Picture This Ballooning has been flying balloons in Australia and around the world for 23 years.
Picture This is a family-owned business based in Ringwood and started out as an advertising company flying branded balloons throughout Australia. A few years later, the business had such a demand for passenger flights that they commenced flying regular passenger balloons while continuing their branded balloon flights.
The company still flies branded balloons over Melbourne and the Yarra Valley, advertising large and small businesses.
Through the culture set in place by Picture This CEO Damian Crock, a local resident, the company’s motto is to make every passenger experience one they will never forget.
“For most people, a hot air balloon flight is something they will only do once and what better place than our own Yarra Valley,” Mr Crock said.
“It’s obvious when you fly with our pilots that they love what they do, and they love sharing it with everyone on board.”
Picture This pilots come from all over the world due to of their love of flying over the beautiful Australian countryside. Joining the team for the first time this summer is the current Hot Air Balloon World Champion from the UK, Domenic Bareford.
“If you don’t know anything about competition hot air ballooning, we highly recommend looking it up, or even better, come on a flight and ask our pilots yourself,” Mr Crock said.
“A number of our pilots have competed at World Championships, gaining huge experience for their ongoing flying.”
An interesting fact about hot air balloons is they can’t steer – so to control their direction, they move up and down to use the wind, which usually travels in different directions at different altitudes. This allows pilots to choose launch and landing sites to suit the wind conditions on the day.
“If you want to learn more about the technical side of ballooning, our post-flight breakfast is a perfect opportunity to ask our pilots everything you’ve wanted to know about how hot air balloons fly. Trust us, they love talking about it!” Mr Crock said.
For more information about Picture This Ballooning, phone 9429 0277 or visit www.picturethisballooning.com.au.
