​13/03/17 - Ashton Court AM

We found out the night before that Bristol Balloons' G-BYOX flight was confirmed, so we decided to make the effort and get to Ashton Court the following morning. It turned out to be well worth the 5am start! We arrived at the launch site at 6:40am and shortly afterwards the balloon team arrived. Bristol Balloons bought G-BYOX off its previous owner, who flies G-HPCB, late last year. Much to our surprise, Cameron Balloons vehicles also arrived, as they were going to be test inflating some new envelopes. G-BYOX's basket was set up for the exclusive flight (2 passengers + pilot), and meanwhile Cameron Balloons were getting their first envelope out of the bag. It was an A-105 balloon, which was built in 2016 for the UK. Both balloons were stood up together and G-BYOX took off and headed for Keynsham. This was the first flight of the official ballooning season in Bristol and Bath. The next balloon to be test inflated was for Germany, including the lettering 'balloons, airships, airworks'. It was stood up and pulled down, then re-inflated, possibly due to a problem with the parachute at the top of the balloon. Finally, a new O-31 hopper was tested to end a fantastic morning of ballooning.

Watch our new time lapse video HERE.