Brian Smith

Aviation Profiles

Weston-Super-Mare

Israeli Independence Day

Flypast and Events

The Helicopter Museum

Doppo’s New Hot Air Balloon

Japan’s F-86s

PLUS:60 Years of Commercial Jet Flying

GLOBAL REACH

It’s a Load of Hot Air

Regular followers of all things ballooning will remember that back in issue 5 of GAM, when Paul Dopson reported on flying at the Icicle Meet, he and his partner, Heaven, had placed an order for a brand new Cameron Concept envelope. This is the story, from the initial concept right through to production and, eventually, the first flight.

In the autumn of 2011, Heaven and I purchased a complete Cameron Viva 77 (left), so that we could fly together and complete Heaven’s pilot training. The 77 (77,000 cubic feet) is the perfect size for two people to both fly and manage easily in terms of ground handling. We knew that the envelope already had a good number of flyingflying hours on it, but it would get us through the winter and allow Heaven to gain her pilot’s licence. Another reason for buying was that the bottom end (basket and burner) was in excellent condition, and the whole package came with a covered trailer.

After a few flights though, it became clear that the envelope had a real thirst for fuel. As envelopes get older the material becomes more porous and heat retention disappears. Generally a balloon will use one litre of fuel a minute so each of our forty litre tanks would give forty minutes flying time. This 77 was flying at nearlynearly three times that rate, making it expensive and also tricky to fly, as it had to be constantly warm or would descend very quickly. So, following my flight at the Icicle Meet, we took the decision to ground the 77 and buy a new Cameron Concept envelope.

We decided on a slightly larger envelope, at 80,000 cubic feet. Although it would generally be just the two of us flying, separately or together, this would allow us to fly our friends as passengers. As a result, the balloon would be flying lightly loaded and this normally increases the envelope’s lifespan. We decided not to take thethe option of turning vents, as with a small basket it’s just as easy to turn yourself in the basket to face the direction of travel, rather than rotate the whole balloon.

So, with the envelope type and size agreed upon, came the really difficult part: what it should look like. The Concept 80 envelope is made up of twelve main sides (gores) and each of these gores is made up of twelve panels. So that gave us 144 panels that we had to coordinate in to a good looking balloon - from a choice of 23 colours! choice of 23 colours!

Cameron supplied us with a blank template and, over the course of a week or two, Heaven, who was in charge of design, came up with a large number of possibilities that we then had to work through. When we had our final three designs we sent them to the factory so that they could be turned in to three-dimensional representations.representations. What followed was lots more head scratching over which was the one to go with, including polls on Facebook and Twitter to help us decide! With our minds made up, it was off to the factory in Bristol to see the material itself and to finalise the design before placing an order.

At the factory we were helped by Julia Dalby, who showed us rows and rows of different coloured material, and Jonathan Smith, who would be cutting out the envelope. Luckily, only one change of colour was needed to finalise the design. A tour of the factory ensued and we were taken through the build process, which contrasts old and new technologies. contrasts old and new technologies.

Balloon envelopes are of sewn construction, made of high tensile nylon material stitched to load bearing tapes. Cameron offers two main types of material which can be used in its envelopes. Hyperlast is silicon-coated nylon with a tight weave, which is very strong and durable. A large passenger ride balloon would normally bebe made completely of Hyperlast as the envelope would be flown more and, as a working balloon, it needs to have a good lifespan. Most medium size balloons would have

Above - Rows of material ready to be transformed in to balloons, the bins contain red panels ready for assembly for a well-known balloon operator

Above - The cutting hall where the envelope panels are carefully cut from rolls of material

just the top third or half of the envelope made with Hyperlast, for added strength and longevity. As we had already decided that we would be flying our balloon lightly loaded, we decided upon Cameron’s standard material called Caliber. This has a ‘tartan’ weave to give it extra strength and to contain any rip damage. ItIt also has protective coatings applied to make it airtight, resist water and dirt and to protect against mould. Caliber is lighter than Hyperlast, which would be an advantage for us, the disadvantage being that Hyperlast has a longer life span, but, with our light loading, we should be able to eke out the flying hours to compromise.compromise. The parachute in the top of the envelope is made from Hyperlast, as standard. The bottom of the envelope and the scoop are made from fire resistant Nomex, which protects the envelope from the burner flame in these crucial areas.

The strength of the envelope comes from load tapes which run vertically and horizontally. Without this material a balloon envelope would look pretty much like a spider’s web. The Concept 80 has twelve vertical tapes which run the whole height of the envelope and are attached to the steel flying cables which connectconnect the envelope to the bottom end. The horizontal load tapes act as rip stoppers so that any damage to the envelope will be limited in extent.

The material is rolled out on long cutting tables and the individual panels are hand cut from templates which are then ready to be sewn together. This is where the old technology comes in and a team of seamstresses work away with their sewing machines to slowly assemble the envelope. Our small 80 envelope wouldwould take about a week to sew together; larger passenger ride balloons take around two and a half weeks while those that have artwork take longer still. A high-tech CAD cutting machine is used where artwork is required. This maximises the usage of the material, cutting down on waste, and this artwork is then usually sewnsewn on to the panels. Once complete, the

Above - The high tech CAD cutting machine that cleverly cuts out artwork in the most economical way

Above - Our envelope panels in the process of being cut out

Above - Stitching our panels together to form the envelope a steady hand is needed to work the machine

envelope and parachute are rigged with their control lines and it then goes through a rigorous inspection process, like any aircraft, before it’s certified.

