Northampton Balloon Festival
Crewing
Interested in crewing for a balloon team, then read on.
How do I get into ballooning?
All ages seem to love hot air balloons.
Kids (and indeed whole families) will follow a balloon as it floats overhead,
hoping that it is going to land.
The easiest way to get into ballooning is to "Crew" for a local pilot or team.
Most private balloon pilots welcome new crew, although mainly voluntary work it is a good way to learn more and possibly make a dream come true.
To find a local pilot/team near you,
visit the British Balloon and Airship Club website (see Links).
This will also give details of your local ballooning clubs.
What does a crew member do?
Behind all good pilots is a good crew.
Once on the launch site, crew help to unload and set up the balloon ready for take off.
This is a good way of finding out more about the different parts of the balloon, what they do and why they are needed.
Once the pilot has taken off the crew then pack away things like the inflation fan and other items which are used in the take off procedure.
Then the task begins of following the balloon and keeping in contact with the pilot, normally by radio communication. Once the balloon has landed the crew will contact the land owner and request permission to enter their land and retrieve the balloon.
The envelope is then detached from the burner frame and rolled up and packed back into its bag. The burners are then detached from the basket and everything then placed onto the trailer for the return journey.
After the flight it is necessary to re-fill the fuel tanks.
This is only a small insight into crewing, the more you do the more you learn.
Most pilots reward there voluntary crew with an occasional flight.
Please note....
If you should see a balloon land and wish to speak to the crew/pilot to get more information, please do not go onto the landing site as it will almost certainly be private property.
Please wait for the crew/pilot to come off the land before approaching them.
Crew and Pilots have great respect for private property and will only take on to the landing site what is really necessary to retrieve the balloon.