MADE IN MONACO
© Monaco Ballooning Team
© Monaco Ballooning Team
Prince Albert II with the members of the Club des Aéronautes de Monaco ( April 2018 )
The Monaco Ballooning Team ‘ montgolfière ’ attending the International Hot-Air Balloon Festival at Château-d ’ Œx ( January 2020 ).
: What knowledge do you need to pilot a hot-air balloon ?
AC : The pilot ’ s preparation is fundamental to juggle through air currents as well as a detailed understanding of weather conditions . Apart from the take-off and the landing , the balloon is entirely dependent on the forces of nature . The ‘ montgolfière ’ always goes where the wind carries it . You can think metaphorically of a ‘ millefeuille ’ environment made of different air layers that have different intensities and speeds . Nowadays , advanced satellite equipment supports the flying crew whereas once only a compass did it and a piece of paper and a pencil were available . Moving to the present day , meteorologists are playing an essential role , especially for long and tough journeys , and we have the chance to count on two of the best experts worldwide , Luc Trullemans and Wim de Troyer . Then it is fundamental to involve every member of the crew in a tangible operational task which increases knowledge and reassures psychologically about the reliability of the balloon . The best way to learn is to answer your own questions .
: I know that you are relying on a Catalan company with a great experience in balloon design , Ultramagic . How was the collaboration born ?
AC : The company is considered as the only one to develop an ecologic balloon and Eng . Paolo Bonanno is now working for them . The production chain is not simple and each component is handmade by the producer . In the last ten years there have been significant improvements in many ways starting from the type of fabric . The aerial part of
Prince of Monaco is a big supporter of Monaco ’ s balloon team .
The International Hot-Air Balloon Festival at Château-d ’ Œx ( January 2020 )
© Monaco Ballooning Team
© Monaco Ballooning Team a balloon , in fact , is crucial and traditionally made of different tissues : Ultralast ( top envelope ), Ripstop Nylon ( central part ) and Nomex ( lower part close to the burner ). The longer their lifetime of use is , the more performing the balloon is .
The ‘ eco-logic approach ’ we are developing with Ultramagic is attracting more and more attention in the light of the recent energy crisis since the know-how achieved by our pool of engineers and technicians can be applied in other fields . And we aim at keeping it as an open source in view of an exchange of knowledge .
: In late April 2018 , your ecologic balloon already took off from the Palace Square in the presence of the Sovereign Prince , how was that ?
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