Irish National Hot Air Ballooning Championships

kensutz

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3162/2876534156_4d78426afe_b.jpg

paddy1mac

What happened with the one that landed behind the Mercy Convent - didn't appear to be in trouble - but looked a bit close for comfort as it skimmed over the roof of the prefabs at the back!

TheFlatulator

Saw a hot air balloon crash behind the mercy school this evening, managed ot get these photo's

Aquos76

Ken you better reduce the size of that pic before Sully gets his hands on it;)

Oh and slightly OT, I see some shots of yours from the hurling match earlier on today on your flickr page, who won?

TheFlatulator

ust seen this thread now, i post pics of the one crash landing, i followed as it came down, looks like it ran out of feul and bounced on a roof. then trie dto get air again and came down and some of them got out

Redundo

First time seeing a hot-air balloon launch. The size of them really took me by surprise! It was very well organised i must say.

I saw plenty of people running about with nice shiny looking cameras, but couldn't tell who were the Boarders and which were the news people. I was the one running about with a big old bronica, so no pics for me till i get the rolls developed.

Looking forward to seeing more of the launches!

Fajitas!

Aha, saw you!

takola

TheFlatulator wrote: »

ust seen this thread now, i post pics of the one crash landing, i followed as it came down, looks like it ran out of feul and bounced on a roof. then trie dto get air again and came down and some of them got out

I merged your thread with this thread, just so we can keep it all in one thread. I left a redirect anyway, so people will still see it and know it's in this thread.

Apologies, the merge seems to have messed up the thread because of the times posts were made. Nothing we can do about that.

mike65

Whats the story with access to the grounds of Mount Congrieve?

Mike

Redundo

Fajitas! wrote: »

Aha, saw you!

I'll have to meet up with some of the Boards photographers at the next launch then!

Yeah, i was standing in front of the Balloon that went down in Gracedieu for much of the time. I wonder did he run out of fuel early since he was one of the first balloons to inflate properly, he had 3/4 people in the basket too.

kensutz

Anyone fancy meeting up some morning for another launch shoot? Also Aquos, Passage won by 2 points.

The balloon that went down at the Mercy had the mayor on board. It was a safe landing.

Aquos76

kensutz wrote: »

Anyone fancy meeting up some morning for another launch shoot? Also Aquos, Passage won by 2 points.

Thanks Ken, I'd say that went down like a lead balloon up in the Mount Sion clubhouse afterwards. Couldn't resist with the pun;)

Trotter

I can confirm that no balloon crashed, and no balloon ran out of fuel. The pilot decided to land there by choice as he passed over. All balloons were doing short flights to make sure they didnt spend too much time in the air space / time needed by Waterford Airport tonight.

The airport have been fantastic so we needed to make sure the air was clear quickly this evening.

Its perfectly normal for a balloon to land in an open area within an urban area.. we just don't see it happen in Waterford.

So.. I have no clue who told who that there was a crash. There wasn't.

I also think that saying they ran out of fuel is a bit OTT and sensationalist. I doubt very much told pilot told anyone that, so otherwise its completely made up.


Wind forecasts for tomorrow are very fast at the moment. We need those to get well below 10 kmph for comfort. Otherwise, no launches tomorrow. Fingers crossed.

Fajitas!

Trotter wrote: »

I can confirm that no balloon crashed, and no balloon ran out of fuel. The pilot decided to land there by choice as he passed over. All balloons were doing short flights to make sure they didnt spend too much time in the air space / time needed by Waterford Airport tonight.

The airport have been fantastic so we needed to make sure the air was clear quickly this evening.

Its perfectly normal for a balloon to land in an open area within an urban area.. we just don't see it happen in Waterford.

So.. I have no clue who told who that there was a crash. There wasn't.

I also think that saying they ran out of fuel is a bit OTT and sensationalist. I doubt very much told pilot told anyone that, so otherwise its completely made up.


Wind forecasts for tomorrow are very fast at the moment. We need those to get well below 10 kmph for comfort. Otherwise, no launches tomorrow. Fingers crossed.

+1

I'd highly doubt that any of those chaps would run out of fuel, especially at such short range.

As far as I know, airtime was quite limited. Balloons are quite limited in where they go, so landing in such an area isn't a problem to 'em

I'm sure if there was a major crash, it'd be covered in national news at this stage though

Trotter

Fajitas! wrote: »

As far as I know, airtime was quite limited. Balloons are quite limited in where they go, so landing in such an area isn't a problem to 'em

We landed one day in a field full of young bulls... Give me the Mercy Convent anyday. I'd rather make a run for the gate in a convent than a field of maniac bulls. Bulls are stupid.. they see a balloon landing and think.. lets pick a fight with the big thing.

It was a big L shaped field and sure they spotted us well before we knew the field has residents

In terms of craic, theres no pastime like it. Some of the stories ya hear are great

Fajitas!

Some pics from last night, more on the Flickr link in my sig.

mike65

Did this mornings lift off happen?

Mike

Flyer1

I was out doing a bit of general handling in the new plane and spotted the baloons from the air, great sight to see. Favourable winds and all for them yesterday.

Trotter

One balloon flew from Piltown this morning. The rest of the pilots saved the has hopefully for a flight this evening.

As of 12:30pm, we're looking at northerlies of 10 knots.. with gusts. Its the gusts that are the problem for inflating the balloons, it makes them very difficult to stablise before take off.

I'll know more at 4:15pm. My gut on this is that some balloons may take off from the park, but I'll be surprised to see the whole lot going.

mike65

There's an obvious breeze right now.

Mike

Trotter

mike65 wrote: »

There's an obvious breeze right now.

Mike

Gusts if 20+ knots in the airport.. I don't have high hopes for tonight.

Fajitas!

kensutz wrote: »

Anyone fancy meeting up some morning for another launch shoot? Also Aquos, Passage won by 2 points.

The balloon that went down at the Mercy had the mayor on board. It was a safe landing.

What's the story for this evening then?

Might actually bring in the medium format myself, have a load of 120 to dispose of

kensutz

Trotter just posted above you Al. I'm on evenings this week

Fajitas!

Ah yeah, was just wondering what the story with yourselves was!

I'll probably wander in at some point if I can.

mike65

Just saw that Carolls Cross is marked on the map but not mentioned in the schedule, is that an error?

Mike.

Trotter

No we have extra launch sites available to use depending on wind direction. For now, we won't be using that one but it could well change.

All possible launch sites would have been given to the Irish Aviation Authority and Waterford ATC before the event. So.. Its a standby location really.

Redundo

Does high winds mean the launch is to be called off for this evening? Since i'm only round the corner i'll be heading down anyway. Might bring the Med format again.

Wouldn't mind meeting up with some other photographers. But how will i tell if there are any other Boarders about?

mike65

See a few posts up (its all in the air right now)

Mike

Fajitas!

When we find out what the story is, we can decide! I should be able to spot your camera anyways.

mike65

The question "how do I spot another boardsie?" was going through my mind too.

Maybe we should all gather at one spot (in cave and groove with a pict*)

Mike

*Not gone mad, Pink Floyd reference