On Nov. 21, 1783, the first manned untethered flight took place in a Montgolfier balloon with Pilatre de Rozier and François Laurent, marquis d’Arlandes, as passengers. The balloon sailed over Paris for 5.5 miles (9 kilometres) in about 25 minutes.

We thank the Joseph-Michel and Jacques-Étienne Montgolfier, also called the Montgolfier brothers, for their great idea to send us all skyward.

A Great article and update on the Mars Lander, we are very proud of the part we played in this mission. Its a shame the solar array did not deploy upon landing, but part of the inherent risks of space exploration. One day when people visit Mars they will see a small Lindstrand logo on the surface! Of course if any Martians find the lander, they are welcome to contact us for a competitive quote and our great off world discounts!

You may check the article here.

Is it a bird, Is it a plane?
No it’s a camper van flying over Shropshire.

We flew the balloon for Channel 4, as part of the Helluva Tour programme, to be aired this Autumn.
The camper flew for a couple of hours so it oculd be filmed from a helicopter, before landing near Ellesmere.
The tv programme will consist of 10 five-minute episodes, folling four strangers on a road trip from London to Australia.

Introducing our Purchasing and Logistics Manager, Matt Whyton.

Matt has been with the company for several years, and has now been promoted to manage the ever busy purchasing department.

Matt’s promotion follows the retirement of Lindstrand Technologies longstanding Purchasing Manager Bill McKenna who clocked in 20 years service with the company.

Bill McKenna

Lindstrand Technologies are pleased to introduce our new Sales Manager for hot air balloons Kelvin Oakley.

Kelvin has worked within the hot air balloon industry for over 30 years, first joining Per’s team after finishing school.

His experience expanded within other sales roles in the aviation industry and we are thrilled to have Kelvin rejoin the Lindstrand Team.

His in-depth industry knowledge and excellent approach to customer service will help us to deliver the kind of 5 star service that is a hallmark of the Lindstrand way.

 

Per Lindstrand sold his interest in Lindstrand Hot Air Balloons Ltd to Cameron Balloons of Bristol in 2003. Since then he has been operating Lindstrand Technologies Ltd.
Based in Oswestry for over 35 years, Lindstrand Technologies specialise in the design and manufacture of lighter than air products.

These products include:

 

The Beagle2 project that Lindstrand Technologies worked on in 2003 has been found ‘intact’ on Mars.  Lindstrand Technologies manufactured the parachute that was used to decelerate the spacecraft on its journey to the surface of Mars.

We are proud to have worked on this project and are excited by the results.  Please see a couple of the links below for more details:

 

http://news.sky.com/story/1409081/beagle-2-found-partially-deployed-on-mars

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-30784886

 

This article includes a detailed illustration of the parachute:

 

http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2015/01/16/beagle-2-found_n_6484396.html?1421398327&ncid=webmail13

 

 

 

 

IAAPA StandGo and check out our stand at IAAPA if you get a chance.

Here is a picture of stand 3691.  Look for the HiFlyer soaring high in the exhibition hall.

Next week we will be in Orlando at the largest trade show for the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions (IAAPA).  We are joining more than 27,000 industry colleagues and 1,000 companies, and this will be our 17th year in attendance.  The show opens on Tuesday 18th November and runs daily until Friday 21st November.

 

We will be on stand 3691 and we will be showcasing the SkyFlyer.  Our other products including the HiFlyer will also be available and we have agents from around the world flying in to visit with us.

 

If you are in the area, feel free to pop to the stand and come and see us.

Origin Paddleboards

We are very pleased to announce our partnership with Origin Paddleboards.  Lindstrand Technologies will become the sole manufacturer of Origin’s range of inflatable stand up paddle boards.

The project with Origin aims to have boards manufactured in the UK with as many European sourced parts as possible to reduce the carbon footprint of the product. With bags made from fabric offcuts, packaging & advice cards all made from recycled materials and the finished product sent with carbon offset shipping, every part of the process has been considered.

 “If I am honest I hadn’t heard much about stand up paddleboards until talking with the team at Origin, and now I seem to see them everywhere.  It’s been great to work on the design & development of this product range with Origin and seeing the first boards being made by our team”  – Lee Barnfield, Senior Designer

“It’s a very exciting project and a first for us producing items in high volume.  We are getting close perfecting our techniques to produce items of this volume and will soon be looking to upscale the manufacturing and increase our team” – Dave Hampson, Production Manager

The photo (below) shows some of the manufactured boards with Matt Whyton – Quality Assurance (far left), Dave Hampson – Production Manager (Middle Left), Lee Barnfield – Senior Designer (Far Right) and some of the Lindstrand Production Team.

 

Origin Paddleboards - Lindstrand Technologies