Although it has not felt much like it recently, Spring is almost here, and lovely sunny daffodils are appearing up and down the country. This brought to mind the intrepid journey made over the Sahara Desert in January and February 1972 by two early Cameron built balloons, Daffodil G-AYZG, and Golden Eagle G-AYAM.
Journalist Jonathan Yeatman wrote a splendid book about the trip, illustrated with wonderful photos by John Gardey. The three intrepid balloonists involved were Don Cameron, Julian Nott, and Felix Pole. We have a couple of copies of the book in our library and it is worth a read.
After several flights and a long journey through the desert, Julian and Felix managed to create a new British altitude record for hot-air balloons reaching a height of 19,458ft (5,940m) in Daffodil, registration G-AYZG, on the 8th of February 1972. The start of a fascinating journey for breaking ballooning records for both Julian and of course Don Cameron.
We hope you enjoy the photos. You can find copies of the book in various places online even though it is now out of print.
Daffodil and Golden Eagle. The Saga of Two Balloons Crossing the Sahara. ISBN 085628 002 x
The story was also published in The Daily Telegraph Magazine 30 June 1972 and readers who bought a copy of the book mentioned above were invited to enter a competition in which they were asked to answer questions about the expedition and explain briefly why they might enjoy ballooning.
The first prize was a flight with Felix Pole in one of the balloons which made the trip.
