Sometime ago we wrote a piece on the Cameron Skyhopper, that oddity with three attachment points and the twistgrip blast valve. Having been slammed about in one under the Shell Unleaded hopper I hadn’t really warmed to it but then again it wasn’t really designed to do drag landings! Having re-visited them over the years, stopped trying to fly it like a demented Dodo and stood back a bit, I did eventually come to the conclusion that it is, or was, so nearly a clever design for the time, and provided it was relegated to gentleman-hopping it is actually quite nice.
Fast forward a few years and Ultramagic unveiled their hopper bottom end, darlings. Hope bumbled supreme that it would be marvellous. Then we saw one. First off this is not lightweight simple ballooning. It isn’t pretty. It is a monster of a thing, across between a Seddon Atkinson and early Daf truck which had a right hand gearlever. The sheer weight of polished stainless steel used in its construction and cast aluminium block make it look pretty hefty, smallholding, agricultural even. If Black Rod used this on the doors to the House of Lords it would go through, that’s assuming he could pick it up. The welding isn’t the neatest but it definitely won’t fall to bits. It also has two of everything, fuel feed valves, hoses, igniters, pilot lights, whisper valves, blast valves plus, just in case you can’t work out what to squeeze, twist or toggle there is a hydraulic pushbike-lever operated hand valve that fires up one of the blast valves. ‘Surely not both or the whispers’, you quip! 
They missed a few kilo there then but made up for it by fitting a couple of not hefty enough angled plates so you can gimbal it fore and aft (a bit) during inflation. Prior to flight it needs to be locked in the vertical position. This feature is not very well designed to be honest, and as the years pass, more often than not, when inspection time comes around this part needs re-assembling.
Singles-that-think-they-are-doubles are fine above your head in a basket where you can wander round as you try and figure what does what but above your head when sitting down and relying on feel is not so easy. No doubt the more often you fly it then the more familiar you will get with the controls but initially allow some ground study. Did we mention it doesn’t rotate so you will need turning vents, that’s two extra lines, and you need to operate the twiddly bits that are the fuel feeds in the right order (more on that later)?
Talking of sitting down, the seat assembly is comfy enough and there is a generous lump of padding to protect your head from the scaffolding that holds the burner up. Sadly the seat belt fasteners are small and tricky to connect. We’ve seen similar on child buggies (not the McClaren). I’m sure they are strong enough but quality they are not. At least the cylinder is removable reasonably easily but here’s the thing. You’ll need a 60 litre dedicated jobby with two liquid take-offs to feed the two hoses (40/80 litre versions available). Now, the liquid valve handles move in opposite directions. I don’t think we have come across one yet where the owner hasn’t inadvertently turned the blue one the wrong way and trollied the stops on the underside. Actually, they manage to do the same thing on the liquid feed valves on the burner. There is no low fuel audible warning fitted so you’ll have to make sure the mirror on the frame is correctly set prior to heading into the wide blue however, Ultramagic have made the dip tubes different lengths so the blue side uses the first 80% leaving 20% in reserve on the red side. Remember then, use the blue controls first and leave the red feed on the burner closed until the blue side runs out! What could possibly go wrong? 
So what have we got so far? Over-weight, over engineered, over-complicated and it needs a dedicated cylinder, or a manifold if you want to use a standard Ultramagic cylinder. If you want to put it under your existing envelope that will need turning vents. According to the Flight Manual Supplement standard Ultramagic cylinders can be used with a ‘T’ manifold. Now generally speaking we have a lot of time for Ultramagic stuff. The attention to detail in the construction of their envelopes is probably still second to none, but the hardware? This hopper burner is great being essentially a Mk21 block with a smaller coil but in this role and in this monstrosity of a frame it is a poor choice. In a proper frame above a basket it is fine but in that role it has been largely replaced by the lighter, Tekno which would be far too powerful for a for a small envelope I fear.
I spoke to the owner of one of the ones that we look after. He purchased it second-hand, attracted by the twin pilot lights. He hasn’t fallen out of it so, as far as he is concerned, ‘it works’. That said, despite having done a fair few hours in it he still gets muddled by the array of controls. It was fitted with the hydraulic hand-valve when he first had it but after one flight it was binned as it just complicated matters further and he mainly flew on the whisper anyway. He wasn’t that impressed by the build quality and certainly not by the weight. If the his Lindstrand hopper bottom end (which the Ultramagic replaced) had twin pilot lights he would have gone for one of them. I can confirm we have already replaced the blue cylinder liquid valve handle on his! 
Now the paperwork. There is a Flight Manual Supplement 9 for the Solo and Dual (twice as heavy no doubt) and a Maintenance Manual Supplement 4. Maximum take-off and landing speeds are given as 10knots. The weights given by Ultramagic are 9.5kg for the burner and 11.5 for the seat unit. In fairness we didn’t weigh it to check but its cumbersome nature makes it appear heavier. An Ultramagic M60 cylinder is given as 52kg full (22kg empty). Beware, the rig, when fully assembled, full or empty of propane, will fall over if left unattended, not unlike a few pilots.
Personally I wouldn’t go for one on account of the cumbersome nature of it and the fact it is limited to hoppers with rotation vents. Its easy enough to get the rip line tangled on spinning type hopper bottom ends so perhaps that is the trade-off? Three lines though to fiddle with when sitting down don’t bear thinking about. It could have been there but, to be frank, it’s the monstrous ironwork that spoils it for me. They offer it with the Tekno burner now but I fear that would look even worse and its way too powerful. Yup it’s a design thing. Would I use one in the unlikely event that anyone would lend me one after writing this? Not sure, but I would be grateful for the kind offer. Ultramagic need to develop a proper hopper burner as, in my opinion, both the mini-coiled Mk21 and the Tekno are just too powerful for the smaller envelope. Maybe that’s the thing, isn’t designed for small hoppers, perhaps it is more in line for a ’42, the largest Ultramagic envelope approved to fly over it? It’s a shame because there is a place for a gentleman’s (or lady’s) hopper and with the strong movement towards lightweight balloons these days why on earth would you not address the weight of the bottom end. Maybe they will in the future. If you are thinking of buying one as a stand alone for your existing hopper envelope remember that rotation vents are required. That limits resale for sure.
I fully understand that, for some, the added security of two of everything is desirable, and that may well be the case. I can however think of many examples of burners that have only one pilot light and hoppers one feed. Ultramagic describe it as ‘a simple to operate lightweight one person system’. I’m afraid it isn’t. Yes it offers strength (apart from the limited gimbal action), safety, comfort and security but so does a Volvo. Our advice would be to make sure you use as much fuel as possible before landing and make sure it is near a road. As for the Dual version? I think not. Now if it had wheels that would help. Well actually there is a kit that allows them to be fitted and whole lot towed behind a pushbike. An electric one would be preferable! Apologies to those that own them and love them.
https://ultramagic.com/hot-air-balloons/ultralite-balloons/solo-duo/the-solo/