Lindstrand Balloons
Encyclopedia
Lindstrand Balloons is a manufacturer of hot air balloons and other aerostat
s. The company was started by Swedish
-born pilot and aeronautical designer Per Lindstrand
in Oswestry
, England, as Colt Balloons (later Thunder & Colt Balloons, then Lindstrand Balloons) in 1978. Lindstrand Balloons is known for its leading-edge engineering, which includes sophisticated testing and production facilities.
Of note, Lindstrand Balloons designed and built all of the hot air balloons flown by Per Lindstrand and Richard Branson
on their record breaking flights first across the Atlantic Ocean in 1987 and then the Pacific Ocean in 1990. Lindstrand's then designed and built three Rozière balloon
s that Per Lindstrand and Branson (and others, including aeronautical engineer Alex Ritchie, and adventurer, Steve Fossett
) used in their unsuccessful attempts to circumnavigate the Earth by balloon. Per Lindstrand played an instrumental role in making these flights possible, and was pilot for all of them.
and its owner Don Cameron acquired two-thirds ownership of Lindstrand Balloons. Cameron bought the majority stake in Lindstrand Balloons from Rory McCarthy, a British industrialist associated with Richard Branson, who had invested in Lindstrand to support Branson's series of record-setting balloon flights. The remaining third of the company is owned by its founder Per Lindstrand.
Despite Cameron's ownership, Lindstrand Balloons continues to operate as an independent company with separate management and its own distinct designs and products. Per Lindstrand also independently operates a separate company, Lindstrand Technologies
, which designs and builds gas balloon
s, innovative buildings, specialized aerospace
equipment (including an advanced parachute
for the Beagle 2
Mars
-lander) and cutting edge inflatable structures including aircraft hangars, plugs for fire-containment for road tunnels and flood
prevention systems.
Aerostat
An aerostat is a craft that remains aloft primarily through the use of buoyant lighter than air gases, which impart lift to a vehicle with nearly the same overall density as air. Aerostats include free balloons, airships, and moored balloons...
s. The company was started by Swedish
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
-born pilot and aeronautical designer Per Lindstrand
Per Lindstrand
Per Lindstrand is a Swedish aeronautical engineer, pilot, adventurer and entrepreneur. He is particularly known for his series of record-breaking trans-oceanic hot air balloon flights and, later, attempts to be the first to fly a Rozière balloon around the Earth - all with British entrepreneur,...
in Oswestry
Oswestry
Oswestry is a town and civil parish in Shropshire, England, close to the Welsh border. It is at the junction of the A5, A483, and A495 roads....
, England, as Colt Balloons (later Thunder & Colt Balloons, then Lindstrand Balloons) in 1978. Lindstrand Balloons is known for its leading-edge engineering, which includes sophisticated testing and production facilities.
Of note, Lindstrand Balloons designed and built all of the hot air balloons flown by Per Lindstrand and Richard Branson
Richard Branson
Sir Richard Charles Nicholas Branson is an English business magnate, best known for his Virgin Group of more than 400 companies....
on their record breaking flights first across the Atlantic Ocean in 1987 and then the Pacific Ocean in 1990. Lindstrand's then designed and built three Rozière balloon
Rozière balloon
The Rozière balloon is a type of hybrid balloon that has separate chambers for a non-heated lifting gas as well as a heated lifting gas...
s that Per Lindstrand and Branson (and others, including aeronautical engineer Alex Ritchie, and adventurer, Steve Fossett
Steve Fossett
James Stephen Fossett was an American commodities trader, businessman, and adventurer. Fossett is the first person to fly solo nonstop around the world in a balloon...
) used in their unsuccessful attempts to circumnavigate the Earth by balloon. Per Lindstrand played an instrumental role in making these flights possible, and was pilot for all of them.
Ownership structure
In the late-1990s, Cameron BalloonsCameron Balloons
Cameron Balloons is a company established in 1971 in Bristol, England by Don Cameron to manufacture hot air balloons. Cameron had previously, with others, constructed ten hot air balloons under the name Omega. Production was in the basement of his house, moving in 1972 to an old church in the city...
and its owner Don Cameron acquired two-thirds ownership of Lindstrand Balloons. Cameron bought the majority stake in Lindstrand Balloons from Rory McCarthy, a British industrialist associated with Richard Branson, who had invested in Lindstrand to support Branson's series of record-setting balloon flights. The remaining third of the company is owned by its founder Per Lindstrand.
Despite Cameron's ownership, Lindstrand Balloons continues to operate as an independent company with separate management and its own distinct designs and products. Per Lindstrand also independently operates a separate company, Lindstrand Technologies
Lindstrand Technologies
Lindstrand Technologies was founded by record-breaking balloonist, Per Lindstrand . The factory has been based on the same site in England for nearly 30 years producing lighter-than-air vehicles and inflatable structures....
, which designs and builds gas balloon
Gas balloon
A gas balloon is any balloon that stays aloft due to being filled with a gas less dense than air or lighter than air . A gas balloon may also be called a Charlière for its inventor, the Frenchman Jacques Charles. Today, familiar gas balloons include large blimps and small rubber party balloons...
s, innovative buildings, specialized aerospace
Aerospace
Aerospace comprises the atmosphere of Earth and surrounding space. Typically the term is used to refer to the industry that researches, designs, manufactures, operates, and maintains vehicles moving through air and space...
equipment (including an advanced parachute
Parachute
A parachute is a device used to slow the motion of an object through an atmosphere by creating drag, or in the case of ram-air parachutes, aerodynamic lift. Parachutes are usually made out of light, strong cloth, originally silk, now most commonly nylon...
for the Beagle 2
Beagle 2
Beagle 2 was an unsuccessful British landing spacecraft that formed part of the European Space Agency's 2003 Mars Express mission. All contact with it was lost upon its separation from the Mars Express six days before its scheduled entry into the atmosphere...
Mars
Mars
Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun in the Solar System. The planet is named after the Roman god of war, Mars. It is often described as the "Red Planet", as the iron oxide prevalent on its surface gives it a reddish appearance...
-lander) and cutting edge inflatable structures including aircraft hangars, plugs for fire-containment for road tunnels and flood
Flood
A flood is an overflow of an expanse of water that submerges land. The EU Floods directive defines a flood as a temporary covering by water of land not normally covered by water...
prevention systems.