Bristol International Balloon Fiesta 2016 Review        

The 2016 press launch took place from the Downs (Sea Walls). The solar balloon was first to start to inflating at 6:20am. It was said in the briefing that the direction was towards Pucklechurch and that Bristol Waste, Anana, ABC Flights and BUHABS would be first to fly with the others following behind. As you can see from the photos, it was an amazing launch. Some landed the other side of the Downs, including Doombar. We saw Exclusive Ballooning's Keltbray and Flying Enterprises' Raffaello make their Bristol debut too.

We arrived at the 38th Bristol International Balloon Fiesta on Thursday 11th August at midday. The forecast showed 20mph gusts until after dark, so we were just hoping that the night glow would take place as planned. There was no ballooning action in the arena throughout the afternoon and leading up to the briefing at 6pm. This is because it's impossible to tether a balloon in 20mph+ gusts and it's not worth attempting as it could easily damage the envelope. It was obviously far too windy to fly, but much to our amazement it was announced the night glow would be going ahead.

​The balloon teams with their trailers drove onto the arena to start setting up at around 8pm. Ian Martin, who's in charge of the night glows, would tell the pilots whether or not to pull out their parachutes, depending on the wind strength. The parachute of a balloon is found at the top (the circular part). The 10 second count down started and the teams turned on their fans and started to inflate. The pilots hot inflated and it turned out to be okay, despite the odd gust coming through, moving the balloons around a lot. The balloons were stood up next to each other very close, so they don't move about as much as if just one had tethered. 2 balloons had pull out because they were struggling to keep the balloon under control in the challenging conditions. It was one of the most gusty night glows ever at the fiesta, but they put on a great show for the thousands of people who had arrived at Ashton Court. The usual ones took part, but G-STAV also glowed, returning to Bristol for the first time since 2010. G-BVCN was also a nice surprise.

Friday morning wasn't any good for flying because of the strong winds and low cloud. It's always a huge press morning for the fiesta as it's meant to be the first mass ascent, so lots of tethering took place. Phoenix Balloons inflated the Bristol waste solar balloon before 6am for the crowds to enjoy. Then after the briefing, Exclusive Ballooning inflated their Ricoh Cube special shape. This was its 4th year in a row appearing in Bristol. Their new Longleat Lion shape built by Ultramagic also tethered, being made for Longleat's 50th anniversary and Sky Safari event in September. Flying Enterprises got 2014 title sponsors Hardys and Fishtank stood up.

Lindstrand Media tethered JLL, their only balloon at the 2016 fiesta, as now the Palletways contract has ended. Exclusive Ballooning's brand new Keltbray built by Lindstrand Technologies appeared after glowing the night before. Another new one is BT Sport. The pilot has flown BT G-ZOIZ the last couple of years, but it was great to see the new one.

The Fortnums round balloon and Renishaw were inflated, then G-CBMK joined them. Ballooningmedia began laying out their new Southern Plasticlad balloon for its first ever public appearance. One of the Power Rangers' trailers drove on, but we didn't think they were attending this year. Inside the trailer it was in fact a special shape, the Stowells wine box. It hadn't been out of the bag for 3 years and hadn't flown since the 2007 shapes rodeo right here in Bristol. It was a blast from the past seeing this again, as it was first seen here in 1998. We were told it would appear and possibly fly this year if it passed its C of A a few weeks before, which it did easily. Even though it's nearly 20 years old, it's in superb condition. That was the last balloon to inflate, as after that they started getting pulled down. The wind wasn't much of an issue this morning on the surface, despite the odd gusting whipping through, but up higher at a few thousand feet it would have been far too windy to fly safely. Similar to 2013, it was a great Friday morning of tethering and seeing G-STOW was fantastic.

Sadly as 6pm neared it was even breezier than the morning, so all flying was cancelled. Some sponsored balloons tethered for the TV camera though. BBC Points West were going live at 6:30pm, so they were all ready for then. The sun made a brief appearance, but Taittinger got hit by a strong gust of wind, therefore it had to be pulled down. The next morning wasn't looking much calmer either...

Saturday morning arrived and again the launch was cancelled due to low cloud and wind being too strong. In the pilots briefing the flying committee said they were 70% sure a balloon would get away in the evening, so that gave everyone some hope. The usual ones tethered to give the crowd something to look at. Vauxhall was new to the fiesta this year. It was manufactured by Ultramagic in 2004 was it's type M-77. We didn't expect to see this one this morning!

