Balloonatic84.co.uk

About the Team

We are a team made up of friends and family. We fly throughout Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire, at various events across the UK and also in Europe. Should you be interested in joining the team, please drop us a line via our contact page.

Below you can find some information on our team members, as well as our trusted aerostats - Marlene and Eric.

Team Members

Matt was granted his pilots license in 2010 and has logged around 100 flying hours since. He is currently working towards his commercial pilots license and hopes to complete this training in the next few years. Competition flying is also an area of ballooning that Matt hopes to take part in soon.
Matt - Pilot

Stuart is the teams most experienced pilot. Handy with the tools Stu is the first person we look to when something breaks! Our dolly trolly is one of his newest inventions, watch out for MKII on the launch field soon!
Stuart - Pilot

Paul is the owner of Eric, our 150ft Special Shape. Also one of the teams most experienced crew members, Paul is often on retrieve duty following in the 4x4. With his multitude of cameras you can always be sure of some cracking footage of the flight!
Paul - Crew

Matt's wife Charlene is the teams most regular crew member only missing two flights since the teams creation. A dab hand with both map and camera its unusual for the crew not to be at the landing field taking photos before we have even landed!
Charlene - Crew

Kerr and his son Rocco are two of the most dependable crew members on the team. A bit of a techie, Kerr always makes sure he has his GPS to record the 4x4 journey. Rocco is the teams youngest member and passenger after taking to the air twice in one weekend at the age of 5!
Kerr - Crew

Mark is a dab hand with the camera and comes up with some excellent shots of the team in action. Mark is a valuable member of crew, familiar in all areas of the launch and always willing to be positioned on the mouth ready to get blow away by the fan!
Mark - Crew

Caroline is usually on hand to help with launches from Oakley HQ and often on the retrieve. Caroline does an excellent job of ensuring the envelope is fully laid out and full of cold air prior to the burners being lit.
Caroline - Crew

With a passion for all modes of aviation Chris is our newest member. Quickly learning the ropes Chris is now ready for action when called upon.
Chris - Crew

Balloons

G-OAER - Aero

Aero is a Lindstrand manufactured 105-A. Built in 1996 to advertise the Aero chocolate bar.

G-PNEU - Bibendum

Eric is 150ft tall replica of the Michelin mascot, Bibendum. Sadly no longer airworthy, he can be seen inflated at a number of events we attend.

G-CJKI - TBC

CJKI is our newest balloon, an Ultramagic S-90 built in 2016. We are looking forward to flying this balloon at many events, including 2017's channel crossing and flight across London.