Bbm&L

We have all seen the photographs, and we have read the results of this awful accident but the transcript of Herbert Morrison's eyewitness radio report for station WLS in Chicago, really brings the ghastliness of it home. “It's practically standing still now they've dropped ropes out of the nose of the ship; and (uh) they've been taken ahold of down on the field by a number of men. It's starting to rain again; it's... the rain had (uh) slacked up a little bit. The back motors ...of the ship are just holding it (uh) just enough to keep it from... It's burst into flames! Get this, Charlie; get this, Charlie! It's fire... and it's crashing! It's crashing terrible! Oh, my! Get out of the way, please! It's burning and bursting into flames and the... and it's falling on the mooring mast and all the folks between it. This is terrible; this is one of the worst catastrophes in the world. Oh it's... [unintelligible] its flames... Crashing, oh! oh, four or five hundred feet into the sky, and it’s a terrific crash, ladies and gentlemen. There’s smoke, and there’s flames, now, and the frame is crashing to the ground, not quite to the mooring mast. Oh, the humanity, and all the passengers screaming around here! I told you; it – I can't even talk to people, their friends are on there! Ah! It's... it... it's a... ah! I... I can't talk, ladies and gentlemen. Honest: it's just laying there, a mass of smoking wreckage. Ah! And everybody can hardly breathe and talk and the screaming. I... I... I'm sorry. Honest: I... I can hardly breathe. I... I'm going to step inside, where I cannot see it. Charlie, that's terrible. Ah, ah... I can't. Listen, folks; I... I'm gonna have to stop for a minute because I've lost my voice. This is the worst thing I've ever witnessed. — Herbert Morrison, Transcription of WLS radio broadcast describing the Hindenburg disaster.
See More

This should be really good, such a brilliant line-up.well done to all the organisers of the Bud-Fest.

This sad news reached us today. The words are from Julian's website. Julian Nott passed away peacefully on March 26, 2019 after suffering multiple injuries from an extraordinary and unforeseeable accident following a successful balloon flight and landing in Warner Springs, California. Julian was flying an experimental balloon that he invented, designed to test high altitude technology. His loving partner of 30 years, artist Anne Luther, was at his side. Known as the founder o...f the modern ballooning movement, and one of its most creative and innovative exponents, Julian was changing the course of balloon history with the development of an entirely new system in which conventional ballast is replaced with cryogenic helium. He has broken 79 World Ballooning Records and 96 British Records including exceeding 55,000 feet in a hot air balloon. The Smithsonian Air and Space Museum has described Julian as “a central figure in the expansion of ballooning as an organizer, pilot, and most of all as arguably the leading figure to apply modern science to manned balloon design.” We join the family and the ballooning community in mourning the passing of Julian Nott, an exceptionally brilliant man who rejoiced in exploration and adventure. He will be missed but never forgotten. His beloved Anne Luther, his brother Robert Nott, and nieces Elizabeth Salmon and Katherine Nott survive Julian. Interment will be in the Nott Family Plot in England. In lieu of flowers, Julian’s wishes were for donations to his favorite charity, SEE International, www.seeintl.org.
See More

Thank you for posting this Deana Ashton. A bit of history.

Show your support for this amazing expedition...

We will be exhibiting at the Icicle Refrozen balloon meet this weekend, we also hope to inflate some envelopes from the collection. Why not call by to say hello.
http://www.icicle-refrozen.com/

Wilf Woollett, an amazing man, and friends to so many. This is from his son Doug Woollett, Thoughts are with him and of course Rachel, Wilf's widow.

It was sad to hear about Wilf Woollett passing away. He was an amazing man, and had only just moved back to England. Our thoughts are with Rachel, and Doug his son. Thank you Robin for finding this.

This interesting snippet of news was on the Goodwood Aerodrome FaceBook page.

