Bill Harrops 2nd Dinosaur Derby and Night Glow

By Garth Calitz Photos By Andre Venter

The hot air balloon is the oldest form of flight technology used for carrying humans, following the first manned flight in 1783. The home of Bill Harrop's Original Balloon Safaris was awash with colour on Saturday evening to celebrate this historic achievement. Two French brothers, Jacques-Étienne Montgolfier and Joseph-Michel Montgolfier developed a hot air balloon in France’s Annonay area. It was demonstrated to the public, making a flight that lasted for 10 minutes and has been celebrated by the world hot air ballooning community ever since.

The average hot air balloon consists of an envelope, which is used to contain the hot air and a wicker basket, where passengers and a means of creating hot air are typically housed. But that being said the ballooning community are not always happy to be conformists, this was very evident on Saturday evening when some iconic balloons were unpacked. Some of these balloons had to be grounded as they were donned with liquor advertising that was banned in South Africa many years ago others just reached the end of their safe life.

Dale de Klerk CEO and accountable person and Tracy Robb Chief Pilot decided to gander through the storage area at Bill Harrop's Balloon Safaris last year and came across these iconic balloons that had been forgotten. They decided that they would use Montgolfier Day to showcase these masterpieces under the banner of the Great Dinosaur Balloon Derby, and this was the second edition of what we hope becomes an annual event. Sadly, founder Bill and his wife Mary Harrop were taken from us by Covid-19 in 2020, I’m sure they would have loved to witness this spectacle.

Many of the balloons were designed and built by Terry Adams, regarded as the father of hot air ballooning in South Africa. Terry first began ballooning in England in 1972, emigrated to South Africa in 1976 and started Flamboyant Balloons. In so doing, he got ballooning off the ground in South Africa he has built over 50 balloons. Amongst his most memorable achievements was launching his balloon from the Ark Royal – a British Navy aircraft carrier – and landing in Malta in the mid-1970s. Terry has ballooned the length and breadth of South Africa and is a legend in international ballooning circles.

Tracy Robb, who is by far the most experienced balloon pilot in South Africa with well over 4000 hours, decided to try out one of the treasures found in the storeroom. The contraption is known as a hopper and is a single-person balloon. The pilot is strapped to the gas cylinder and burner by a harness system that would be at home in a WWII fighter aircraft. Once the rather small balloon was inflated Tracy slowly drifted off the ground, she was tethered as the balloon is no longer classed as airworthy. Tracy was joined by Allie, a balloon pilot from the UK in a very modern version of the Hopper.

Once night fell the real visual treat started with the thirteen balloons all fully inflated and tied down treated the visitors to a night glow demonstration that will not be rivalled for many years. Karl Jensen, the MC for the day, enticed all the balloons to light up their night glow on a rather lopsided 10-sec countdown it was a spectacular sight to see.

Big thanks must go to Dale, Tarcy, Jacquie and their team at Bill Harrop's for a wonderful nostalgic evening, that transported many a balloon pilot back to the heyday of ballooning in South Africa.