Kavanagh E-180 Balloon ZK-FBI Making a Living

I don't think we have had many posts on balloons on the design-plane blog, but they are a part of the New Zealand civil aviation scene and they are out there on still mornings taking fortunate passengers on amazing flights. Today I had the opportunity to experience ballooning on a lovely morning North of Auckland.

After unpacking the balloon you start to inflate it with two large fans

Then up up and away with the application of fierce flames from the propane burners.

Then all too soon you land in a paddock that the wind has directed you to, and you all help to pack the balloon away. A really neat experience!

Kavanagh E-180 balloon ZK-FBI was manufactured by Kavanagh Balloons in Sydney Australia, and was first registered in New Zealand on 11/1/02, which makes todays flight the first of her 10th year of making a living. We flew today with a full load of 8 passengers plus our balloon master. ZK-FBI is registered to Balloon Safaris NZ Ltd of North Shore.