The Zebedee List

The DfT has announced that a general return to balloon flying can take place in England (not the rest of the UK yet) from 4th July. There are some constraints (max 6 people in basket, advice on social distancing / face coverings / decontamination) but great news for most private pilots if not so good for the ‘commercials’.

Zebedee has had another busy month on sales, particularly on smaller items, both at home and abroad as owners start to get ARCs renewed in readiness for flying. Two complete balloons and one envelope disappear from the List this issue – one sold ages ago and two reserved for customers at the time of writing.

New this issue is a Cameron A-340 envelope in Australia (once G-CFSE) and a complete Cameron N-120 demonstrator with a partitioned basket and 4 x QSO V-30s (themselves in short supply so far this year!) Also joining the July List is a Cameron Voyager bottom end – comprising a wicker base and Cordura/frame sides basket and a rare liquid pilot lights Cameron Mini Mk4 single. As demonstrated on arrival at Zebedee, the rigged basket (with burner detached) fits nicely into a Land Rover Discovery, ideal for the travelling balloonist who wants to avoid a trailer ….

The British Balloon Museum and Library having cancelled its biennial inflation day for 2020 and annual luncheon, both as a result of coronavirus finds itself devoid of its major fund raising events this year. However a call to offer us the contents of the props warehouse from the ‘Aeronauts’ film of 2019 was seized enabling us to gain additional artefacts for the museum and a couple of T&C 160 baskets (open plan, no divisions) which had been used for ground shots of the ‘balloon workshop’ to be sold to raise funds. These have the potential to make bars, beds, storage or whatever ….

A few more ‘barn sort out’ items join the List this issue, whilst we have tidied up our scoop/scroop table at the same time re-arranging it into rough ‘size’ order which hopefully will make it easier to decipher!