![]() ![]() Piloting that balloon was local resident, Giovanni “John” Aimo, an institution in the field: pilot, instructor and champion many times over. The first balloon in Italy was registered in Mondovì more than 40 years ago. It is Italy’s first balloon airport and headquarters to the Aero Club of Mondovì. In fact, it’s no coincidence that Mondovì is the “Italian capital” of hot-air ballooning! Naturally, you need an airfield, which, in this case, is called “Balloonporto”. ![]() As you tilt your head up in the air, you’ll be able to observe the biggest annual balloon rally in Italy. And, if you happen to be here on Epiphany Day, you’ll witness a truly wonderous (and peaceful) invasion. Seeing giant hot-air balloons suspended in the sky above Mondovì is something residents here are used to. The couple from West Sussex, South East England said they would also eventually return to Sussex, N.B., where they waited seven weeks for ideal flying conditions.Balloons everywhere… because Mondovì is the city that flies! “Initially, we won’t be doing anything,” said Deborah. The couple said this latest setback wouldn’t dull their adventurous spirit and passion for flying balloons, but stopped short of making any final word on this particular trip. “It just completely takes everything over.” “In total, we’re talking eight years, and it’s a bit consuming,” said Deborah. The Scholes have faced multiple interruptions getting in the air, from winds blowing the wrong direction to French military exercises in the east Atlantic.īefore that, a worldwide shortage of helium, pandemic travel restrictions, and health challenges caused further delays. He ran a passenger ballooning company for several years. Mike, a former Royal Navy Pilot, began to lose his sight at the end of 2007. ![]() The trip has been a fundraiser for Blind Veterans UK. She regularly competes in long-distance hot air balloon flying competitions, and has flown balloons across the English Channel and the Alps. This is the longest flight Deborah has ever piloted. “Even with the issues we had, it was a beautiful flight.” “I’ve got to process it first,” said Deborah with a laugh. “This was beyond being able to fly on safely over a large ocean.”ĭeborah didn’t want to elaborate Friday on specifics about the technical issues. And as much as we wanted to do it, it would not have been okay.” “When you’re going out over a great big ocean, that’s a different ball game altogether and everything has to be absolutely right,” said Deborah. It wouldn’t have been right to have carried on.”īefore lifting off, both Deborah and Mike said the first few hours of their balloon journey over land would be critical in determining if everything was working properly for the remainder of the trip. ![]() “Like with any big project, everything has to line up. “There were technical issues,” said Deborah in an interview Friday afternoon. The journey ultimately ended early with the Scholes and their balloon making a safe, controlled landing just after sunrise in central Newfoundland. with the goal of completing a transatlantic balloon trip, landing in Spain in about a week. As Deborah Scholes piloted a helium balloon over Newfoundland toward the open Atlantic early Friday, she had an important but difficult decision to make: forge ahead or trust her gut.ĭeborah and Mike Scholes left Sussex, N.B., on Thursday at 9:45 a.m. ![]()
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