Today is Montgolfier Day. All over the world, balloonists will be celebrating 21st November as the anniversary of the first free flight with human beings. In 1783 in Paris, France, the weather had cleared, it had drizzled in the early morning as the two tumbrils containing the precious balloon and basket clattered towards the Chateau. The balloon took off from the garden of the Château de la Muette in the Bois de Boulogne in the presence of the King and an amazing amount of p...eople. The crowds had been making their way westwards out of Paris to the Bois de Boulogne for hours. The balloon was designed and built by Joseph and Etienne Montgolfier. King Louis XVI had originally decreed that two condemned criminals would be the first passengers, and if they survived they would be pardoned. But Jean-Francois Pilatre de Rozier, (a chemistry and physics teacher) along with the Marquis François Laurent d'Arlandes (a French military officer), successfully persuaded the King to let them go up instead. The fifty feet high, highly decorated envelope had a smoky fire slung under the neck of the balloon suspended in an iron basket. The fire was controllable and was supposed to be replenished by the balloonists who were in the balcony around the neck of the balloon. However Marquis François Laurent d'Arlandes was absolutely terrified for the whole flight, and often did not hear Jean-Francois Pilatre de Rozier yelling at him from the other side of the balloon to put more straw on the fire. In 25 minutes the two men travelled just over five miles. Enough fuel (hay or straw) remained on board at the end of the flight to have allowed the balloon to fly four to five times as far, but burning embers from the fire threatened to engulf the balloon and the men decided to land as soon as they were over open countryside. The pioneering work of the Montgolfier brothers in developing the hot air balloon was recognised by this type of balloon being named Montgolfière after them. The 21st November remains special day in the ballooning world.
See More

We were very sad to hear yesterday that David Liddiard had passed away. He was not only a Vice President of the British Balloon Museum & Library, but thanks to him and his generosity, the Icicle Meet would not have started at Marsh Benham near Newbury. He got his balloon licence on November 25th 1972 and flew balloons all over the world. He was a member of the exclusive Dante Group of balloonists and that took him to many different countries. He was also a farmer, a Monte Car...lo Rally driver, an entrepreneur, a councillor, deeply involved with the Newbury Agricultural Show, now known as the Royal County of Berkshire Show, and was always able to help people. An amazing man who will be missed by an awful lot of people. A full obituary will be in the December Trailrope. Meanwhile our thoughts are with his widow Jo, and his children Richard and Kate.
See More

Thank you for this Robin Batchelor.

On 14th October 1783 the first tethered hot air balloon flight with a passenger took place. Jacques-Étienne Montgolfier gave Mayor Dillon, the Count of Chartres, a tethered flight in Montgolfier No.7, the same balloon in which Marquis François d'Arlandes, and Pilâtre de Roziere would free fly in in front of Louis XVI in a few weeks. The balloon only rose fifty feet before being brought back down. This took place in the yard behind the Réveillon workshop in the Faubourg Saint-...Antoine, Paris, France. A little while later on that same day, physicist Pilâtre de Rozier became the second to ascend into the air, to an altitude of 80 feet which was the length of the tether. Sources: Les Montgolfières. Icare 105. Histoire de l'Aeronautique. Comitee Annonay Tom Davis. Crouch (2009). Lighter Than Air. The Johns Hopkins University Press. pp. 28, 178.
See More

The British Balloon Museum & Library have a few places left for their Annual Luncheon. It will be held on Sunday 28th October at the Mercure Elcot Park Hotel near Newbury, Berkshire. You can book online at www.bbml.org.uk/shop You do not have to be a friend of the BBM&L to attend this event. The post-prandial speaker is Rob Bayly. Rob qualified for his air hot air balloon pilot’s licence in 1987. Five years later he flew the Atlantic as co-pilot with Don Cameron of the Briti...sh entry in the Chrysler Transatlantic Challenge, the only transatlantic balloon race. He has flown the English Channel three times and has three times been winner of the Great British Long Jump distance competition. Extreme flights include across the Norwegian Arctic, Austrian Alps, Sri Lankan jungle and New Mexico desert. Rob holds a number of records and has flown in many countries including Russia, USA, Australia, Malaysia and UAE Dubai. It should be a cracker. Of course we cannot forget that our President, Robin Batchelor, straight from filming, will be trying to relief you of some pound coins at the auction. Arrive at 11.30 am to make sure you have kissed and hugged everybody before we sit down at 12.30pm.
See More

On the 19th September 1783 Etienne Montgolfier, a paper maker, launched the first hot air balloon with passengers, it was called 'Aerostat Reveillon'. The passengers were a sheep, a duck and a rooster. The balloon stayed in the air for a grand total of 15 minutes before crashing back to the ground. After the successful launch of a hot air balloon in June 1783, in Annonay by the brothers Montgolfier, King Louis XVI, ordered the brothers to bring the balloon to Paris, and launc...
Continue Reading

Can you help? The first woman to fly in a balloon over in the USA, was a woman, Madame Johnson, on Oct. 4, 1825. The story is fascinating about this widow with four children, but there seems to be no photographs of her, only of her balloon. Do you know where I can get a picture of her? To fly a balloon in 1825, there has to be something out there. Please assist me in my quest. Jenni, Editor of the BBM&L Trailrope. Oops - I didn't mean photographs but engravings or drawings.

2 of 16 shapes from the museum collection at Bristol this weekend.