Hopper Flying – 23rd & 24th August 2018

With the forecast of some slower southerly winds after what has been a very windy few months here in the Hunter Valley I booked in two days to fly the cloud hopper and enjoy a bit of fun no stress flying.

Day 1

A light surface wind meant a short drift to the east before climbing to 3500ft. Something which was new to me in the cloudhopper and a surreal experience to be sitting in a chair at that height. We had a small break in the clouds allowing for some wonderful sunrise shots. I opted to fly further to the north with a stronger drainage wind in the middle of the valley and was rewarded with a calm 3kt landing with the retrieve crew already on site.

Day 2

With some surface fog apparent to the north of the valley we launch further south than intended to keep clear of the fog. Launching from the Debortili vineyard we drifted to the south over the Crowne Plaza Hunter Valley resort much to the delight of the hotel guest as I flew low over the pool. After a short climb to 1000ft we tracked to the west. With our surface drainage winds starting I follow Danny to Calais Estate landing right next to each other making for an easy retrieve before we headed for a great breakfast at the new Fawk Foods Restaurant.

A fantastic two days of fun flying and really enjoying what ballooning is all about. Looking forward to the next block of calm days for some more cloudhopper flying.