Aerobility Ballooning Update

Aerobility's Operations Manager with an update on our exciting new ballooning venture...

Hello All,

In the last few months we have successfully taken delivery of our own balloon envelope, arranged for this to carry an Aerobility banner, and have purchased and commissioned a duo chair. The balloon was inflated at AeroExpo Sywell, and I think you will agree a very fine sight it made. We have put together a team of experienced balloon instructors who are very much committed to enabling balloon flight for Aerobility Flyers and the original Breitling Balloon is still available.

It has been a hectic few months here at Blackbushe, but I believe we are finally ready to offer an initial trial flight in the duo chair to Aerobility Flyers who would like to get airborne. Once you have experienced this trial, Aerobility will be pleased to consider you for ongoing balloon flight  training. Cost have yet to be finalised, but with the usual Aerobility heavy subsidy, we would envisage a figure of around £70 hour. Due to the nature of UK weather you should be ready to fly at short notice if at all possible, although of course there is no obligation if you have a prior appointment. Most flying is likely to take place early morning or evening, so get the alarm set and ready. Once I know that you are seriously interested, we will either invite you to an initial briefing (probably to be held in the evening) or if you live far from Blackbushe put you in touch with a local instructor. Both balloons are located in the south of England, so realistically this is currently an offer for those who live in the south only, but if you live further north and are seriously interested, please let me know and I will see what we can arrange.

We have also received a very generous donation from a British balloonist based in Japan who has donated his nearly new Ultramagic H31 single man balloon complete with burner, cylinder, chair and blower. Our current plan is to sell the equipment and use the proceeds to support our continued ballooning efforts. It’s early days yet, but thanks’ to the generosity of BA cargo, we have already shipped the equipment to the UK; watch this space as they say.

Regards

Brian

Operations Manager

Aerobility Ladies Afternoon

A couple of weeks ago we were joined at Blackbushe by two amazing aviatrixes who wowed us with their stories of adventure and aviation fun. British Airways Captain Lorraine Taylor Harris and explorer Tracey Curtis-Taylor spent the afternoon speaking to Aerobility Flyers and Supporters about their careers in aviation. With tea, cake, strawberries and cream, and even a couple of glasses of champagne, it was a lovely afternoon enjoyed by all. Here are a few photos of the afternoon for you to enjoy!

Tracy arriving into Blackbushe in her Boeing Stearman.

Lorraine speaks to the Aerobility community.

Sheltering from the rain!

All hands on deck for Tracy's departure

Another iconic aircraft visits Aerobility

Tracy and Lorraine with the event organiser, Aerobility's Andrea

We'd like to say a huge thank you to Lorraine and Tracy for their time and enthusiasm! Remember to keep your eye on the blog for notices of future aviation lectures and open events.

Exercise Moth!

This week, we added a new member to the Aerobility fleet (just for a couple of days!). Aerobility volunteer, Steve, flew into Blackbushe on Wednesday in his Hornet Moth DH-87B - one of only 12 airworthy Hornet Moths in the UK.

There was some great fun had whilst experimenting the best way to make use of the unique folding wings with our hoist, and Steve was kept busy with flights until his departure on Thursday afternoon.

Below are a few photos taken by Aerobility volunteer, Tony:

Aerobility Touring Group - Oban Weekend

The Aerobility Touring Group are off to Oban this weekend, and have just stopped off at Wolverhampton Half Penny Green Airport for a bit of sunshine!

If you'd like to be part of the Touring Group, please email touring@aerobility.com for more information. You don't have to be a PPL holder, all Aerobility Flyers are welcome!

Aviation Afternoon - Saturday 14th June - Timetable of Events

We're looking forward to welcoming two fantastic female aviators to Aerobility HQ tomorrow afternoon to speak about their lives in aviation. Please see below for the full timetable..

14.00 – Afternoon begins at Aerobility, Blackbushe Airport with Tea & Cakes in the Marquee

14.45 – 15.30 - Capt. Lorraine Taylor talk ‘My flying career and the B747’ - in the large meeting room

15.30 – 16.00 - Tea & Cakes in the Marquee

16.00 – 16.45 - Tracey Curtis-Taylor – Her flying career and her flight Capetown to Goodwood in her Stearman ‘The Spirit of Artemis’  in the large meeting room

16.45 onwards - Q&A with Lorraine and Tracey - in the marquee and more tea and cakes :)

Please email geri@aerobility.com to register your interest!

Aero Expo!

Bose support Aerobility with A20 Aviation Headsets

Bose Europe have donated a pair of A20 Aviation Headsets to disabled flying charity Aerobility, supporting the charity in its work to make flying an aircraft accessible to all.

The charity already uses Bose headsets and has found them to be perfect for the needs of disabled pilots. “The excellent audio clarity and noise attenuation really does help those with impaired hearing to clearly hear the radio, whilst the low weight is a real bonus for those with various disabilities such as muscle weakness” comments Mike Miller Smith, Chief Executive Aerobility. He goes on to say “We are very pleased to be able to make use of the latest Bose equipment, they will work superbly in our new Tecnam P2002, the world’s first aircraft certified for disabled pilots.”

Niels van den Bergen, Bose Account Manager – Aviation Partners, comments “This year Bose celebrates its 50th anniversary and 25th anniversary in aviation. Supporting Aerobility shows our commitment towards making aviation an accessible and life changing activity for everybody.”

The Bose A20 Aviation Headset is the result of more than 30 years of ongoing Bose research in noise reduction technology. It has been engineered to deliver significantly greater noise reduction – in even louder environments - and offers improved comfort, clear audio reproduction, and new features, including a Bluetooth® communications interface, auxiliary audio input, and priority switching of audio sources.

Bicester Flying Day: Saturday 7th June

Young or young at heart? Our friends the Air League are running a flying day for young people at Bicester next Saturday 7 June. Guy Westgate is taking along his Fox aerobatic glider and there are a few flights available for Aerobility Flyers. 

Please email info@Aerobility.com to register your interest. It may be possible to fly in from Blackbushe, particularly if we get some interest in flying Aerobility aircraft. Let us know if you would like to come along, either gliding or powered flight! 

It promises to be a fun day with lots going on. Aerobility Flyers Mary Doyle, Gary Stephenson and Dave Rawlins recently flew the glider with Guy and had a fantastic time..