Next to inflate was G-BOOB, which hadn't been out of the bag for 2 years. The same pilot owns this as Tango G-BUEI. Simbaloo the Longleat Lion was brought to life at the other end of the arena, not in Exclusive Ballooning's usual spot of just in front of the balloonist marquee. Unlike on Friday morning, G-LEAT faced the crowds this time for everyone to enjoy. You can see this superlight balloon take centre stage at Longleat from 15-18th September at the Sky Safari alongside Puddles and Splash the Penguins.

On Saturday afternoon there was an inflation race with the Bristol University Hot Air Ballooning Society, Loughborough University and the new Lindstrand Tech racer. The demonstrator won fairly easily, but all 3 tethered for a while as Ashton Court filled up in anticipation for the evening ascent.

It was looking good for the first mass ascent of 2016 to go ahead and briefing started at 6pm. We entered the balloonist marquee very hopeful to see some flying finally take place. The launch was called on and the gradient was 9-10kts, 500ft wind 12-15kts and surface wind 5-8kts and gusting 10-12kts up to 7pm. The flying committee told the pilots nothing would happen until 7pm because they needed to wait for the gusts to die out, but they didn't. Anyone was allowed to fly, but it was still very breezy so take off and landings were somewhat interesting. Lots decided to wait until the morning however, as it was looking light and variable.

​Fortnum & Mason was stood up just outside the marquee before it got hit by a huge gust. Once everyone knew the launch was going ahead (seeing the green smoke or our social media posts), Exclusive Ballooning entertained the crowds with their Ricoh imagine change balloon, which was built in 2012. G-FMGB was the first balloon to take to the skies, followed by CTS, G-CBMK, JLL and Pattersons. As the first bunch of balloons became airborne it became apparent that conditions were even trickier than anticipated. Some special shapes were pulled by the round balloons, and G-OOEY had false lift very low across the crowds. However, pilots were anxious to fly as they've been waiting two days, so they kept flying. A particularly bad take off was done by G-CIUA, just because of the wind. Bristol Balloons, a familiar sight across the Bristol and Bath skies during the season, inflated and there was a very noticeable rip in the top of the balloon. Bath Building Society caused this as it left Ashton Court. Unbelievably the pilot still decided to fly! Virgin Balloon Flights decided to bring, two A-400 ride balloons to the fiesta for 2016, perhaps copying Red Letter Day's idea from 2015.

New to the fiesta, Greetzz, PH-GRK, a ride balloon from Holland, took off alongside HepcoMotion. The brand new Lindstrand Technologies racer made its second appearance at Bristol, as it took part in the afternoon's inflation race. Badkap all the way from Germany had recently been bought by the same pilot who flies the Snow White and Aston Martin special shapes. They inflated next to Bailey Balloons with their 3 ride balloons, Anana and Bristol & West, which not too long before the fiesta had the top of the balloon replaced.

Once Polar Bear Windows and Taittinger took to the skies, the Despicable Me round balloon operated by the Airship & Balloon Company left for its flight over the city. Of course everyone wanted to see the Minion shape though. G-STAV attended for the first time since 2010. The 'Have a Nice Flight' team flying PH-MAR travelled from Holland to be here in Bristol!

Unipart G-BWEW was a nice one to see, flying with Pollywallets that attended the first ever Bristol Balloon Fiesta in 1979, and is still going strong today! G-CFXP, G-ERRI, Team GB, Team Honey B, Oxford Balloon Company, Tango, Aero, the old Somerfield balloon G-SFSL, BUHABS and Bristol Waste were next to take flight. It was great to see Aero back in the Bristol skies - the envelope last attended in the late 1990s. The Fastrat envelope, although you might not think so, sponsored the 2010 fiesta, though the artwork was somewhat different! Astra were title sponsors six years ago but due to copyright reasons the artwork had to be changed. This was the cheapest option. The last few balloons left the arena, including G-WJAC, G-BYHU and Elite Air's Cash4Cars, leaving Exclusive Ballooning's Ultramagic B-70 special shape tethered.

The launch field had to be cleared very soon after the flying as the glow pilots had to set up their balloons. It was a spectacular night glow followed as always by a superb fireworks display brought to us by Skyburst. The Cameron Balloons superlight envelope glowed extremely well, as most of the balloons did, apart from a few like HS-BRT. This one only took part because it was shipped over to the UK wet in its bag, but the night glow certainly dried it out!

