Bucket List

Over the years I have travelled by trains, boats and planes. I have travelled by car and on motor bikes. I have travelled on hovercraft, by submarine and in a helicopter.

Today was the day when I was going to complete the set by travelling in a hot air balloon.

Sadly it wasn't to be, and after spending an hour in a large field near Ingleton waiting for the wind to drop, we have had to give up on the idea as the light was beginning to fade.

I get the chance to re-book and to try again, but for now the bucket list is still short of the necessary tick.

The balloon operator tried to dispel the disappointment of the 12 would be passengers with a simple but effective statement

"It is preferable to be on the ground wishing you were in the air than being in the air and wishing you were on the ground...."

Wise words, Builderboy. From the operator.

Wise words indeed.
You live to "fly" another day.

builderboy, fair play to you, nothing would get me in a hot air balloon!

I hope it gets reorganised for you soon.

✈️⛵️🚝🚲🚚

Phil...Flying...A Little Too Close...

Amazing song.

...It's a fine line...

jarvo

Do you know Cliff, did same job you do at BA in Lostock and then became a driving instructor

Sir Robert - Cliff? Is he a Wigginer or is he a born and bred Pembertonian?

jarvo

You will either know him or you won't know him and from that reply, it sounds like you don't know him

Re-arranged for Sunday the 11th of October - again, of course, subject to suitable weather conditions.

Clearly I will need to keep an eye on my isobars.

Good luck for Sunday, Builderboy!

My sister was a passenger recently on her friend's trial lesson with Liverpool Flying School (link) - she enjoyed good views of Liverpool & Wigan during the hour's flight - I'd really like to do that one day.

Builderboy... Have you considered gliding. Blackpool and Fylde gliding club located near Chipping just below Parlick hill.

Always fancied going up tandem in a microlight but I would never get off the ground(I am too heavy)

Sunday afternoon, subject to climatic conditions is the big day.

Hopefully I will be turning up slightly hung over from celebrating the Warriors Saturday evening triumph (my daughter will be driving by the way)

builderboy, we took a light in the Virgin hot air balloon from Burton in Lonsdale that's pretty close to Ingleton, it was an early morning flight so we had to ring up just before midnight the day before to get the go ahead depending on the weather, especially the speed of the wind. It took us six attempts before everything was OK but what a terrific experience it was, you will be amazed at what you can hear and see from up there. Just hope you don't land in a field full of cow pats like we did!!!.
PS take some binoculars.

sir bob, I don't know who Cliff is but my dad did 25 years at Lostock when it was De-Havilland, as a kid they would throw a Christmas party for all the employees little ones and I can remember being amazed at all the propellers and machinery in there.

peebee

And a damp sponge by the sound of things!

This is our 3rd attempt albeit the first one was called off before we started driving

Hope it was third time lucky, Builderboy.

jo anne

We finally made it, and I withstood the temptation to throw myself off following Saturday evening's disappointment.

We flew at a maximum height of 2,600' and the wind carried us at a maximum of 7mph. We were afloat for about an hour. Supporting us was 400,000 cubic feet of hot air, which is almost as much as Jarvo spouts when he posts on these threads

My daughter is due to e-mail over a load of photographs; when they arrive I will follow the instructions for posting them (something which like hot air ballooning I haven't tried before). Watch this space!

For those of you who remember O Level Physics my leap to earth would have seen me accelerate at 32' per second per second (9.81m/sec/sec) to a terminal velocity of 120mph (200km/hr). Isn't it funny how rubbish like that stays in your brain but important things like filling in an Income Tax Return doesn't

Anyway, somebody has now pointed out that I haven't travelled by glider or hang glider so it seems I have more journeys to plan for the future......

...And we still haven't visited Nassau Town.

Glad you got to do it, Builderboy, it sounds fantastic, looking forward to the photos!

Okay - so now I have 150+ photos taken by the remote camera and from my daughter's i-phone.

I have chosen a few examples, not specifically of the balloon in flight but of how it gets inflated and packed away. To me they are more interesting.They are on my desktop and are good to go.

All I need is the necessary expertise as I have never attempted this before.

I looked on the sticky but that seems to involve a whole host of stages I don't think I necessarily need.

Could someone give me an idiot's guide to how I get a photo from my desktop and onto the thread, please?

Thanks

A quick way, if you haven't got/don't want a photobucket account or similar, Builderboy, could be to upload some photos onto your WW profile page to begin with.

BB, sounds like you had a great flight, I'm glad it was worth the wait

Sorry, unable to help you with posting pics, I took one look at the instructions, and lost the will to live.

