When it comes to hot air balloon rides, Gloucester has long been one of the best places to visit, and in keeping with this tradition, a local business has created a uniquely designed hot air balloon to help mark its anniversary.
Gloucestershire based company Exclusive Ballooning has created a penguin shaped balloon in order to mark its 15th birthday. The balloon is the latest addition to the firm’s rapidly expanding fleet.
Exclusive Ballooning ran a competition to determine the design of its birthday balloon, which was won by Bristol artist Tom Moore, who sent in a sketch of a charming penguin character. The name of the balloon was also determined by a contest on Facebook, where Erin Burry from the USA beat the other entrants to name it Puddles.
Puddles measures 70,000 cubic feet in total and was built by Spanish manufacturers Ultramagic. They used ground-breaking techniques to create Puddles’ unique shape and ensure that it is one of the lightest hot air balloons to date.
Speaking about Puddles, Exclusive Ballooning’s managing director Andrew Holly said:
“We love the design of this balloon and think it will make a real splash at the balloon festivals it will be visiting around the world. This balloon will be a real crowd-pleaser and Tom has done a great job in designing something simple and easy to identify with. Everybody loves a penguin.”
Puddles the penguin even has its own blog, which allows interested balloon enthusiasts to follow his creation from initial sketch to finished product.
