Longleat
LONGLEAT: Balloon launching site and air racing site
Note: In 2016 a major balloon even was held here, to celebrate fifty years of the house being open to the public. It appears that fifty balloons gathered here to mark the event. These pictures taken from the web and I will be very happy to attribute the photographers. Please get in touch.
Location: 2.5nm SE of Frome
Period of operation: From the 1980s? Possibly before? Air racing from 2005
Runway: At the 2005 ‘Red Bull Air Races’ the aircraft were based at WING FARM but the participating aircraft did land on the main drive to the house. During 2006 a runway was actually painted out and orientated 17/35 and the width extended onto the grass on each side of the drive. At a guess the length is 500 to 600 metres and the width about 15 metres?
NOTES: Multiple balloon launches take place here in the grounds of Longleat House which is adjacent to the well known Safari Park.
PICTURE GALLERY
Notes: All pictures of the 'Red Bull' event by the author unless specified.
These pictures were taken by the author from a single visit in August 2005, the first Red Bull Air Race held in the UK. It really was an astonishing sight to behold, with highly aerobatic aircraft making the most amazing manouevres at very low level amongst the trees.
AND MORE PICTURES
*COMMENT: I do often wonder, when this and similar events take place, how many people realise the considerable skills required by the helicopter pilots tasked with filming the event from above?
**SECOND COMMENT: It is not uncommon, as this picture clearly shows, that pilots competing in the Red Bull air races can pull up to 10 'G'. Far more than the human body can cope with, and therefore they wear special upper-body 'G''suits to help them cope. But make no mistake about it, even with these suits the experience is extremely stressful on the body (and brain) and cannot be sustained for more than a few seconds before 'blacking-out'.
What is not usually appreciated are the lateral 'G' forces during extreme rolling manouevres, (also seen in this picture), which can be equally hard to cope with. Much is often made of the 'G' forces Formula One drivers have to able to endure, and few could cope of course. But, these pilots, during a Red Bull air race, not only experience much higher 'G' forces, they subject themselves to this far more often and only a few seconds apart in many cases. Then again, to be fair, their flights are quite brief compared to a Formula One race.
One technique often employed by aerobatic pilots, is to take a very deep breath just before the manouevre - tensing the diaphram - and many find that emitting a yell or shout during the manouevre helps too.
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