Looking at the forecast, it doesn't look too likely. You should have tried last weekend :-) You could always check the online schedule of Irish Balloon Flights (www.balloons.ie) and call their Flightcheck line prior to planned flights to see if they are going ahead. Flights from Trim are most Sunday...

I have two BP-7 packs if you are passing through Trim anytime soon.

Malcolm

Yes, firstly in 2005 and the second this week past. I have received an aknowledgment from the relevant authority within Met Eireann that the complaint is being processed.

Malcolm

I wouldn't expect anyone to guarantee a weather forecast and due diligence would suggest that we use many sources of met information before deciding whether to fly. Having said that, with Met Eireann being our 'local' weather source, we have to give their forecasts priority (imagine the repercussion...

You are absolutely right...it should make no difference us being an AOC holder, however, we are under a legal and moral obligation of care towards our paying passengers. Not only that, cancelling a flight as a result of poor met information is not just an inconvenience, it's a costly exercise. Malco...

Do other aviation disciplines here use the Met Eireann 1 570 premium rate briefing service? If so, would you care to comment on the level of service that you get? In our experience there is one forecaster who seems reluctant to discuss the met situation to the point of being almost rude. As an AOC h...

The above event takes place between the 23rd and 28th September in Athlone. More details can be found on the Championships website -

www.irishchampionships.com

Regards, Malcolm White
Event Director

Here's a photo of Trim, Co. Meath balloon pilot Pauline Baker in G-CEHX, a tiny Lindstrand LBL9A balloon taken recently in Switzerland on her way to breaking the female AX-1 World duration and altitude records. The dry weight of the whole balloon *and* pilot including empty fuel cylinder is 75kg. Th...

Thanks for the information. I wasn't aware that the site had been used for any aviation purposes previously! In fact, it's been a major challenge getting the site for our event due to both the number of landowners involved and the status as an Special Protection Area (corncrakes). Fortunately, the b...

The 2006 Championships are to be held in Athlone, Co. Westmeath from September 24th - 29th. The primary launch site will be the 'Bigmeadow' adjacent to the Shannon on the south side of the town. 40 balloons expected from Ireland, UK, Europe and USA. Details of website will be posted when I get it do...

I meant to add - since canvassing the author to include Ireland, five-day wind forecasts are available on www.xcweather.co.uk. This site includes current temp/viz/pressure.

M.

For 48 hour forecasting, I use the Meteograms from the University of Basel. There are 13 forecast locations around Ireland. Whilst it doesn't give forecast viz, it does provide upper winds/temps/cloud/sfc temp/dew point/humidity/precip etc.

http://pages.unibas.ch/geo/mcr/3d/meteo/ and click on the Meteograms window.

M.

It's a big deal to some factions of GA, in particular those who are not allowed to fly in Class C airspace without advanced *written* permission i.e. balloons. As a commercial operation operating both north and south of the new proposed Class C airspace, this would necessitate us to move elsewhere i...