New bigger, better Cameron Flight Manual Amendment 16 issued
Just in from Dave Boxall is the news that, in a pre-season bonanza, he has raised The Cameron Flight Manual to a dizzy Amendment 16. Speaking on Bedminster FM last night he said that, “Amendment 16 is a first for Cameron Balloons.” adding, “This is the next stage in hitting the magic Amendment 25, when Cameron Balloons might throw a bit of a party.” Among the changes in Amendment 16 is the move of the Balloon Component Weight Record to the front of the manual inline with most of the other manufacturers and the addition of the Sports Types, which are confirmed as horizontally cut, and the TR-65, no connection with Triumph sports cars. The Sirocco burner has had the boot and now appears in 8.22 ‘Out of production burners’, meanwhile V-type (what! no more Vivas?), GP type and the Thunder & Colt envelopes (thought most of these had already moved) have all tottered off to Supplement 8.12 the dark pages of ‘Out of Production Envelopes’. Finally, the English Correctness Society hath re-written a bit in 3.8, nothing to do with the Jaguar MkII, ‘Preparation for a Hard Landing’ (normal for some) and made, what was, ‘Extinguish the pilot light(s), shut the fuel off at all cylinders in use and empty the hoses if time permits.’ read, ‘Extinguish the pilot light(s) and shut the fuel off at all cylinders in use. Empty the hoses if time permits’. Much clearer we feel.
Probably the biggest news though is the issue by EASA of Sky Balloons very own Type Certificate Data Sheet (TCDS) EASA.BA.109. Sadly this makes their old multiple UK TCs redundant and does suggest that the end of The Empire is all but here. We tried to speak to Dave but his PA told us that he had already left for his long overdue holiday touring Sark by tractor, but in a statement he stated that, ‘I am particularly pleased with the changes I have made this time round, especially the achievement that, despite removing so much stuff from the manual, I have actually managed to add four pages.’ No wonder he’s done a runner.
To read the unabridged 104 page version and download it for posterity go to Camerons website http://www.cameronballoons.co.uk/support#hot-air-balloon-flight-manual-en (not available on Kindle)