Local Couple win at National Ballooning Championships
 
Local Hunter hot air ballooning pilots Matthew and Nicola Scaife have a lot to celebrate. Not only are they the proud parents of baby Hugo who entered the world six weeks early in July last year but they have also just been crowned as Australian National Ballooning Champions.
 
To say it has been a fairly busy and exciting year would be an understatement”, says Matthew who operates Balloon Aloft hot air balloon flights in the Hunter Valley, the Hawkesbury, Camden Valley and Mudgee.
 
The couple who met through their love of ballooning seven years ago, competed individually as pilots at the Australian National Ballooning Championships held in Canowindra last week from 22-27 April.
 
The championships attract Australia’s top ballooning pilots plus pilots from Japan and the United Sates. This year the program included 2 world class events with the national ballooning championships staged alongside the inaugural Canowindra International Balloon Challenge. The events involved five days of competition flying where pilots navigated their way to various targets. Each competition flight involved up to five tasks with pilots showing immense skill often dropping their markers within inches of the target.
 
The competitors’ teams included a driver and a navigator whose role it was to relay information regarding surface wind readings from the ground to the pilot in the basket. According to Matthew, this information is essential to a pilot’s success at positioning their markers as close to the target as possible. Matthew and Nicola’s team included local Balloon Aloft employees Kim Hjung Yu, Dean Pegg, David Bain and Paul Brittliff. “We really had the advantage here as our team works together day in day out offering flights to our Balloon Aloft passengers,” said Matthew.
 
At the end of the final day of competition Matthew and Nicola were announced as male and female champions with Matthew also announced as winner of the Canowindra International Balloon Challenge. “We are so excited with the result,” said Matthew. “This is something we have been working towards and it really means a lot to have achieved the titles together in the same year.”
 
Nicola is now planning to fly in the Women’s World Championships which will take place in Poland in September. This will be an incredibly tough competition with 50 balloons competing from 22 different countries.  Matthew will return to his day job as Chief Pilot at Balloon Aloft in the Hunter Valley. He is aiming to compete at the 2016 World Ballooning Championships which will be held in Saga, Japan in October of that year.
 
For now both pilots will continue in their dual roles as parents to Hugo and Balloon Aloft pilots flying passengers daily over the Hunter Valley. “You never get tired of it, despite the early mornings. The look on people’s faces as they float over the vineyards and Brokenback Ranges is what makes it so special. It really is the best job in the world!” said Matthew.
 
To book your Balloon Aloft flight phone 1300 723 279
 
 
Media: For further information or to interview Matthew or Nicola please phone Michelle Wills 0403 004 100