The Nanjing Hongguang Airborne Equipment Factory has become the first company in China to become certified producers of hot air balloons.
The company, which is based in the Jiangsu Province, in the east of China, was issued with a certificate at the end of December, enabling them to manufacture hot air balloons which have been proven to meet the strict safety requirements of the Civil Aviation Administration of China.
This means their HG2 balloons have been extensively tested, meet with the regulations put in place by the CAAC back in 2007, and are airworthy.
The company first applied for certification back in 2009, just two years after the latest regulations for hot air balloons in China came into force, but their hot air balloons had to go through over a year’s testing before they could be signed off.
The Nanjing Hogguang Airborne Equipment factory’s hot air balloons had to undertake more than 15 hours of flights, be tested at multiple altitudes and temperatures and take to the sky on many occasions, before they could be passed.
To celebrate successfully completing the certification process, the company launched their first officially certified balloon, in full media glare, on 19th December.
The hot air balloons are expected to be sold for 80,000 Yuan which is just over 8000 pounds sterling. They will be the first Chinese made balloons to be used in China, which previously imported all their hot air balloons from overseas.
