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Extracts from SCOOP			August 2004
Chairman’s Message Well, things are now well underway and I hope you are getting some flights/spotting/retreiving/ socialising/whatever-lights-your-fire-ballooning-wise done while the sun shines! The Elephant meet went very well, and the next on the schedule is the NW region's Concorde do, then Driffield. It's not too late to sign up for Driffield, I understand from Terry M that we have 6 teams booked in so far. I also would like to make you aware of a request that Rita received from the organisers of Ampleforth Gala Day (nb: this is a Village event, not a College event). Anyway, I'll let her take up the story: "They had been given my number by a balloonist who lives in Sutton-under-Whitestonecliffe, any idea who this is?? Anyway this pilot is ill and wont be able to attend there gala as arranged. As it was in such a lovely area for flying do you think any of our members that live up that way would be interested. The Gala is on Sunday August 29th, from 2pm to 9pm. There is money for fuel, and while they would like a tether in the afternoon, they would be happy with a flyout at say 7pm. There is music and a Bar etc and all the other Gala attractions. I wondered if the PRBA wanted to make a day of it as it is Sunday and we talked about flying in that area as a Social event. I'm sure I could get permission for a morning flight and the name of a good eat place and make it a good day out for those interested" The problem is that it's the bank holiday weekend, and also the Nth West's 'Near Lowther Park' Meet the same weekend. So, as RIta concludes, the best we can do is to circulate the info to all our pilots that could feasibly go to that event, and perhaps get them to contact them the organiser direct. She is Angela Durdle Tel 07967 341611. Happy flying, Phil. Bits and Pieces Farmer’s Draw 2004: As usual the farmer’s draw will be made at the Humber Bridge meet, so please can everyone bring in their draw cards or send them to Phil Traviss. Caption Contest winners. The independent adjudicators voted for Andrea and Norman’s caption: "Great for retrieve, a bit slow on the motorway". So they win the prize, a bottle of flying pig wine. Could be brought to Brass Monkey. For Sale. 1 PAIR OF WESTFALIA FRONT CANOPY HINGES IN MANUFACTURER'S PACKING. BOUGHT FOR A JOB AND NOT USED. NO REASONABLE OFFER REFUSED. Contact DAVE ALLUM. 01482 854030
		Editorial After a number of days viewing a great number of different weather forecasts on the TV and the internet we took the plunge and ventured out to sunny Thirsk yes it was sunny! But slightly windy which was the deciding factor in spoiling the flying, or was it due to the consumption of quantities of pies and peas on the Friday. The wind had a rest on Saturday morning so I had my first go at balloon recovery driving through almost every lane and village in the area but we survived and parked up at the landing site just on time. Then there was a new event for me the Castle Howard fly out with thanks to John Till and his family for their hospitality beforehand and a free entry to the entertainment in the Arboretum grounds. Being Roger’s navigator for Phil and Rita’s flight I nearly got us lost this time but perhaps this was a sub conscious action to avoid the landowner, ah! the landowner. I say no more. Hopefully by the time of the next meets our friends the farmers will have been out and harvested their crops leaving plenty of fields to land in. The winter season is still a long way off but what would you like to do in the winter? Any suggestions, any offers just for one night, you won’t be press ganged into becoming the social secretary if you fancy organising something. Richard THIRSK - THE BIG ONE - SO FAR Despite a week of unseasonable and very unpleasant weather leading up to the meet there was already a great turnout when we arrived at the campsite on Friday evening minus tent! (‘cos it’s going to be cold, wet, and windy said the weatherman and we all believe him, all the time don’t we? Already one CofA back in the bag, one balloon ready to fly, and another laying out, a lot of people must finish work early on ballooning Fridays! John Russon from the North West Region was first away in G-BUDK and headed off towards the white horse at Kilburn. Not to be outdone our own Ed Macholc followed a little later, after brushing the cobwebs off his rig and his flying skills…his words, not mine! Ed was also tracking towards the horse with perhaps a better angle but, probably due to his later start, didn’t get as far as John…significant come Sunday noon. After a pleasant