Welcome Insanity

Despite COVID-19 there has been a lot of work going on behind the scenes. Now we have another balloon to add to the Bright Spark Team....

Insanity was built back in the 1980's with many previous owners. The balloon is a 77,000 cubic feet envelope made by Cameron Balloons. With plenty of colors we really think it fits into the Bright Spark team. Insanity's official registration is G-BWYN and with it being an older balloon allows for a bit more "rough and tumble" compared to our relatively new "Bright Spark". Insanity comes with a fitting basket and Mark 4 double burner which uses a vapor system as well as the liquid system we are used to flying with in Bright Spark. Insanity has been given it's name mainly due to the general insanity required to get up at 0500 AM just to stand around in a field and decide it's too windy to fly. As with any balloon team the retrieve need a name too and as they also get up at ridiculous times in the morning it was decided that they should be called madness.

Although we haven't yet managed to get Insanity into the air we have managed to hot inflate the balloon and give it a quick once over. Although all of this we have managed to do with lock down and COVID 19 going on there is still a lot of work to do. A new balloon means more equipment, more crew and more space at launch sites. Never mind the increased costs from fuel, insurance and retrieve vehicles. However the spectacle of our team being able to fly two balloons at the same time will surely be worth it.Insanity is likely to be flown more by the younger pilots in the Bright Spark team meaning they will have nice kit to learn and as time progresses gather more experience. Hopefully as they are using an older balloon no one would notice the odd mark from pilots "gaining experience"!

COVID 19 permitting we are already expecting to get Insanity to events around the UK this year. If events continue we are likely to be at Oswestry Balloon Event in August and the Sky Safari in September with both Bright Spark and Insanity. However you will also likely see both of the balloon in and around Worcestershire where we fly from a few different launch sites in the area.

We look forward to seeing everyone out and about when the season gets underway!