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HIGH OVER HERTS:
See Gareth's photo gallery here>>
After
my last experience in the air, which was in a glider, I went for
something completely different. This time I ‘got high’ in a hot
air balloon.
I met the pilot and balloon team in Watford at 6.30 in the evening,
where all I saw was a basket sitting in the middle of a field.
We were quickly told that not only were we flying the balloon, we
had to assemble it also. Everyone helped take the balloon out of
the bag and roll it out on the ground, then we were each given a
different job to help inflate the balloon.
Being one of the bigger and stronger passengers, I was given a long
rope and told to keep the balloon on the ground.
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| If
you can't stand the heat get out of the balloon |
However,
the job wasn’t as easy as I had first imagined. Half way through
inflation, I realised my job was actually the hardest job that I
could have been given; the balloon was far from light!!
Once the pilot was happy that the balloon was full of hot air, I
had to run the distance back to the basket and jump in before we
took off.
The
flight was fantastic. We flew at 1,000 feet above the ground, which
gave us a wonderful view of St Albans Abbey and all the swimming
pools belonging to the residents of London Colney.
With the thought of travelling so high I dressed myself with a couple
of jumpers and an extra pair of socks… what I didn’t realise was
that the burners kick out the most tremendous heat I have ever felt.
But, if it kept us above London Colney and not in one of their swimming
pools I was happy. One thing that really amazed me was how sounds
from below us seemed to be amplified. The noise from the M25 and
M1 was much louder in the air than it is on the ground.
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| Eye
in the sky |
As
we watched the sun set, Martin the pilot decided that we would try
and land this monster of a balloon somewhere south of Knebworth;
and when I say try, I really do mean try.
Landing
a balloon is very much a business of hit and miss; you do what the
wind wants and there’s not much you can do to change that.
We began our descent once we had found a bit of land in the area
with no people, animals, over head cables, houses, crops, cars,
rivers… You get the idea!
Eventually, a farmer’s field was announced as the target; he had
harvested his crop so the landing strip was perfect.
The next few minutes went very quickly as we watched in amazement
how Martin dropped us literally only feet above trees and very close
to a telephone line to make sure we were close enough to the ground.
He then instructed us to take up the landing position and hold on
tight! I couldn’t tell you exactly how we landed, or even how far
we were dragged along.
But, I do know that as we came to a stand still back on the ground,
we toppled over and the basket came to rest on its side.
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| Champagne
Charlie |
However,
this isn’t where the experience ends. Before the champagne could
be opened, we had to pack the deflated balloon away.
Even now, it is hard to believe that the huge balloon that took
us up actually fitted into a bag small enough for the back of a
small van.
Eventually I got to toast my flight with a very cold glass of champagne
before we were driven, with the balloon, back to Watford.
I would like to thank all the team at Adventure Balloons, especially
to Martin for an amazing flight and a safe landing. I still wonder
why he felt the need to strap himself into the balloon!?
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