walk round the campsite following son’s model balloon we all retired to the Thirsk Athletic and Tennis Club’s superb clubhouse for Jan and Phil’s pie and pea supper. J and P were ably assisted by Nicola and Richard Bowater and not a hint of the Gordon Ramsey word was heard! Home to bed, set the alarm for 4.30, get the Met from the net and back to Thirsk for the big one. The wind was very light and ten balloons got airborne heading southeast towards Easingwold. Landing places turned out to be few and far between with flight distances ranging from 7k/1hr for Dave Allum to 18k/2hr for Paul Wade. No problems on landing and so after a quick breakfast and a slow refuel (I’m convinced the cylinder came from Rust Bucket.com—we had to clean the filter four times to get half a tank of gas) it was back to Leeds to pick up another Met. And a tent. An arena display of tethering was the payback to the invite by Thirsk Rotary Club, and we duly tried to do our bit between the vintage cars and the fly past by the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight. Yours truly was nobbled again to talk, this time to "Mike Rophone" of BBC Radio York and "half of North Yorkshire" he said. Anymore of this and I’ll have to employ a scriptwriter! Short spells of light drizzle, delayed our start but eventually we got G-PONY a Colt 31, loaned by BPG, and RIX with the ever enthusiastic Dave in command, to stand up for the crowd only to have the pair demolished by a sudden squall from as dirty a cloud as you could wish to meet. (New balloonists adage "if the sky looks black, put the envelope back") Deflated and defeated we made for the refreshment tent and then stood in awe as the precisely timed and perfectly executed three fly-pasts by the BBMF closed the arena proceedings. The chance to fly early on Saturday evening was turned down by everyone, the sky to the Northwest promising clouds of biblical epic proportions. Good opportunity to get a couple more CofA’s done and for Tony Greensides to give firm favourite "Itzumna" an airing, this envelope is now twenty-eight years young and still looks good. As the heavy clouds came ever closer we retreated again to the clubhouse for a BBQ, which had magically appeared assisted by Rita, and Nicola…thanks ladies. A balloonist once advised me "If you want to be sure that you’ve seen ‘em all make sure you’re the last man to leave the launch field " and sure enough at 8.45 with the heavy clouds now gone Howard Fell and Dave Sutcliffe gave us a "Glow as you go" flying a short hop from the campsite to a field just out of town, Bravo sirs, bravo. Sunday morning brought another cloudy sky but expectations were high-only to be shot down at Phil’s briefing when a 2000ft wind of 25knts was revealed, there were groans all round but everyone stayed on the deck. CofA time again, this time for an envelope that was a familiar sight in the region twenty years ago-"Digby" formerly owned by Tony Pinner and now with Martin Axtell. Lunch time brought the prize giving, First prize, an engraved glass plaque showing a balloon over the White Horse of Kilburn, to John Russon for his landing nearest to the white horse, Second prize, an illuminated balloon glass cube to Ed Macholc for getting second closest to that nag, Third prize, a bottle of wine, to Paul Wade for his endurance flight of Saturday morn. Other thank-you gifts went to Terry Chamberlain for being a good egg (?) and to Rita and Nicola. Malcolm Skilbeck, now a gentleman of leisure, gave a well deserved vote of thanks to Phil and the organisers in general on behalf of the pilots and crews and we all eventually went home. P.S. Nicola suffered a couple of cuts and scuffs over the weekend and rumour control has it that Richard is trying to buy the Elastoplast balloon G-OUCH before the next meet. No Richard it’s loads of sticky tape she wants, not sticky load tape! Ta-Ra Roger Rabbit (and doesn’t he just) Balloons at the meet Friday CofA only G-BPYI. Flying +CofA G-OVET Flying G-BUDK Sat a.m flying G-BPPA G-BUDK G-BVDB G-BVPV G-HOTI G-LIMP G-SNOW G-STOK G-SUCK G-TEDF Sat p.m tether G-BPPA G-PONY G-CTGR Sat p.m CofA only G-SNOW G-TEDF. Tether only G-BDSF Flying G-BWIP Sun a.m CofA only G-BJZA Shy and stayed in the bag all weekend G-BMYN	The Pennine Region Landowner Relations Officer post - the best job in the world (probably). We have been very lucky to have enjoyed the service of Chris Oxby as our Regional Landowner Relations Officer for more years than I care to remember. He has established our Map LOR system and introduced the Landing card scheme still in use today, as well as the vital ongoing job of maintaining the