Stewkley
Note; This map only shows the position of Stewkley village within the UK.
STEWKLEY: Balloon launching site
Operated by: Mr G Spencer
Location: A field near Stewkley which is on the B4032 roughly 3nm W of Linslade and about 7nm NNW of Aylesbury town centre
Period of operation: Early 1990s only?
NOTES: It was from a field near Stewkley that I had my one and only experience of a hot air balloon flight on the 28th August 1993. This had been a birthday present from my wife and she had chosen very wisely as Mr Spencer was both a renowned balloonist and an instructor and he offered flights in a four-place balloon. In this case the Colt 90A, G-BTMH. This meant was that I could log this flight, conducted under his tutorlage and captaincy, and handle the controls.
The main lesson I learnt was ballooning was far too close to general haulage; very early starts and a lot of manual labour involved! So not for me. However, on a more serious note I was amazed by just how much very precise control Mr Spencer had over the balloon - at one point he descended over a wheat field and we drifted across just brushing the top of crop. Obviously you have to fly in the direction of the main wind, but, by reading the topography and having a deep understanding of how eddies work, he could change course quite precisely to arrive at a landing site with incredible 'spot' accuracy. See FORD also in BUCKINGHAMSHIRE.
PICTURE GALLERY
Note: All pictures by the author unless specified.
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