Suburban landings defended by veteran balloon pilot

A HOT-AIR balloon pilot has downplayed concerns from a Surrey Hills resident that his landing this morning may have been unplanned.

Balloon Flights Over Melbourne owner and pilot Chris Shorten also landed his balloon in a St Kilda carpark in December but he said that landing and his latest were controlled and safe.

Kevin Donnelly, who photographed the landing at Canterbury Sportsground in Surrey Hills, said he went to check what his dog was madly barking at when he saw the balloon at 7am.

The Remax balloon above Surrey Hills homes.

“Little did I realise what was skimming over the street’s rooftops, apparently, about to land,” he said.

“Luckily its flame ignited, the wind was blowing in the right direction and it safely landed in the adjoining local sportsground.”

Mr Shorten said where hot-air balloons landed in Melbourne depended on prevailing conditions including the wind direction.

In the case of the Canterbury Sportsground landing, he said he knew where he was going to land 20 minutes before he landed and had his ground crew in place.

“I landed there this morning because it was safe. We have areas that we are permitted to land on and that we can choose to land on,” he said.

Mr Shorten said balloon flights came under the direction of the Civil Aviation Safety Authority and Airservices and were planned so they didn’t interfere with the operations of Melbourne and Essendon airports.

The landing at Canterbury Sportsground this morning. Photo: Kevin Donnelly Source: Supplied

A balloon pilot for 21 years, Mr Donnelly said members of the public misinterpreted balloon landings because they didn’t understand pilots had control of the balloons to the ground.

The landing at Canterbury Sportsground this morning.

He said in 27 years of balloon flights in Melbourne, the only people to call triple-zero in response to a balloon landing were members of the public and when they did it was a waste of valuable emergency resources.

In the December landing at St Kilda, Mr Shorten said a temperature rise forced him to land for safety reasons.

The balloon avoided hitting anything when it landed but the red, white and blue Remax-sponsored balloon did collapse in between a house and block of flats while it deflated.

He invited the public to call 1800 468 247 or visit balloonman.com.au if they had any questions.

via – Herald Sun.