relationship between the balloonists of the PRBA and the landowning community. Whenever we have needed someone to turn to, he has always been there. However, everyone deserves a rest eventually. Chris has earnt his rest (a few times over), and now the search is on for a suitable replacement. There's no particular qualifications other than a level head and a bit of common sense. If you know a bit about both ballooning and farming, then so much the better. But you should be willing to get involved when needed and have enough time to retain a 'sort it out' attitude. Yes, it's a tall order. There's a big hole to fill. But you will have a good handover from Chris, and be given a clean patch to work rather than a load of problems. (Oh, and did I say you don't get paid either?) So, do I hear any bids? This is a key job in the region, and key to the club's future. Please consider whether you or someone you know might be able to perform this service for the Pennine Region, and let me or Chris know. Thanks, Phil Traviss, Chairman PRBA.
			Earlier SCOOPS Feb 2004 April 2004 June 2004
Shavington review After pondering a number of advertised balloon events organised around the country we decided that Shavington looked the most friendly and free from the public entertainment side of ballooning of which so many meets involve. Friday morning came around and we were finally loaded up and ready for the off by about 10.00am the journey would prove eventful with road closures and blockages due to no apparent reason, even the trusted jetta tried to give us a scare by boiling off some screen wash that managed to drip onto the exhaust. But after 4 hours the elephant pub appeared in view. Ballooning wasn’t the only aviation type on display at this meet as the crew of one of the balloons arrived in style in a Hughes helicopter. This was later to perform a flying display with the aid of a traffic cone, which had to be seen to believe. The display started with the helicopter knocking over the cone and then picking it up on the front of the skid. It then performed a number of steep dives, turns and manoeuvres without losing the cone. Then the grand finally replacing the cone upright back onto the field. The ballooning was then allowed to commence. The launch field wasn’t huge so it was the case of set up and wait your turn until a space appeared then inflate and launch. We were down as crew for the ex Soothers balloon team but due to a number of technical hitches the flight was abandoned thus it was early food and beer for us and the sight of my first hopper in action. Saturday morning came around pretty quick and we were back on the launch field. This time we were asked to give assistance to the Whiney the Pooh balloon and I happily took up the offer of a ride in the basket. But once more the weekend jinx turned another page as the nice looking landing field turned out to be a marathon 4 hour carry out through the jolly green giants maze plantation "Oh what fun"!! The gazebo came in use once again this time as a shower tent, luck for the other campers the window was at the rear. Could anything else go wrong may you ask "oh yes", sorry that was the last SCOOP. Another technical hitch prevented a trip out with Phil in jigsaw on the Saturday night. So again it was early food and drink back at base. Sunday morning came another fine day and we were up and ready again and this time we were inflated and off in a sort of hair and hounds competition. Two baskets were trailing unrolled toilet paper, perhaps they had eaten a barbeque the night before or they had an Andrex puppy in the basket. It wasn’t totally clear as to who was the target but due to a bit of R.T listening and spy photography with a zoom digital camera it was clear that Digby was the hare balloon and he was right next to us. We landed first followed by Digby so we thought the prize was ours until the Chadwick BPG balloon dropped in between us to steal our glory or was it that old jinx again. It was back to camp for the final fry up and the airing of a vintage Weston balloon. Thanks must go to all who took the time to organise this eventful event and lets hope they can build on it for next year. For the log book: Friday 30/07 pm G-HAUS Hughes 369. Balloons G-BORN, STOK, WDEB, HOTI, PERC, BUNG, SUCK, BUDK and G-BXIZ hopper tethered to a discovery. Saturday 31/07am GPERC, SNOW, LEGO, BTVA, TEDF, BUNG, SUCK, STOK, BXUW, BTJD, WDEB, HOTI, BUDK, BVHK, BWAN. Pm G-BWIP, SUCK ,STOK, LEGO, SNOW, WDEB, BUNG, BTVA, BORN. Sunday 01/08 am G-PERC,SUCK, BVHK, LEGO, BTVA, WDEB, BWAN, BJZA, BUNG, BXUW, SNOW, STOK, BUDK, BWIP. Tether G-AZPX Weston O-31. Repairs G-BMKY.
