Taking off from Hetton, we flew almost due North to Kilnsey, where after an hour we landed at the side of the road besides the river Skirfare. As it was the balloon's first flight I took my wife and Crew Chief Alan.
It's a beautiful balloon to fly, extremely light and responsive.
We are looking forward to flying again, just as soon as the weather is suitable! More pictures and video on the Galleries page

We are eagerly awaiting the arrival of our latest balloon G-ORGB, which is being manufactured by Ultramagic Balloons, using the very latest ultralight materials from UK company Dunlop Textiles. We expect delivery in April.
The specification includes; A 12 gore, 77,000 cu.ft. envelope in ultralight fabric, a strong but lightweight development using traditional ripstop nylon. The lower panels and scoop are in fire retardant red nomex.

Hot air ballooning is like all other forms of aviation about weight. The lighter the payload the less energy required to lift it. In recent years we have dabbled with ultralight fabric and Tekno beskets with the Hope technology balloon.
This time the balloon is for us and our specification goes to great lengths to ensure that the balloon is as light and efficient as is reasonably possible.

The Tekno basket is roughly half the weight of a similar wicker basket at 40 kgs.
The single Powerplus burner with double liquid feeds and pilot lights is 15kgs.
Fuel tanks can be located either inside or outside the basket if required, leaving plenty of room for a crew of three.