Up, up and away

BRITISH COMMERCIAL |hot-air balloon pilot Kerry Coate-Bond, who joined Virgin Balloon Flights at the start of the 2015 season, was one of four marshalls arranging and directing the ceremonial aspects of the Thailand International Balloon Festival 2016, which was held at Payap University in Chiang Mai last weekend.

He took time out from his busy schedule to have a chat with XP.

 

WHEN DID YOU BECOME INTERESTED IN HOT AIR BALLOONS?

I started by retrieving landed balloons for a locally based company. I was out of work for a few weeks one summer and I thought it looked like fun. I also thought it would keep me going until the winter, when I would get myself a proper job.

 

WHEN WAS YOUR FIRST BALLOON RIDE? WHAT WAS IT LIKE? 

My first ride in a balloon was after working for the company for about two months. It was quite a windy afternoon, and the balloon was moving around the field more than normal. The pilot was shouting a lot, and I was actually a little scared when he asked me to jump in. I needn’t have worried, |as soon as we were in the air, it was so calm and quiet. A really nice flight.

 

WHAT APPEAL TO YOU THE MOST ABOUT BALLOON?

The feeling you get from flying is amazing. It’s even better from a balloon, as there are no windows to obstruct the view. You can smell and feel so much, and even hear people shouting hello from the ground and dogs barking. By being a commercial pilot, I get to share this with my passengers.

 

WHAT’S THE MOST UNEXPECTED THING YOU’VE FACED ON THE FLIGHT?

In 2002, I did a long distance flight for charity. We took off from Winchester and landed in Lincoln, a distance of about 250 kilometres. As we flew over the Royal Air Force Station Cottesmore, two Harriers were out on exercise. One, just before it landed, did a vertical loop around the balloon. It was so close you could feel the air crackle. It gave me goosebumps!

 

HAVE YOU HAD ANY BAD LANDINGS?

We do sometimes. If the wind is slightly stronger than forecast, and we need to land in smaller spaces, we can bring the balloon in for a bumpy landing. The basket can and sometimes does tip over just before it stops due to the size of the balloon pulling it over. This is perfectly normal, and makes packing away and getting out a lot easier. A bad landing for us is when we can’t get the vehicle in to recover the balloon. This can involve carrying out all of the kit. Not much fun!

 

WHERE’S THE WEIRDEST PLACE YOU’VE EVER LANDED?

We sometimes land in people’s gardens if the wind is slow enough. Last year we landed in the back garden of Ron Weasley from “Harry Potter”. He was very friendly and happy for us to be there. I’ve also landed in an RAF base in Hampshire and got myself arrested by the military police. The passengers were very worried when I got taken away for questioning in the police car. It all went well, with us being invited back if we needed to.

 

WHAT’S THE BALLOONING COMMUNITY LIKE IN YOUR COUNTRY?

The UK community is very close. Many pilots and crew are more than happy to help other fellow balloonists out should the need arrive. England is one of the hardest countries to fly in, so we need to help each other out to make it as easy as possible.

 

IS THE THAILAND INTERNATIONAL BALLOON FESTIVAL DIFFERENT FROM OTHER BALLOON EVENTS IN WHICH YOU’VE PARTICIPATED?

The TIBF is a very personal event. The teams that are invited are handpicked by the organisers, and all bring something special to the event. It’s not too big either.

 

WHAT BALLOONING EVENT WOULD YOU TAKE PART IN IF YOU HAVE A CHANCE?

I would love to fly in the Gordon Bennett race, which is a long distance event using gas balloons with flights lasting several days. It’s an international race, and is also very dangerous.

 

WHAT IS YOUR GOAL?

My goal is to keep flying for as long as I enjoy it. I would like to get my instructor rating, so I can then teach others the beauty of becoming a hot air balloon pilot.