A Blast from the Past   SCOOP The periodic Newsletter from the Pennine Region Balloon Association This might have been your SCOOP front cover if the PRBA was active back in 1969. As many of you will know by now I have an interest in balloon photography, but perhaps not many will know about my general aviation photography of which goes back many years before balloons. I am well known at Teesside airport and get the occasional phone call, can you come and photograph this aircraft for us. Just recently I was asked to try and sort out the folders of the airport’s photographic library. This was going well with a few aviation gems from the past turning up but mostly black and white or of poor quality. I eventually reached the folders marked "Air Show" and the first picture that came out was of a balloon a great surprise in the folder marked 1969. Oh! A balloon was the first response, as sorry to say I still don’t know my manufacturers and types by just looking at an inflated envelope. To be honest I recall last year a group talking about "vivas" and here’s me thinking about a tin box made by Vauxhall. With a quick type in of G-AXJA to the CAAs data base out came a surprise. An Omega Aerostatics balloon Omega 56 number 5 was the result. A further delve into the Internet produced the following story. For those of you who don’t know read on: Malcolm Brighton and other members of the "hot air group" built the first British hot air balloon. Christened the "Bristol Belle" it was torn apart on its first inflation in June 1968. Then Don Cameron made some mathematical calculations and took a design to GQ a parachute maker and got them to remake the balloon with additional horizontal load tapes. So I have been informed. Out of this rebuild of the "Bristol Belle" Omega balloons was formed and the first of the 10 balloons flew in September 1968 after which the different members of the group went their own ways and set up various companies with Don Cameron’s being the most well known today. G-AXJA our SCOOP cover photo was built as an Omega 56 balloon. It was first registered to D.A Cameron and M Westwood on 04/07/69. After a short period of ownership and obviously a few flights including the featured one at Teesside Airport on 3rd August 1969 with Don Cameron at the controls and possibly Peter Bingham as the passenger. The recovery vehicle was a Vauxhall viva estate, is this where the balloon name came from? The balloon was then sold on to Ireland. On 13/01/70 it became EI-ANP and registered to Irish biscuits on 16/01/70. The Dublin balloon club was the next and final owners of the balloon taking ownership on 16/09/71. After 4 years a disaster struck at the Irish ballooning championships when the envelope was destroyed following a cylinder explosion. Credits for this story must firstly go to Teesside airport for the use of the photographs. And these good people on the Internet who helped with the information for the write up. Richard Hands, David Barker, Ian Chadwick and the man himself Don Cameron for helping with notes from his flying log book. Richard.
		Please contact Rita for your Pennine, Stickers, patches, metal badges. AND THE 25TH Anniversary Booklet BALLOONING THE PENNINE WAY (above). After discussions it was decided to issue the 25th Anniversary Booklet free of charge to all 2003 PRBA members and to issue a complimentary copy to all those past members who sent in contributions. Free copies are being sent out separately from the Scoop and will be with you in the next few days. Price £3.00 (inc.p&p) for extra copies and non-members. Send orders and cheques, made payable to PRBA, to: Mrs R Marshall, 7 Wynford Rise, Leeds, LS16 6HX.