Chiltern Region

British Balloon and Airship Club

The Chiltern Region British Balloon and Airship Club (CRBBAC) is based at Olney in Buckinghamshire. It was founded in 1978 by a group of ballooning enthusiasts who wanted to meet locally. We still have a number of the original members in our club today. Our members are pilots, crew and enthusiasts, mostly from Beds, Bucks, Cambs, Herts, and Northants. However, we also have members in several other counties around the UK, and a number of overseas members.

We pride ourselves on being a friendly club and welcome new members. Non-members are also welcome to attend our monthly club meetings to find out more about ballooning.

Apart from club nights, we organise flying weekends 3 or 4 times a year, as well as attending weekend meetings organised by other regions. In addition to flying, if the weather is good enough, these weekends also tend to be great social occasions.

Our most important event of the year is the Northampton Balloon Festival, held at the end of August, at which we welcome balloonists from all around the UK and Europe.

The aim of the club is to promote the sport of ballooning. We currently have over 80 members and keep in touch with our club magazine Crownline, issued every two months. Members are encouraged to submit articles of interest to other balloonists, particularly about different meetings they have attended, keeping other members up to date with events in the world of ballooning.

We meet monthly at the Bull in Olney on the last Tuesday of the month. During the winter months, we usually arrange speakers for these meetings, generally to talk about an aspect of ballooning or some other form of aviation.

During the months of May, June, July and August our meetings are flying evenings from different venues. Sometimes we team up with clubs involved in other forms of aviation such as Microlights and Gliders, to swap flights and experiences.

Membership currently costs £12 per annnum on an individual basis, or £22 for family membership. Further details can be obtained from the Joining (the club) web page.