This afternoon we had arranged for the hot air balloon to launch from Mattishall golf club. Our passengers were in good spirits looking forward to the flight bathed in the autumn sunshine. A large number of family and friends had also arrived to watch and there was no shortage of help for our crew with help preparing the balloon for its inflation. We were airborne at 17.10 Hrs and ascended to 2,500 feet to savour the view. To our north the coast was in clear view as was the city of Norwich just eight miles to the west. We flew over Welboune common then over the picturesque village of Runhall. As we drift over Hardingham the grand mediaeval church of St Andrew in Hingham is quite a landmark that has dominated the countryside since the 14th century. A more recent landmark to our south was the disused wartime airfield of Deopham Green. From February 1944 to April 1945 this sleepy Norfolk village was transformed with the arrival of the 452nd Bomb Group. Equipped with the B17 flying fortress. During this short time 250 missions were flown with the loss of 110 aircraft and many lives. We had been the air for over an hour and adjacent to the airfield an ideal stubble field was spotted. The balloon landed gently, a big thank you to Mr Phoenix the landowner for allowing family members and local children onto his field to enjoy meeting our passengers. With the balloon ride at an end we toasted our flight with a class of champagne.
Hello Breckland Balloon Flights
Thank you all for making our evening such a memorable occasion. Happy Flying
John Summers