Hot air balloons over Tullamore as championships start early

HOT air balloons were flying over Tullamore on Saturday morning as pilots and crews took advantage of the very fine weather.

With wind and rain forecast for the official start of the Irish Hot Air Ballooning Championships on Saturday evening, some of the enthusiasts decided to make the most of the near perfect conditions.

So at dawn a few of the giant balloons were unpacked and readied for take-off while event organisers the Irish Hot Air Ballooning Association posted on Facebook: "Soooo…… although the Championships don’t officially start until this evening, a lot of our teams are already in Tullamore and it looks like it might be a flyable morning! We never want to miss out on a flyable slot where possible so, some teams are headed to the Town Park shortly to possibly fly!

"As I say, this is not an official Champs flight, just simply some of our teams wanting to take advantage of the flyable weather but, if it does turn out to be a FLY decision, they should give you a lovely view this morning as a handful of balloons fly over Tullamore."

Luckily for those teams, the decision was to fly and many people around town were treated to the surprise sight of the balloons above.

The first pilots briefing is scheduled for 4pm today (Saturday, September 23) and there are three potential launch sites - Tullamore Town Park, the Tullamore Show site on Butterfield Estate, and Ballard Hill, near the Tullamore bypass.

On Friday the organisers explained the unpredictable nature of ballooning on the Irish Hot Air Ballooning Championships Facebook page: "I know it may feel like we can’t make up our minds or leave it all to the last minute or always end up cancelling at the last minute but, this is just the nature of ballooning - we are totally at the mercy of Mother Nature and she is an uncontrollable and to a large extent, unpredictable force (IRO such weather dependent craft such as a hot air balloon anyway). By leaving our fly/ no fly decision to the last minute, we can make sure we are basing each decision on the most up-to-date and accurate weather forecast, which gives us a much higher chance of being able to comfortably give a safe, fly decision rather than decide further in advance and decide no fly 'just in case'.

"Remember, the Irish Championships is a private event for hobby balloonists, everyone is at this event because they want to fly. A no fly decision is never taken lightly but unfortunately, a lot of the time, it is necessary in order to ensure everyone’s safety. We totally understand how much some of you really look forward to seeing the balloons, but just remember, we feel just as disappointed as you when we can’t fly."

Crews have travelled to Tullamore from around, Ireland, the UK, north America and Europe for the event, which will continue until Friday, September 29, with flights early in the morning and early in the evening, weather permitting.

Rain or the threat of rain means flying cannot take place and winds must be light.

There will be updates on the association's Facebook page.