The
Bristol Belle (G-AVTL) was the name given to the first modern
hot air balloonThe hot air balloon is the oldest successful human-carrying flight technology and is a subset of balloon aircraft.On November 21, 1783, in Paris, France, the first manned flight was made by Jean-François Pilâtre de Rozier and François Laurent d'Arlandes in a hot air balloon created by the...
in
EuropeEurope is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally divided from Asia to its east by the water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian Sea, the Caucasus Mountains , and the Black Sea to the southeast...
. The balloon was created from an idea developed by members of the
BristolBristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, west of London, and east of Cardiff.With an estimated population of 416,400 for the unitary authority in mid-2007, and a surrounding urban area with an estimated 561,500 residents, it is England's sixth, and...
Gliding Club. Following developments by
Ed YostPaul Edward Yost was the American inventor of the modern hot air balloon and is referred to as the "Father of the Modern Day Hot-Air Balloon." -Inventor:...
in the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, members of the Bristol Gliding Club decided to create their own hot air balloon. Bill Malpas (chairman of the project), Mark Westwood, Giles Bulmer of the
Bulmer cider making familyH.P. Bulmer, otherwise known as Bulmers Cider, was founded in 1887 in Hereford, England by Percy Bulmer, the 20 year old son of the local rector at Credenhill, taking his mother's advice to make a career in food or drink, "because neither ever go out of fashion".Bulmers cider can be found worldwide...
and
Don CameronDon Cameron is a Scottish balloonist, and later founder of Cameron Balloons, the world's largest hot air balloon manufacturer.-Early life and career:...
were the four project creators.
Three other members, Charles Meisl, a
CzechThe Czech Republic is a country in Central Europe that is sometimes considered to be Eastern European. The country borders Poland to the northeast, Germany to the west and northwest, Austria to the south and Slovakia to the east. The capital and largest city is Prague...
citizen, Tom Sage, a press photographer from
London[]London is the capital of England and the United Kingdom. It has been a major settlement for two millennia, and the history of London goes back to its founding by the Romans, when it was named Londinium. London's core, the ancient City of London, the 'square mile', retains its medieval boundaries...
and Malcolm Brighton subsequently joined the group.
The
Bristol Belle (G-AVTL) was the name given to the first modern
hot air balloonThe hot air balloon is the oldest successful human-carrying flight technology and is a subset of balloon aircraft.On November 21, 1783, in Paris, France, the first manned flight was made by Jean-François Pilâtre de Rozier and François Laurent d'Arlandes in a hot air balloon created by the...
in
EuropeEurope is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally divided from Asia to its east by the water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian Sea, the Caucasus Mountains , and the Black Sea to the southeast...
. The balloon was created from an idea developed by members of the
BristolBristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, west of London, and east of Cardiff.With an estimated population of 416,400 for the unitary authority in mid-2007, and a surrounding urban area with an estimated 561,500 residents, it is England's sixth, and...
Gliding Club. Following developments by
Ed YostPaul Edward Yost was the American inventor of the modern hot air balloon and is referred to as the "Father of the Modern Day Hot-Air Balloon." -Inventor:...
in the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, members of the Bristol Gliding Club decided to create their own hot air balloon. Bill Malpas (chairman of the project), Mark Westwood, Giles Bulmer of the
Bulmer cider making familyH.P. Bulmer, otherwise known as Bulmers Cider, was founded in 1887 in Hereford, England by Percy Bulmer, the 20 year old son of the local rector at Credenhill, taking his mother's advice to make a career in food or drink, "because neither ever go out of fashion".Bulmers cider can be found worldwide...
and
Don CameronDon Cameron is a Scottish balloonist, and later founder of Cameron Balloons, the world's largest hot air balloon manufacturer.-Early life and career:...
were the four project creators.
Three other members, Charles Meisl, a
CzechThe Czech Republic is a country in Central Europe that is sometimes considered to be Eastern European. The country borders Poland to the northeast, Germany to the west and northwest, Austria to the south and Slovakia to the east. The capital and largest city is Prague...
citizen, Tom Sage, a press photographer from
London[]London is the capital of England and the United Kingdom. It has been a major settlement for two millennia, and the history of London goes back to its founding by the Romans, when it was named Londinium. London's core, the ancient City of London, the 'square mile', retains its medieval boundaries...
and Malcolm Brighton subsequently joined the group. Malcolm Brighton had built a number of balloons and became the main builder for the project.
In the summer of 1966, the team went to
DunstableDunstable is a market town in Bedfordshire, England. It lies on the eastward tail spurs of the Chiltern Hills, 30 miles north of London. These geographical features form several steep chalk escarpments most noticeable when approaching Dunstable from the north.-Etymology:In Roman times its name was...
Air Day and saw a number of attempts at a hot air balloon flight by other teams. One, built by Bolton Technical college, succeeded with a tethered flight before breaking free unintentionally and taking its pilot some distance before the pilot escaped unhurt, but with the balloon draped over a power line. The committee of the air day prohibited any further balloon take offs that day.
In 1967, the Bristol Belle balloon was complete.
Wing CommanderWing Commander is a commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many other Commonwealth countries. It ranks above Squadron Leader and immediately below Group Captain...
Gerry Turnbull from
RAF Weston-on-the-GreenRAF Weston-on-the-Green is a former Royal Flying Corps station that was redeveloped after the great war period. Much demolition took place . The former RFC Officers & Sgt's messes are located on the opposite side of the road, and are now in commercial use. The station is located near the village of...
, an experienced gas-balloon pilot, was to teach the team how to fly. Space heating blowers known as
Jetairs were used to inflate the balloon. The balloon initially failed after the first few attempts at inflation, splitting with three distinct tears. Westwood and Cameron set about working on correcting this in the design, and with the assistance of GQ Parachutes in
WokingWoking is a large town and civil parish that shares its name with the surrounding local government district, located in the west of Surrey, England. It is a dormitory town in the London commuter belt and is located south west of Charing Cross in central London...
, had the ballon repaired and correctly manufactured to cope with the stresses.
The first flight of the Bristol Belle took place on the 9 July 1967 from RAF Weston-on-the-Green, and was covered by the Daily Telegraph and other media. The balloon took part in some famous flights including one from
HMS Ark RoyalHMS Ark Royal was an Audacious-class aircraft carrier of the Royal Navy and, when she was decommissioned in 1978, was its last remaining conventional catapult and arrested-landing aircraft carrier...
, where it was piloted by
LtLieutenant is a military, naval, paramilitary, fire service, emergency medical services or police officer rank....
Terry Adams, accompanied by Lt Howard Draper both of B Flight of 849 Squadron (Gannets). This early morning launch carried mail to
MaltaMalta , officially the Republic of Malta , is a densely populated developed European country in the European Union. The Southern European island nation is an archipelago that includes the inhabited islands of Malta, Gozo and Comino, along with a number of smaller, uninhabited islands...
whilst the Ark Royal was steaming off the southern coast of the island on 29 November 1970.
External links
Pictures of the Malta delivery