November 23, 2015, by Lindsay Brooke

Nottingham balloon – a taste of summer!

As we felt the first blast of winter this weekend how nice to remind ourselves of the lovely autumn we’ve just enjoyed. Here’s a collection of images of  The University of Nottingham Balloon – often seen on University open days – in flight over Chatsworth in September.

Team Janet – The University of Nottingham Hot Air Balloon Team – were once again flying at the annual Chatsworth Country Fair hot air balloon meet on the 4th to 6th September. This hugely popular event is organised by the East Midlands Balloon Group. Over 40 balloons went up and ‘played’ in the valley over Chatsworth House for a couple of hours.

G-NUNI made a pretty spectacular sight. The weather was good and there were four flights over the course of the long weekend along with all the other attractions that the annual Chatsworth Country Fair has to offer.

Yvonne Stephenson and her husband Paul along with the rest of Team Janet continue to keep the balloon flying.

Over this winter Yvonne and Paul will be getting some 10-year maintenance completed on the balloon’s 4 propane tanks, so it will be all ready to go for next year. 

It was through their long friendship with Dr Janet Folkes, a former Lecturer in Engineering and Pilot at the University. The team continue to fly the balloon as much to keep her legacy going as for their own enjoyment. Here’s a video of Janet in action – flying over Nottingham.

Yvonne said: “Janet was a wonderful and most inspiring lady who, following her untimely passing in January 2012, left the University with a great bit of kit. We continue to keep the balloon flying and plan to attend lots more ballooning events next year so that we can build interest within the University and drive it forward.”

In the meantime enjoy this gallery of pictures of G-NUNI taken by Andrew Hallsworth who is a regular freelance photographer for the University and now a keen supporter of Team Janet.

Posted in EngineeringEventsSportStaff