Pop the question, not the balloon

THERE'S not much room to go down in one knee, but the basket of a hot-air balloon has become a popular place for Australian men to pop the question.

Please do ... floating gently over scenic valleys and plains has inspired many young lovers to propose marriage. Picture: AP

THERE'S not much room to go down in one knee, but the basket of a hot-air balloon has become a popular place for Australian men to pop the question.

"We average one a week," says Judy Lynne, a former Current Affair TV reporter who runs Balloon Aloft in the NSW Hunter Valley with her partner of 25 years Peter Vizzard, the 1993 world ballooning champion.

Floating gently from treetop height to 300m up over the scenic Hunter Valley is an awesome experience that obviously appeals to young lovers as a romantic place to propose.

But does the target of the proposal always say "Yes?"

In the 26 years since the pair set up Australia's first commercial ballooning company, only once has a lady rejected the offer, Judy says.

The dozen other fliers in the basket had been told in advance what the would-be bridegroom planned – but not the prospective bride.

"When she said `No' everyone had been ready to cheer went completely silent for the whole flight," Judy said.

The lady said grimly to her kneeling suitor: "I'll talk to you later."

Said Judy: "We advise the men now to try and make sure the answer will be `Yes' – if it isn't, it can put a damper on the whole morning."

Balloon Aloft, which in 1983 became the first Australian company to hold a balloon air operator's certificate, flies daily at sunrise – weather permitting – when the air is cool and stable, before wind currents develop.

The Hunter Valley operation, based at North Rothbury, is one of eight flight locations in Australia; others are at Alice Springs, Camden in NSW, Canberra, Gold Coast and three sites in Victoria: Melbourne, Mansfield and Yarra Valley.

Customers represent a broad cross-section of people often celebrating a particular event – a wedding, an anniversary, Christmas, a birthday, Mother's Day, and so on.

On our recent trip, Evelyn and Wally Gillespie from Wyee, NSW, set an anniversary record when their family treated them to a flight for their 70th! She's 86 and he's 90.

They and we stayed the night before the flight at Balloon Aloft's own B&B at North Rothbury, making the required telephone call at 7.30pm to check that all systems were go, weather-wise.

The conditions turned out to be perfect – fine with a light breeze.

The weather was perfect this day.

A dawn takeoff meant rising at 4.15am for a quick cuppa before walking to the base where Peter Vizzard briefed the 14 fliers, calming any nervousness via the company's perfect safety record.

All were required to read a safety briefing card: no smoking, no guns, no knives, no backpacks, don't touch any controls and don't drop anything overboard.

One time a lady passenger was fiddling with a ring when it fell from her finger overboard; the balloon at the time was only at treetop height, and the pilot immediately landed and began a search – which was miraculously successful.

We were driven 30 minutes by minibus to a takeoff field at Neath where passengers helped unload the balloon from a trailer then watched while a fan blew flaming propane gas into it.

A small party-size trial balloon had indicated the wind direction, and soon we clambered into the 4m-by-2m basket which was divided into four sections, two with four passengers and two with three.

After the gentlest of takeoffs, we were soon floating over the Hunter's vineyards, resorts, a golf course, animals at a zoo, flocks of lorikeets, a treetop eagle's next – and the local tip.

The silence was interrupted frequently with the roar of the fiery propane blasted into the giant balloon by our pilot Dariusz (from Poland), to control its height.

Passengers, who stand throughout the flight, are advised in advance to wear hats or caps to protect their heads from the hot air.

Pilots control the height but not the direction or speed of the balloon which depends entirely on the wind.

They also keep in touch by UHF radio with the authorities on any other air traffic – not that there was any on our flight, apart from two other balloons.

After the hour's flight we put down gently at the small Cessnock airport, which has no scheduled flights, where the Balloon Aloft "ground retrieve" crew's vehicle awaited us, having followed us all the way.

The company puts safety first, and rain and/or winds over 12 knots can mean no flights that day; people who have booked can try again another day or receive a refund less $15 for administration costs.

Back at Balloon Aloft HQ, the 14 passengers with relatives and friends celebrated the occasion with champagne, fruit juice and light refreshments.

Each flier was also anointed with a few drops of bubbly, a ceremony accompanied by the Balloonist's Prayer:

"May the winds welcome you with softness.

May the sun bless you with his warm hands.

May you fly so high and so well that God joins in your laughter and sets you gently back into the loving arms of Mother Earth."

The writer was a guest of Balloon Aloft.