Sunday morning arrived, the launch that many pilots thought would be the first of the 2017 fiesta. The windy conditions didn't stop a large bunch of pilots going for it on Saturday evening, however. We arrived at 5:45am. All the balloons were lead out and the pilots were making their way to the balloonist marquee for the breifing. Everyone knew the launch would be going ahead because of the nice, light winds but the pilots need to know the different wind directions at different heights (typically 500ft, 1000ft and 2000ft). Also the wind direction was a potential problem this morning, with a risk that the balloons could travel close to Bristol airport. The aiport gave them up to 4000ft to operate and the balloonists could not go south of the Northing 67 line without emergency contact with Bristol radar. In the breifing it was also advised to avoid low flying and to move away from the launch site once airborne. It's also important for the pilots to always be aware of where the other balloons are around them, essential this morning because they would be travelling slowly. If there was any steerage at all it would be between the 500-1000ft mark as the winds were slightly stronger there.

​Lots of teams inflated very quickly even though there was no rush to get airborne. They had to wait for the siren which gives the pilots clearance to take off. The light bulb pilot forgot about this and consequently had to sit in the naughty chair in the evening breifing! The Tribute balloon was meant to be the first airborne, as mentioned in the breifing.

Aero, the Longleat Lion, G-ERRI, the Fortnum & Mason racer, Rotork and Unipart G-BWEW were just some that took off towards the start of the mass ascent.

There were well over one hundred balloons taking to the skies this morning as a large amount of the teams hadn't flown previously, but finally the winds were calm enough! Pollywallets was at this launch, and incredibly G-POLY attended the first ever Bristol Balloon Fiesta all the way back in 1979. It was also nice to see Utility Warehouse flying, it's quite unusual to have ride balloons at the fiesta besides the local ones (Ballooning Network, Bailey Balloons, Virgin).

2 of the new Lindstrand Technologies balloons were present, not the hopper, but the racer G-CJGO and round balloon G-OPER. Don Cameron brought along his new D-77 airship, knowing that the winds were going to be light and variable, narrowly missing a mid-air collision with one of the Lindstrand demonstrators! Amongst the usual Bristol balloons was Royal Navy, 2016 being the envelope's last fiesta appearance. Elite Air now have Polar Bear Windows and Cash4Cars only. G-VITL was back at Bristol this year with a new sponsor, because the pilot (in 2015 flying G-CILM), had his new balloon stolen.

Finally the moment had come for Flying Enterprises to fly their Stowells wine box special shape, for the first time since 2007. It was a great sight and we hope the Bristol-built special shape will keep on attending for many years to come. As the last dozen balloons bunched together in the sky, Exclusive Ballooning's Ricoh cube remained on the ground. And it wasn't the only special shape tethered for long, as the BBM&L started getting their two old balloons out of the bag.

Once the flying was over, the British Balloon Museum & Library inflated their two special shapes. First up was the champion sparkplug G-BETF, built in 1977 by Cameron Balloons and de-registered 24 years ago (in 2016). Standing closely it didn't smell the best! Next to be inflated was the golf ball G-PUTT. Made by the same manufacturer, this envelope was previously registered in Luxembourg. The artwork was removed at some point and replaced with the BBM&L's inflation day location, which happens every 2 years in Pidley. The shape didn't look in very good condition, but it is nearly 30 years old. The pilot had to burn a lot more than they'd have to with an airworthy envelope, so after just over 5 minutes it was pulled down. Meanwhile, some hoppers were also inflated. G-SEAT that we saw in 2015 with a basket at the Friday morning ascent in 2015 made an appearance, as well as G-UHOP, which had never attended Bristol before. G-ONCB is the old Sainsbury's flying circus hopper, widely recognised as it made many appearances throughout the 1990s. The most memorable moment being when the five Sainsbury's special shapes (bunch of flowers, carrots, apple, bananas, strawberry) ascended from College Green in 1997, leaving the hopper tethered.

After seeing a fantastic morning of ballooning, we headed back up to Ashton Court late afternoon. It was obvious that the evening ascent would be going ahead because it was around 5kts and great weather. It was the best ascent for photographers by far, with the blue sky giving a perfect background as the balloons drifted into the distance. First Flight were first to take off as usual, this year in Tribute and not A-GAS. Normally the last launch of the fiesta is small, but because of Sunday being the best day in 2016 lots stayed to fly. It was an excellent ascent and it was nice seeing G-BXUO for the first time this year. It attended last year but had completely different artwork, with the Per Lindstrand ' He's Back' on the envelope. Bristol Balloons wasn't used because it was ripped on Saturday, so they used the Ballooning Network ride balloon instead, which hadn't been seen at the fiesta since 2008. 

