Scotair

12/08/2021

The clock is ticking... The long awaited return.

17/03/2020

Like everyone else, the world is now flipped upside down. My balloons are currently sat in the Ultramagic factory in Igualada, which sadly means my return to air will be delayed further. It is anyone's guess when things will be back on track. My kayak and photography business have also been stopped.
We are all in this together, it will be hard going forward but we will get there. As I have said on my private page, we all have phones, by all means call me if you want a chat. Stay Safe.

24/01/2020

It has been a while, longer than I had hoped, finally though, my return to flying is imminent.
Thanks to ReMax - Scotland, I will soon have this basket with a few adaptions to help my return to the skies. Hydraulic burners, floor mounted pulleys from the world of yachting, a seat and a door. My right arm struggles overhead and so using floor mounted pulleys I can pull up and not down. The door means I won't need to pull myself up and out, whilst hand grip burners mean I can fly with my hands in my pockets.
We are pushing to get this to me by the day Scotland is pulled out of the EU. I look forward to beginning a new chapter in what was already an interesting life in ballooning.

26/02/2017

On the 5th March 2017, I will be going on standby to make another crossing of the English Channel, my third. This time, I'm flying with another pilot, our very own Mark Stelling.
As many in the industry know, I was hit head on at great speed by another driver in 2014. I am currently unable to hold my license due to ongoing recovery complications from this which has been a bit hard at times it has to be said.
This is a big deal for me, it's a long road back and I have a pretty long way still to travel. It's a great opportunity to get back in the air, helped by Mark and to go off on another adventure. It's only when you lose this occupation that you realise just how amazing it is.
The last couple of times I flew the Channel it was a simple wet or dry suit, this time it's got to be full immersion. Because of the reaction I have to cold temperatures in my shoulder and right arm mobility issues, I need to be able to float around should we ditch, swimming just isn't an option.
Anyway, I look forward to seeing old friends and meeting new ones on the launch field when this happens..

17/02/2017

21/11/2016

In the name of research, I have been crawling through a rather large box of old photos and found this, a brochure from circa 1997. Where has the time gone?
Back then the business was known as Scotair Balloons (Scottish, so Scot and it rhymes with hot, genius ;-) ). The business then was crazy busy, three balloons in the fleet. Ah! the heady days.. What next?

24/10/2016

Hot Air Ballooning was and is still part of me. I think about it everyday, dream about it when I sleep and know that what it can bring in rewards is immeasurable. With the injuries sustained in the RTC, I will have difficulties and set backs but this will make the rewards bigger and sweeter.

08/02/2015

For anyone who speaks the Dutch!! We made this way back in the 90's. I was asked to come up with a wee challenge for Wie is de Mol?, this was it.. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bV_fkJQlgzs

Seizoen 2, Aflevering 4 De Mol, later Wie Is De Mol, is een spelprogramma waarbij Nederlanders opdrachten moeten uitvoeren in het buitenland. Hierbij kunnen ...

22/09/2013

Well, my little play in Paul Dickinson's Tekno 50 at the Grassroots Meet at Sackville netted me the win on the Hare and Hounds. I was only out for a play and Paul said we had to land with Richard Penny in the Tekno 70, because we were being collected by his retrieve, another day in a different office. Marker was 6 meters of the centre, I'm happy with that..