Sunday AM: Final Packdown

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

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

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

Us at Nightglow in Hamilton

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

Tethered Rides

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

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

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.