A Sample Feature From Aviation News

Fiesta Time!

If it’s August then it must be time for the Bristol Balloon Fiesta! Sponsored this year by Swedish retailer Ikea, enthusiasts were treated to a whole host of special shapes – old and new – along with a good selection of European visitors keen to display their balloons at the Aston Court estate between August 12 and 15. More than 120 balloons were present at the event, making it the largest ballooning show in Europe.

Above: Taking pride of place at this year’s International Balloon Fiesta ‘night glow’ was the brand new Cameron Special Shapes balloon G-IKEA, making its first ever public appearance. (Photo, Bob Holder).

Ikea launched their special heart-shaped Famnig cushion (G-IKEA) that had recently been completed at nearby Cameron’s factory. Other notable firsts included Churchill Insurance’s new Lindstrand Dog (G-CDOG) and the American Beaver (N401PH) special shape. Bud E. Beaver – as it is known – was until recently seen as Mr Potato Head, having been converted to the new shape, a rare undertaking in ballooning circles.

Above: Part of the fun of balloons is the special shapes that are created for advertising. Churchill Insurance’s Dog was produced by Lindstrand. (Photo, Barry Ambrose).

Also from America was the UK registered Cameron Saucer-80 belonging to US special shape collector Linas Mastis, appearing for the first time at the Fiesta. Airships are a rare sight operating from Aston Court, so it was pleasing to see the German AS 105GD D-OEBW flying on Saturday morning. Other notable balloons on show were the ex-Swedish Colt 56A

G-CCYP Hamburger and the Spanish UltraMagic MV-65 (EC-041), which currently seems to be based in the UK. Lets hope that next year’s event is as memorable! – Barry Ambrose

For the rest of this article please see the October 2004 issue.