But I'm sure someone will be along to help shortly, looking forward to seeing them

Do you have a photobucket, or similar account BB?

No sir, just the images sat on my desktop

Www.imgur.com

You will need somewhere to host your images, before you can put them on here,BB.

Can't you upload directly from a desktop to a WW profile page, Lectriclegs? If you can, then the pic is online to work with.

I really take my hat off to all you clever people who can get your heads around posting pictures.

I'm pretty sure Brian did mention an easier process for posting pics come the New World.

Got to be better than current way .

Never thought of that Jo Anne.

I have put them onto My Profile, albeit the message said that it would take a few hours before they appear.

The first image is what the balloon looks like when unrolled prior to inflation.

The cold air is pushed into the balloon by 2 large fans. There is 15 tons of it.

The second image is the burners heating the cold air. As hot air is less dense the weight of the volume contained reduces to 13 tons making it 'lighter than air'.

The 3rd image shows the almost ready balloon with a rather fat chap holding it down (providing ballast I prefer to call it)

Image 4 is a rather lovely young lady who paid for the trip as her dad's birthday present

Image 5 shows the balloon operator inspecting the inside of the balloon for any problems just before it rose into its vertical position

The 6th and final image is how small the balloon folds into once the flight is over. This is a result of using an incredibly strong but really light fabric for its construction

I am not sure how the photos can be moved into the thread itself.

I would like to tell you that it was all my own work but I have to confess that my daughter sussed it our for me

BB they are on your profile already. Great pics, and a very pretty lass your daughter as well as generous

http://imgur.com/ is brilliantly easy to use, builderboy. All you need to do is click the upload button, and then copy and paste the addresses it churns out for you.

Thanks jo anne - you rode to my rescue

Did you use igmur as per lapis's kind recommendation?

By right clicking on each photo on your profile, Builderboy, you can select properties and select the link address, (I think, I'm working with an iPad), then copy and paste it to here.

[img="http://www.wiganworld.co.uk/userpics/lmrolg4kub.jpg"width=500][/img]

[img="http://www.wiganworld.co.uk/userpics/3jxi77zyo3.jpg"width=500][/img]

[img="http://www.wiganworld.co.uk/userpics/an2mbus3rw.jpg"width=500][/img]

[img="http://www.wiganworld.co.uk/userpics/lz0ybzulgq.jpg"width=500][/img]

[img="http://www.wiganworld.co.uk/userpics/nllwypn7th.jpg"width=500][/img]

[img="http://www.wiganworld.co.uk/userpics/pk65tttnum.jpg"width=500][/img]

Great photos, looks like an exhilarating experience.

And thank you jazzy - as posters will already know Mrs. Builderboy and I are very proud of both of our kids.

As, I am sure, that you all are of yours.

Sorry, just seen your post, Builderboy, I've not used igmur, just copied & pasted the pic 'address'.

http://www.wiganworld.co.uk/userpics/thumbs/pk65tttnum.jpg

I thought that I had followed the instructions verbatim but clearly I have ended up with a blurred image.

Help!

If this works, this is the wedding cake I made for my daughter!

Nope, didn't work!

BB you did better than I did!

Builderboy, that's because you've taken the small image, rather than the full size one.

The small one will pixellate like that.

I think you've used the thumbnail pic when you've posted it, Builderboy, you have to click on the pic when viewed at its largest on the profile page, if that makes sense.

(Edit - as Lapis Lazuli said, sorry I missed your post)

It beats me..Ive always wondered why it has to be so difficult.

Momac, thank god I'm not the only one

Picture removed

Wow it worked!

Lapis, thanks for your advice

BB, sorry for intruding on your thread!

No problem Jazzy

We are both gaining valuable advice from the good people on WW.

lapis/jo anne - thanks again - you are dead right about copying the thumbnail rather than the larger image.

I will try to remember for next time

builderboy, some more valuable advice, I notice from your list you really should walk more!

Sooner you than me Phil..went up in a glider when I worked at Samlesbury Bae that was ok..no way would I go in one of them balloons... well done mate..

Allan

It may well be that I try gliding next.

Who knows, I could end up on a re-make of The Thomas Crown Affair humming along to The Windmills of Your Mind

I hope you are well my old friend.

Allan and I go back 55 years and used to play football on the former bowling green at the back of The Gerrard Arms at the bottom of Bolton Road, Aspull.

Happy days Phil indeed...one other form of transport you've not mentioned is the trollies we made from old prams ,speeding down the Bonk