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On the 19th March 2000, my fellow balloonists and I ventured up to 10,000 feet from a launch site in Pidley, Cambridgeshire.    My balloon was the first to be inflated and ready for lift off.    We ascended into the skies in pairs with a few minutes between each pair launching for safety reasons.   Our take off was at 08:15am.    Very soon we were all on our way up at 500 feet per minute.    I was instructing a very capable trainee pilot by the name of Mick Harris.    After 20 minutes we had reached 11,500 feet as shown on the Altimeter and GPS.    It was a good time to take pictures and start our decent.    Here I am 2 miles above the ground in a wicker basket and I am smiling!   There is not much to see up there except balloons and clouds.

We landed in Blunham, Bedfordshire at 10:20am after a flight of 20 miles.  A good time was had by all and we met up at the nearest Little Chef for breakfast.

My thanks to Lennie and Helen Vaughan for organising it, the hospitality shown to us by David Hopkirk, owner of the golf course where we took off from and my crew Steve and Zusha for an excellent retrieve. I would also like to thank Mrs Darlow for allowing us access to the field at the back of her garden where we landed to retrieve the balloon.