the Wednesday morning. Problem is the weather is looking a little scruffy - Easter in NZ is normally pretty patchy weather-wise, so it should be no surprise that it will continue in the week following. But that's all part of the ballooning life - you just have to live with it.

Details of the secret mini-event between the two main NZ ballooning events is firming up. This is to be held in Levin starting April 7 and running through until Monday 11, or even possibly Tuesday 12. As you may have gathered from that itinerary, this event will be a laid-back affair more in keeping with general nature of NZ sport pilot's leisurely nature. There will be a Nightglow organised for Saturday April 8 (I think) with at least 15 balloons participating. Watch this blog for more details.

If you are out and about at the Wairarapa, Waikato or even the Levin event, keep an eye out for us in the Absolutely Positively Wellington balloon. If you want to say high, I'll probably be the one holding onto the rope. If you want to know what I'm doing, ask Auntie Buhabs.

Lift Off

2005-01-21T17:54:00.000+13:00

This blog has been started to take in the Hot Air Ballooning season in New Zealand - three weeks of chaos and mayhem throughout the North Island. This road (and air) trip will be seen through the eyes and ears of a slightly demented crewie who has the ambition to be a pilot (I've done it twice so far - total time in control of about three hours), but not the wherewithall (y'know, the money). So these three weeks just post-Easter are a chance to live the dream for another year. If you are interested in catching up with the events they start in the Wairarapa just north of Wellington and end in the Waikato, based in Hamilton - keep an eye out for the Wellington balloon. In between these two events is a one week window which will be filled with yet more flying and fun - I'll keep you posted on the location of that one.

First stumbling block is going to be getting the time off work as it is smack in the middle of our busy time. I'm at the boss' mercy at the moment, so I'm sucking up big time. Once I get images sussed I'll have some pics of past events up.