The weather has remained good and stable today as we expected after this mornings hot air balloon flight We would again launch close to Norwich with a planned launch time of 18.15 Hrs The only change from this morning was that the southwesterly wind had picked up a little making the launch a little ‘playful’ We were soon heading south of the city up over the Norfolk showground and the agricultural college at Easton staying pretty much south of the A47 It was warmer today and our pay load was just short of 2.7 tonnes with sixteen passengers on board so we were burning fuel at a higher rate than this morning. Still plenty for well over one and a half hours of flight though What many people do not realize is that the higher the ambient temperature the less efficient the balloon or any aircraft for that matter is. We are also getting to the time of year when the arable crops are becoming more established so the name of the game is to find somewhere to land the balloon without offending the landowner. The bottom line is you can safely land the balloon pretty much any where if you had to, however what you are trying to do at all cost is avoid landing in a crop especially from mid May onwards. Well this evening was ‘Game On’ from a passengers point of view they were having a great time from a pilots view I was now getting pretty focused we had passed over the town of Dereham with no ideal landing sites. We were now down low in rural countryside and approached Mr Eagles farm in Scarning behind the grain store was a 15-acre field of spring barley. As we drifted past the farmhouse I spotted Mr Eagle the owner thought for a moment and shouted down ‘can we land in the barley’ — With a response ‘of course you can’!!!! Without any further encouragement we were down, thirty minutes before sunset. A truly amazing flight. I was also very grateful to Mr Eagle and his family a very big thank you.
Dear Robert
Many thanks for the wonderful flight yesterday my grand mother is still on ‘cloud nine’ It was lovely how you involved all the family members and my two children told me is was the best day ever!! The two crew I believe Bob and Peter were also very helpful allowing us to follow and watch the balloon flying low. I know the weather let us down on a few occasions but is was worth the wait we are really looking forward to receiving the flight photos
Carol Burgess