More
than twenty years ago the germ of an idea came to Phil Dunnington. Could an
elderly aeroplane with lots of character and a travelling lightweight balloon
be combined to create one of the world's most unique and exciting aviation
adventures? Even at the outset only one aircraft fitted the bill - the
venerable but reliable workhorse that is the Beech 18, capable of carrying
people and cargo over distances of 1000 miles (1600km) at a time. The balloon
had to fit inside too, of course!
Then,
in the summer of 2014 Phil was visiting an aviation exhibition at which a
handful of aircraft were displayed for sale - and one was a Beech 18. After some
careful calculations - including a trial loading of the balloon - the idea was
slowly transformed into reality and 'On the Beech' was born. Flight
permissions, safety issues, aircraft reliability and pilot team all had to be
considered by the new owners of G-BKGM, affectionately known as "Betty the
Beech".
The
plan now is to fly ‘Betty’ from the UK to New Zealand – and possibly around the
world - leaving in May 2016. The team will have a Cameron balloon on board
which will be used for balloon flights on the stop-overs. Never before has such
a combination of adventures been possible and it has taken Phil over 20 years
to bring this to fruition.
“Gone
With The Wind” is a Bristol company, owned and run by Phil and Allie
Dunnington. They fly Bristol-made Cameron balloons worldwide, on
commercial, tourist and film-making flights. Recent work includes a three part
BBC wildlife documentary on Burma for the Bristol based BBC natural history
unit, 'The World’s Greatest Balloon Adventures' on ARTE, and tailor-made
expeditions to the world’s remotest corners, ranging from Arctic Canada to
Mongolia.
The
first part of the planned adventure is a series of hops from the UK to Cuba via
the Faroes, Greenland, Canada, US and Turks & Caicos. The aircraft will be
operating under the name of ‘Bristol Airways Ltd.’
Not
only will each sector of the journey have a tale to tell of flying an old
aeroplane through some of the world's most challenging regions and then,
between flights, getting airborne in their two-person Voyager balloon. Many
destinations have never seen a balloon before.
Meanwhile
the Beech 18 is undergoing refurbishment at an airfield near Gloucester and
work is on target for the May 2016 departure. West Country engineering
expertise is contributing to the safe completion of this epic journey.
Short history of the Beechcraft
Built at
Beechcraft Inc. factory in Wichita, Kansas, USA in 1952 for the Royal Canadian
Air Force our aeroplane served for nearly a decade as a trainer for up to six
navigators using traditional star- and sun-shots and basic radio aids.
Sold onto
the Canadian civilian market as a survey aircraft it became registered CF-SUQ
at the start of a fascinating world-wide career undertaking photogrammetric and
mapping tasks. Its final project was based at Dar-el-Beida in Algeria before a
ferry flight on 4 August 1981 towards its home country. That flight was
abruptly terminated at Prestwick, Scotland when the owners ran out of funds
and, after a period of storage she took up a new career delivering newspapers
throughout the British Isles.
Her final
more restful period with Anthony Hutton and subsequently Andy Foan on the UK
airshow circuit in various representative military colour schemes ended in
February 2015 in mock-1930s style as a link aeroplane in a BBC TV series titled
'Prized Apart'.
Now
owned privately by Phil & Allie Dunnington as G-BKGM and in the colours of
their company, Bristol Airways Ltd., she is being prepared for greater things
in 2016.
Phil and Allie Dunnington
Phil, whose career started in airline
and aircraft manufacturing management, is one of the world’s most widely
experienced commercial balloonists and has flown balloons in 113 countries to
date. He was the UK’s chief examiner for balloon licences for 15 years and is
heavily involved in liaising with the CAA and other authorities on balloon
safety and regulatory issues. As one of the UK's most senior balloon inspector he is in demand as a qualified expert witness in legal cases. Phil has been instrumental in the set up of many world-wide commercial balloon operations and is a director of the Bristol International
Balloon Fiesta.
Allie is a multi-lingual balloon pilot
who has flown in 85 countries. She has a PhD in tourism and anthropology. She
writes travel articles and published photographs in major magazines and
newspapers. In her work as a professional tour manager she specialises in tours
offering a mix of sporting activities or ballooning combined with cultural
visits. Allie's mission is to encourage more women into ballooning and she has initiated the 'Women's Balloon Event'. As a commercial pilot and instructor she has recently been appointed to be the first female type-rating examiner in the UK.
Contact details
1
Kensington Villas, Royal Park
Bristol
BS8 3AJ, UK
