The Italian Aerospace Information Web
by Aeromedia - corso Giambone 46/18 - 10135 Torino (Italy)

After 229 Years a Balloon Flies Again at Turin’s “Balloon Square”

The first ever flight in Turin – the second in Italy - took place on the 11^th of December 1783, when three members of the Turin Academy of Scienze, Roberto De Lemanon, Carlo Antonio Galeani-Napione di Cocconato and Giuseppe Amedeo Corte di Bonvicino, filled a balloon with hydrogen and were delighted when it lifted off from a field in Borgo Dora, a little to the south of the Royal Palace.

Following this memorable event, the area became popularly known as the “Balôn” (pronounced “balloon”). Later, the name became associated with the popular flea market which still takes place in the same area, just behind today’s “Piazza della Republica” (Republic Square).

Two hundred and twenty-nine years later, a balloon is once again rising over the square, arousing the curiosity of passers-by and evoking a certain suggestivity in the minds of local aviation historians.

As of May 2012, a large HiFlyer panoramic tethered balloon, belonging to Avio San Michele has begun a series of test flights from a mooring structure erected at the Cardinale Michele Pellegrino Gardens.

The Helium and air-filled HiFlyer (model LTL 203T) is manufactured by Lindstrand Technologies Ltd of UK. It has an MTOW of 8141 lbs (3700 kg); an overall envelope diameter of 73.1 ft (22.85 m), and a volume of 211888 cu ft (6000 m3). The large octagonal gondola can carry 30 passengers plus the operator.

The maximum envelope volume is fixed but the volume of helium contained within the envelope varies with changes in temperature and atmospheric pressure. Consequent changes to the envelope shape are avoided by a compensating bladder consisting of a thin fabric membrane known as a “ballonet” fitted below the helium cell. This can be fed with compressed air, or have its pressure released to augment or diminish its volume thus keeping the overall volume, and hence the balloon shape, constant.

A winch system developed by Lindstrand Technologies allows the balloon to be tethered in position and winched back down at the end of each ride.

Avio San Michele intends to soon start panoramic flights allowing intrepid visitors a spectacular view of Turin’s Roman/Baroque historical centre from an altitude of some 160 mt (488 ft).

(Editor’s Note: panoramic tethered balloons are not new to Italy. The first one was installed in Bologna in 2001. This was an Aérophile Aero 30 (model 5500) registered I-GOOD and operated by Aérophile Italia. In 2003, this balloon was transferred to Rome, for a short period. In 2005, another of the same type, I-RAIB, was operated by Euroair in Naples. Set up in 1993, the company Aérophile S.A., based in Chantilly, France, introduced the manufacture and management of large panoramic tethered balloons. Some 50, of various types, are now installed in major towns and tourist resorts all over the world, including Paris, Berlin, Singapore, Hong Kong, and Dubai.)

In the picture: Lindstrand LTL 203T HiFlyer panoramic tethered balloon G-MICM operated by Avio San Michele during a test flight over Turin, in June, 2012. (Aeromedia)

(Aeromedia, June 2012)