With our order placed we were allocated a construction number and just had to wait our turn for a build slot. Then came the decision over a registration. Should we go for a standard in-sequence registration or something a bit different? We decided toto personalise our registration. The UK register prefix is “G-“ followed by four letters. We spent several hours trying to come up with an interesting five letter word starting with “g” that hadn’t already been allocated. No luck there. Then a further few hours trying to identifyidentify an interesting four letter word with ballooning significance. We had been beaten to those too. Finally we settled for our initials, so our balloon would become G-HCPD. All balloons are named and ours would be called Christopher Robin after my late father.

Below - Artwork cut and removed, the letters are arranged in the best way to avoid material wastage

Right - Our very own private registration!

Main - Heaven flying her GFT in the balloon on the left with matching support balloon

Whilst our envelope was under construction we borrowed a Cameron Viva 90 so that Heaven could continue her pilot training. After a couple of weather false starts I’m pleased to say that Heaven passed her GFT (General Flight Test) on 6 March and successfully completed an hourhour long solo straight afterwards. Two pilots in the house; now all we needed was our own balloon!

Two weeks later and we received the news that the envelope was completed and had been test inflated without any issues. For the airworthiness certification to take place I took our bottom end to the factory so that it could be inspected. To fly as an aircraft the balloon certification includes the envelope, basket, burnerburner and fuel cylinders complete. Finally the call came that the balloon was ready for collection but we would have to wait for the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) to process the registration paperwork before we could fly it. With the CAA paperwork completed it was just down to the weather for the balloon’s first flight, butbut it seemed that the good weather in March and early April had left us.

Left - Inside the envelope fully inflated and ready to fly

Opposite - Sunlight glinting off the envelope as I embark on its first flight

Constant checking of the weather forecast and an early morning slot appeared on Wednesday 11 April. The forecast proved correct and, at dawn, we rigged the balloon for its first flight. As we pulled the envelope out of its bag we were more than impressed with the colours we had chosen. colours we had chosen.

Blowing cold air in to the envelope, the balloon started to take shape and, with Heaven in control of the burners, it rose to its feet. With dawn breaking the envelope really started to shine in the sunlight. I took a few pictures before changing places with Heaven so that I was ready to fly.

II have witnessed plenty of aircraft first flights but this was to be my first as pilot. Putting my faith in the skill of everyone at Cameron Balloons, I used the burner to warm the envelope. Straight away it was noticeable that the new envelope was going to be super-efficient, especially with justjust one person in the basket. The balloon was eager to fly, the ground line was released and, with minimal heat, it started to ascend. Compared to the 77 it was a night and day transformation in terms of heat retention and efficiency. It would have probably helped having a passengerpassenger along with me as the balloon remained constantly buoyant.

I thought that I may be airborne for quite some time and so it proved. An hour in to the flight and I changed to my second fuel cylinder: with the 77 I would have been on the last cylinder and looking to land or have landed already.

Above - Little and large! Our 80 is nearly three times smaller than its big brother 210 as Heaven prepares for her first flight

Above - Early morning mist burning off from the Welsh valleys below

NearingNearing the end of the second hour I still had gas left in the second tank but the combination of a danger area and terrain would stop me from flying much further. The wind was taking me towards the danger area of Sennybridge andand I didn’t want to get shot down - not on a first flight! Added to this were the approaching Black Mountains, which have plenty of inaccessible acres of land. So, just under three hours after take-off, I touched down in one of the last remainingremaining accessible fields before the mountains to complete a stunning first flight. I’m not sure Heaven was too pleased at driving the retrieve and having missed out on such a great flight!

Four days later and roles were reversed and it was my turn to drive the retrieve whilst Heaven flew. This time Heaven had company, not in the basket but flying alongside Jonathan, who had cut out our envelope. Jonathan was flying a bigbig 210 passenger balloon and they both took off from Brechfa Forest for an early morning flight in to the Towy Valley. I met Heaven just as she was carrying out a text book landing after a two-hour flight and she reported that the balloon waswas a joy to fly and that again the fuel economy was superb.

Above - Little and large! Our 80 is nearly three times smaller than its big brother 210 as Heaven prepares for her first flight

Above - Early morning mist burning off from the Welsh valleys below

I carried out a shorter flight the following morning and the accompanying image (right) of my track really shows what fun it is to fly in the valleys of Wales in the right conditions. The low level valleyvalley wind was north easterly as I climbed. It is possible to see the wind swinging round from the south to near westerly at 3,000 feet. As I descended the southerly flow takes controlcontrol before dipping back in to a valley to pick up the north easterly valley wind, which turned me ninety degrees right, with a final south easterly wind that took me in to my landing valley. It’sIt’s not always this much fun but certainly illustrates how we really do fly on the wind.

If you see us around the UK or Europe later this year do come and say hello and I will be keeping everyone updated on our ballooning

Here I am holding the mouth of the balloon open so that cold air can be blown in to inflate the envelope

Take off for Heaven flying our 80 following Jonathan in the 210