The 2016 fiesta was a success with 3 mass launches going ahead at the end of the weekend. Of course the weather played a massive part and was far from ideal, but four airworthy special shapes is fairly poor for an international balloon fiesta, it has to be said. We are hoping for many more shapes in 2017. However, the number of round balloons new to the fiesta was impressive. They flew as much as they possibly could.

2016 Balloons that Attended

G-BVCN

Visit Malta G-MLTA

BUHABS G-CDWD

Fishtank G-CDDN

Taittinger G-CEKS

Robert Hitchins G-CFEB

'Tashi' G-TBET

Discover Waterford EI-ECC

Kewtech G-OKEW

HPCB G-HPCB

G-CDGF

Pattersons G-CIHC

cj Hole G-CIHO

Penny G-CFEK

SM Gauge G-JHAA

Snap Surveys G-CCTS

Team Honey B G-DUGI

DatumRPO G-DRPO

Omega G-OMGR

Dribuild G-CHXS

Keltbray G-KLTB

Fortnums G-FMGB

G-STAV

Snow Business G-SBIZ

Bristol Waste G-CIRX

Ricoh Cube G-RCOH

Longleat Lion G-LEAT

Hardys G-HRDY

BT Sport G-CJEI

JLL G-CIGI

Renishaw G-RENI

Stowells G-STOW

G-CBMK

Southern Plasticlad G-CJIH

G-BOOB

Vauxhall G-CCRG

Tribute G-CIZM

Bristol Balloons G-CGZR

Bath Building Society G-CERC

Virgin G-VBAH

Virgin G-VBAO

CTS G-OCTS

'Joyce' G-BSIC

'Betty P' G-CDGN

G-OJEN

Bristol Blue G-UWEB

G-CGVY

Red Letter Days G-PRZI

Red Letter Days G-RLDZ

G-BTSX

G-FWAY

Greetzz PH-GRK

Chateau D'Oex HB-QUD

Sapper G-ENGR

Royal Navy G-OFAA

G-CIUA

G-CCOP

Exclusive Ballooning G-OOEY

Bristol & West G-CBNW

JoinerySoft G-OJMS

HepcoMotion G-CIUB

Unsion G-CCXF

Polar Bear Windows G-OPBW

G-ODRT

Team GB G-GOGB

Bailey Balloons G-CDIH

G-CIND

G-BVWB

badkap D-OKAP

Lindstrand G-CJGO

Despicable Me G-DMEE

ABC Flights G-CIHN

Pollywallets G-POLY

G-ERRI

PH-MAR

Torex G-CBOW

HSBC G-DUBI

G-CFXP

G-SFSL

G-BWEW

Oxford Balloon Company G-OXBA

Tango G-BUEI

Aero G-OAER

G-CELM

Anana G-TOPB

Fastrat G-OSAT

G-BYHU

G-COSY

G-BOWV

G-BYNN

G-WJAC

Cash4Cars G-IBCF

HS-BRT

Cameron Balloons G-CIUK

Above + Beyond G-CIHG

Cameron Balloons G-CDJX

Doombar G-DOOM

Trescal PH-TRE

L.E Electrical Light Bulb G-LAMP

Benfield Reinsurance G-GOAL

Brian Currie G-ODAF

G-LOBO

Red Box G-CDYL

Fortnums G-OTEA

David Hathaway G-BZFD

Rotork G-TORK

David Hathaway G-CHFM

G-WADZ

Utility Warehouse G-PIGZ

Wind Beneath My Wings G-BXXG

G-CBVD

A-GAS G-CDMC

Kubicek G-CFIW

Cameron Balloons G-CGVV

Cameron Balloons G-BZKU

G-BTJD

Miles Architural Ironmongery Ltd G-MILE

Purple Rain G-PURP

G-CBPW

Extra Fuel G-VITL

G-LBUK

G-BOEK

Cameron Balloons Airship G-CIKC

Lindstrand G-OPER

Loughborough University G-CGNJ

G-LOWS

G-OBAB

G-JULU

HB-QCD

ALUK G-CINN

Fairy G-BXYI

Cameron Balloons G-CIJJ

Champion Sparkplug G-BETF

G-UHOP

G-SEAT

G-ONCB

Golf Ball G-PUTT

Earth 2000 G-BXUO

Ballooning Network G-CDIB

EI-BSN