Post by ChrisGazzard on Nov 29, 2019 13:18:15 GMT
Just had a call from someone regarding the Bristol Belle G-AVTL.
Doing a bit of research, it looks like it was built at Blackbushe in 1967:
www.bris.ac.uk/Depts/History/bristolrecordsociety/publications/bha097.pdf
Modern sport ballooning had arrived and the new technology was ably demonstrated across the Atlantic, when on March 13th 1963 Ed Yost, together with Dori Piccard nephew of the famous pre-war stratospheric balloonist Professor Auguste Piccard, made the first crossing of the English Channel in a hot air balloon. This fired the enthusiasm of a number of people in England and in August 1966 seven members of the British Balloon and Airship Club formed the Hot Air Group to build and operate their own balloon for sporting purposes. Their first venture, the 'Bristol Belle' (G-AVTL), was financed with help from a national newspaper and the British Oxygen Company, while its assembly was
undertaken by Malcolm Brighton at Blackbushe, with the manufacture of the envelope contracted out to Vacuum Reflex Ltd. Completed in the summer of 1967, the 65,000 cu. ft. balloon was first flown from Weston-on-the-Green, in Oxfordshire, by Wing Commander Gerry Turnball OBE, AFC on July 9th, and accompanied by Don Cameron, a young aeronautical engineer, it flew the six miles to RAF Bicester. The balloon was then moved to the Bristol Gliding Club's site at Nympsfield, in Gloucestershire, undertaking a number of local flights in the spring and summer of that year. Thus a new sport and industry was born in this country, which has since grown in Bristol to a scale which would have seemed quite inconceivable 30 years ago, and which has seen the name of Don Cameron become known world wide.
Apparently it first flew on Saturday 4th May 1968 at 10:00 from Blackbushe. Does any one have any memories / further information / photographs?
Doing a bit of research, it looks like it was built at Blackbushe in 1967:
www.bris.ac.uk/Depts/History/bristolrecordsociety/publications/bha097.pdf
Modern sport ballooning had arrived and the new technology was ably demonstrated across the Atlantic, when on March 13th 1963 Ed Yost, together with Dori Piccard nephew of the famous pre-war stratospheric balloonist Professor Auguste Piccard, made the first crossing of the English Channel in a hot air balloon. This fired the enthusiasm of a number of people in England and in August 1966 seven members of the British Balloon and Airship Club formed the Hot Air Group to build and operate their own balloon for sporting purposes. Their first venture, the 'Bristol Belle' (G-AVTL), was financed with help from a national newspaper and the British Oxygen Company, while its assembly was
undertaken by Malcolm Brighton at Blackbushe, with the manufacture of the envelope contracted out to Vacuum Reflex Ltd. Completed in the summer of 1967, the 65,000 cu. ft. balloon was first flown from Weston-on-the-Green, in Oxfordshire, by Wing Commander Gerry Turnball OBE, AFC on July 9th, and accompanied by Don Cameron, a young aeronautical engineer, it flew the six miles to RAF Bicester. The balloon was then moved to the Bristol Gliding Club's site at Nympsfield, in Gloucestershire, undertaking a number of local flights in the spring and summer of that year. Thus a new sport and industry was born in this country, which has since grown in Bristol to a scale which would have seemed quite inconceivable 30 years ago, and which has seen the name of Don Cameron become known world wide.
Apparently it first flew on Saturday 4th May 1968 at 10:00 from Blackbushe. Does any one have any memories / further information / photographs?