Mister Bup Balloon Team

Flown in:

2008

We started 2008 right where we started 2007: in Château-d'Oex. The festival celebrated its 30th anniversary and once again invited balloon pilots from around the world to come and fly in the Swiss Alps. Our turtle was there! This year we were able to inflate Mister Bup during the children's day. Everyone was delighted about that. Sadly there wasn't very much snow in 2008 but the festival was still a big hit.

In April we were expected in Waregem (Belgium) for the annual balloon festival. Because of the bad weather conditions we were unable to fly.

The third festival of 2008 was also a festival we had already visited before; Russia. This was the year for the 'real' world hot air airship championship and a balloon festival was once again being held. After the disappointment of 2007 we really hoped we would be able to fly this time. When we arrived in Russia it seemed that all the balloons were already in the country. That was a very good sign! After registration we were driven to a place where we could pick up Mister Bup. And yes, this time everything worked out well! Everything had arrived and could be prepared for flying. A first try for a flight didn't really work. Our Russian driver of the truck where Mister Bup was stored didn't want to come out early in the morning. This was because he had been watching the European Football Championship the night before. The briefings in Russia start at 3AM and right after you drive to the city centre. The driver decided to stay home and we didn't have a balloon. That morning several balloon where able to make a first flight. At one point we had fear for a similar scenario as in 2007. After we had a good discussion with the organizers the problems where solved. That way we were able to finally fly out from the city centre of Saint-Petersburg. A great experience! We waited one year longer than most of the pilots but the wait was absolutely worth it. The return of Mister Bup back to Belgium also went smoothly this time. In the end the entire festival was a nice and cultural trip.

Early August we were invited for the balloon festival in Sint-Truiden (Belgium). Due to the bad weather forecast the event got cancelled. This meant that we could prepare Mister Bup for international shipping. For the second year in a row he would be going to Canada. Everyone in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu was very happy to see Mister Bup during the 25th anniversary of the annual festival. After the nine day event our pilot and crew flew back to Europe. Mister Bup himself stayed in Canada and was personally escorted to Gatineau. Gatineau is a city very close to Ottawa, the capital of Canada, and hosts an annual balloon event during the 'Labour Day Weekend'. Pilot and crew arrived back in Canada at the end of August to fly at the event in Gatineau. At Ottawa airport they were very suspicious about the fact that our team flew back and forth to Canada on such a short period of time. This resulted in many additional checks and questions but at the end it was all good. The festival itself was well organized and has a beautiful launch site. The winds floated us over Ottawa every flight so we had to fly some distance before we could land. Flying over such a city gives a great satisfaction and brings you to some funny landing sites. The festival also could welcome many spectators. Daily several thousands of people were enjoying the beautiful and colourful balloons. After the Gatineau festival, Mister Bup went back to Europe. For the third year in a row we were able to participate in the peace festivities near our home town in Sint-Niklaas (Belgium). In 2008 the weather conditions were very bad for the festival because not one balloon could take off during the whole event. Only the special shapes (including Mister Bup) inflated in windy conditions on Saturday. The weekend after the festival in Sint-Niklaas we had an event scheduled in The Netherlands. During the Ballonnenparade in Tilburg Mister Bup was able to fly one time. The second day we decided to stay on the ground because it was already close to sunset. The spectators were able to see Mister Bup from on the launch field.

The last festival for 2008 promised to be a great one! In 2007 we already were invited to participate in a balloon festival in Israël. Because we already had other events scheduled at that time, we were unable to join in 2007. We were hoping that the festival would be held again in 2008 and that we would get invited again. In the end we only got the final word a few weeks before the festival: the festival is on mid October and you are invited! The whole team had a good feeling about this festival and we decided to join. We were very honoured to be a part of this very small event with only 10 balloons from around the world. There were only two flights scheduled and we were able to launch both mornings in the wonderful desert area just north of Eilat. The local media covered the balloon festival very big and they also had attention for Mister Bup. Our turtle could be seen on the front page of 'The Jerusalem Post' and 'The Herald Tribune'. In Belgium the commercial television station VTM even reported about the festival and also showed images of Mister Bup.

At the end of 2008 Mister Bup has flown in 13 countries. We keep on flying of course and we also expect to visit some nice countries in 2009. You can always check where we will be going in our schedule.