Richard Turbull was Pilot at Global Ballooning Australia. He had joined us, as Pilot, 9 years ago.
His duties were: Flying passengers in the Yarra Valley
If you could share one tip with a new employee, what would it be?
If you can't take a joke, you shouldn't have joined
Describe yourself in three words
Neat and tidy (O.C.D.)
If you weren't doing this job, what would you be?
An Army Officer
How many times have you been ballooning?
Over 2000
In which locations have you flown over?
U.K, USA, Chili, Austria, Switzerland, Namibia, Ireland France, Germany, Belgium, Spain, Australia
If you could choose one place in the world to fly over in a hot air balloon where would it be?
The Wye Valley and Black Mountain region of Wales.
Born in the U.K I had my first balloon flight at the age of six in a gas balloon piloted by my Sister. I gained my private pilots licence when I was seventeen. Then went on to get my gas balloon licence and an endorsement to fly hot air airships. In 1987 I gained my Australian commercial licence and my British commercial in 1989. After flying commercially in Australia for Balloon Aloft I then returned to the UK to fly promotional balloons for Flying Pictures and The Virgin Airship and balloon Co, predominately special shape balloons. During Richard Bransons' attempt to fly around the world by balloon I was one of the test pilots of the Rosier style aerostats being evaluated for their long distance performance. In the past couple of years some of the shapes I have flown have been Action Man, A Bulldog, A couple of houses, a pot of beer and a box of tampons