LECTURE

“THE ONLY WAY IS UP”

Joint Lecture with the British Association for the Advancement of Science by Tom Sage, Cameron Balloons, on 25 November 1998

Tom Sage was one of the founders of the Hot Air Group in 1967 with Don Cameron. He had previously been a photographer with the Press Association.

One of the first balloonists was a Bath resident - Patrick Alexander - and a Mrs Sage flew in a hydrogen balloon in 1785. This flight was repeated by the present Mrs Sage from the same site, the Honourable Artillery Company’s ground in Moorgate, piloted by Tom Sage, recently. The high surrounding buildings made the repeat flight a much more difficult launch.
Tom Sage’s first balloon flight was made 30 years ago in an RAF hydrogen balloon at Cardington with Wing Commander Turnbull, intended to be the last flight of the RAF’s balloon, although, to get pictures of the balloon in flight he arranged for another flight to be made. These flights gave him ‘the bug’ and he now pilots hot air balloons, of all sizes and shapes, and airships. The ‘magic’ is the lack of sense of movement through the air, so different to an aircraft.
His next flight was over the Alps, again with Turnbull, celebrating Hedges & Butlers’ tercentenary, again in a hydrogen balloon with a basket only 2' 8" (80cm) square.
He then started experimenting with hot air balloons with Don Cameron in Bristol, first with a paper balloon, then the Bristol Belle and subsequently with ones of increasing size and fantastic shapes. The Heineken balloon is 500,000cu. ft capacity and carries up to 32 people. Others, of which he showed many pictures, included a golliwog, a Minnie Mouse, a Witch, a Dinosaur, Elephants, a Macaw parrot, a 240 ft.high minaret, a book and a pair of jeans.
The latest is the Round-the-World Breitling Orbiter 3 which is to set off again soon on another attempt to circumnavigate the globe.
Don Lovell