The wife should have been flying in one this evening – but just checked-in and it’s cancelled again. Because of ‘gusty winds’ – it’s bloody lovely out there are the trees are barely moving. How perfect does it have to be fly!!

We booked this in summer of 2019. Obviously delayed because of Covid, but since they’ve been able to fly this is the 7th cancellation. Some it obviously wasn’t going ahead as weather was shite but 3 have been on what you’d think were lovely days.

This is with Virgin if that makes a difference.

They do fly, but the wind thing is a big factor in how. And also where and how they can land.

For me, the landing is the scary part. The only time I have been in a balloon I left early to avoid having to come down with it. Much safer.

I left early to avoid having to come down with it.

This merits futher explanation.

We were lucky, we booked one for Bristol area and it didn’t get cancelled once but other people on the flight had been cancelled multiple times.

Think we flew on the 10th attempt after trying multiple launch sites, some cancellations were so late that we’d already travelled as well.

The pilot and crew will be very keen to fly or they probably won’t get paid so they aren’t cancelling lightly. Commercial balloons tend to fly in weather than will keep private pilots out of the sky so if they have cancelled its probably best for you to be on the ground. The heat is probably a factor too. Just keep re-booking and she’ll get up. The marginal weather is a pain for you but its a pain for the company and their team, too.

The only balloon rides I’ve been on that flew to a schedule were the dawn flights over the Nile near Luxor.
Pretty predictable weather. But even then things can go wrong…
and not just on this occasion

https://www.theguardian.com/world/video/2013/feb/26/egyptian-hot-air-balloon-crash-video

Weirdly I’ve just been on Virgin’s website looking at this as its something the wife wants to do for our anniversary this summer. Going to just book it I think – I can totally see the problems with weather conditions causing issues but I live a 10 minute walk from where they take off so not too much of a chew if they get cancelled at short notice…

This merits futher explanation.

I expect they were hoping someone would say that 😉

but I live a 10 minute walk from where they take off so not too much of a chew if they get cancelled at short notice…

Personally, I’d be going and having a word with them about being on standby for last minute no-shows at a discount if I was that close!

Also regarding weather conditions, I went up in one when I was a kid where fog closed in once we were airborne. Very weird experience being up in the air in a little basket with just white around in all directions. Bloody dicey as the pilot had no idea if we were going to descend out of the fog and find ourselves heady straight for an electricity pylon. The flight was rapidly aborted!

This merits futher explanation.

I expect they were hoping someone would say that

Skydiving… Landing is the dangerous part of a flight, so take a magic backpack and leave when there is still a couple of thousand metres of height to play with. Also works with smaller planes.

Oddly, the jumping makes me quite nervous of the landing part of a commercial flight. It seems wrong.

but I live a 10 minute walk from where they take off so not too much of a chew if they get cancelled at short notice

Means nothing – they can change your take-off venue to suit conditions/availability.

I think it took 5 years and more cancellations than I can remember before I finally got to do mine.

They are a fairly regular sight around Oswestry.

Well I say regular, when its not windy obvs which is quite rare. There has prob been about 10 days in the last 6 months when I have seen balloons, and I dont see them all !

I have a balloon and all the gear if you want to borrow it! You’ll be fine as it sounds like you have all the knowledge you need for this ballooning malarkey..

In all seriousness, wind direction, wind speed at ground level, wind speed at whatever altitude they want to fly at are all some of the factors that you should be grateful they are qualified to to make a good decision on..
Three cancellations so far, last Thursday. Pilot said wind too fast at certain altitude, likely hard/bumpy landing. As I am going with the kids and Mrs DTs he said not willing to risk his 100% safety record or the kids safety. Can’t argue with that. Happy to wait for a suitable weather window.
MiniDTS#2 was a bit grumpy, though.
General fact, anyone with a balloon flight booking becomes a weather expert overnight.

General fact, anyone with a balloon flight booking becomes a weather expert overnight.

Too right! 🙂

It’s a good money making swizz too – hold thousands of peoples money in your bank for as long as possible and invest it to make £££££s!!

It’s a good money making swizz too – hold thousands of peoples money in your bank for as long as possible and invest it to make £££££s!!

Amateurs. Two women I worked with bought expensive tickets to see Elton about three years ago and he keeps cancelling for various reasons plus COVID. Worldwide I’d hate to think how much money is in an agents bank account just for that one tour.

I was given a Virgin balloon flight for my 50th birthday. I think I finally took it when I was 52. All I can remember was that it was a brilliant experience – I’ve forgotten all the cancellations and hassle. This year has been particularly windy, if the headwinds I’ve been cycling into are anything to go by, although this week seems calmer.

Too right! 🙂

It’s a good money making swizz too – hold thousands of peoples money in your bank for as long as possible and invest it to make £££££s!!

Then time it out and keep it. I’m not bitter at all.

Pretty predictable weather. But even then things can go wrong…
and not just on this occasion

https://www.theguardian.com/world/video/2013/feb/26/egyptian-hot-air-balloon-crash-video

*strikes hot air balloon ride from the list*

Jesus imagine the experience of all the passengers when they were shooting up in the sky after the first two jumped!

I got my dad one for his 50th. It was cancelled a few times but eventually the weather gods played ball. Or so we thought. It was so calm he took off from some playing fields in Skipton, went up, hovered for an hour and came back down about 150m to the right on the school roof and had to be rescued by the fire service.

You won’t catch me in one of these death traps. They have a habit of killing people, especially in Luxor.

It was so calm he took off from some playing fields in Skipton, went up, hovered for an hour and came back down about 150m to the right on the school roof and had to be rescued by the fire service.

Similar situations have happened locally, with balloon launches in Victoria Park in Bath, and the Bristol Balloon Fiesta. I’ve seen a balloon launch in Bath, go straight up, to what looked like a couple of thousand feet, then come straight back down. There have been occasions in Bristol on the early morning mass ascents when after an hour or so aloft the balloons have landed in nearby roads, gardens and playing fields.

Many years ago, when the Bristol Fiesta was just starting up, I drove over to be there for 6am launches, this was in the mid-70’s, when you could just walk up to the balloons and chat to the crews. One morning there was a really strange situation with the local winds, which were very light. One balloon launched, and slowly drifted away towards the Avon Gorge and Clifton Suspension bridge. After a little while, it came into sight, heading back towards Ashton Court where it launched from, and where it landed, right on the exact spot! It took on board some more passengers, and took off, repeating the same journey. They flew the identical circular trip at least half a dozen times while I was there, I think they even went under the bridge. It was a perfect morning weather-wise, absolutely clear blue sky and warm sun, but nobody there had ever experienced anything quite like that.

I did get a tethered flight one very foggy morning when it was impossible to fly, in a balloon called Chicky-Boom, styled after Carmen Miranda’s fruit covered hat! I got the celebratory glass of champagne and a lovely enamel pin badge of the balloon as a souvenir. The badge is still upstairs somewhere.

We had a shot on a tethered one in Singapore, isn’t there one like that in the UK?

Maybe not as good but more likely to fly and a damn easier to land. 🤔

Don’t know about taking off but they land quite often.
Mate of mine had a farm to the east of Durham & one night while we at his place having a barbie, a ballon came down in one of his fields, so he goes across to claim landing fees. He did a deal & got some free rides instead.