The Name Game

Hidden in the grid is a word dear to our hearts. To find it, all you have to do is answer correctly each of the multiple choice questions, then rearrange the letters corresponding to your answers to fill in the answer box.

Answer boxes

 Box 1 In which year was the first manned hot air balloon flight?

1) 1783   [N]  2) 1873   [C]  3) 1738   [P]

 Box 2 Who piloted that first flight?

  1) Joseph Michel & Jacques Etienne Montgolfier [O]

  2) Tony Pinner & Colin Boyson [R]

  3) Steve McCarthy & Nick Wright [B]

 Box 3 Who within the Ballooning Business has had the longest single flight in time and Distance?

  1) David Kew & Colin Boyson  [L]

  2) Steve (50 minute) McCarthy [A]

  3) Glyn (which field) Mason [G]

 Box 4 What are modern day balloons primarily constructed of?

1) Rip-stop nylon [A]  2) Non-pop rubber [L]  3) Non-run silk [P]

 Box 5 On 6/11/69 a 34 million cubic foot hot air balloon was launched from Hollman Airforce Base, New Mexico. What was its payload?

1) 13,800lb  [B]  2) Colin’s wallet  [O]  3) Tony’s wallet  [X]

 Box 6 During the Franco Prussian War a hot air balloon was used to enable an eminent minister to escape. From where was it launched?

1) Paris  [L]       2) Kislingbury (the field on the left)  [O]  3) Hardingstone (the Triangle) [B]

 Box 7 How much did the British army spend, in August 1878, to build a balloon named Pioneer, with a cambric envelope coated with varnish and a 10,000 cubic feet capacity?

1) £71  [O]    2) Jane’s 10p lunch at Stoneleigh (yes she did get a receipt) [A] 3) Loose change from Colin’s back pocket.  [B]

Inside the Mind of a Commercial Pilot

Sywell Country Park is a regular point of reference when flying around this area. However, from a more “down to earth” perspective, I was walking around the reservoir one recent bright, sunny morning, when I was suddenly alarmed to read a warning sign.

It said “BIRD - HIDE”. So I did. I immediately secreted myself behind a convenient tree and waited, but no bird appeared. After a while I foolishly realised that the sign was for the benefit of the bird - not me, and the reason I hadn’t seen the bird was that it had read the sign and understood it properly and hidden before I arrived.

Not many yards further on was another sign which said “BIRD - HIDE, BEWARE STEPS”. Being a smart cookie I was not tricked into leaping behind another tree, but I did stroll on wondering what it might be that they would have against STEPS. Why single them out and not warn us against, say, S-Club 7 or Blur? - Ho hum.

No Hiding Place

Some pilots when faced with the wrath of an angry farmer will sometimes try hiding and let the crew deal with the problem. It’s unclear from this picture how the pilot imagines that a seventy foot high balloon and basket laid out across a farmers field is going to go unnoticed.

Why do pilots need Landowner relations courses when it’s always the crew that need to belong to the diplomatic corp.