Historic strait crossing was balloon enthusiast's last trip

It's been 35 years this month since Roland Parsons took to the skies above New Zealand in the only ever known successful hot air balloon crossing of Cook Strait. Reporter RACHEL YOUNG talks to him about the journey as he celebrates its anniversary.

Every room in Roland "Roly" Parsons' Christchurch home hints at his love of ballooning.

In the lounge there's a painting of his old balloon, West Wind, flying high over Mount Cook. In the sitting room there's another painting of West Wind on her most famous journey – across Cook Strait – and in the kitchen there's an old grandfather clock which depicts the first planned balloon flight across the English Channel from Dover to Calais by Frenchman Jean Pierre Blanchard and American Doctor John Jeffries.

English-born Roly joined the Royal New Zealand Air Force in the 1960s, moving around the country as required, including five years at Woodbourne air base in Blenheim.

The keen sportsman took part in every expedition he could – be it climbing Mount Tappy, diving the Marlborough Sounds or scouting in the Wither Hills.

So when someone introduced him to ballooning he couldn't wait to start piloting his own balloon. He travelled to Britain in 1972 to study the art of ballooning, returning with a red, orange and yellow balloon he named West Wind, after the predominant New Zealand wind.

On Anzac Day, 1974, right after the dawn parade, Roly piloted his balloon for the first time. He went on to complete several flights over the Canterbury Plains including an "epic" from Otira Gorge to Waipara.

He says piloting a hot air balloon is a great form of mental relaxation and exhilaration.

One day while sitting in the officer's mess at Wigram, Roly discussed the idea of crossing the Cook Strait in his beloved balloon and was spurred on by other officers.

The biggest challenge was also the thing Roly loved about ballooning; the weather. Wind is the fuel and if it dies out, then so does the balloon.

During the planning stage, Roly was shifted from Wigram to Wellington.

West Wind was relocated to Woodbourne and its owner made regular trips to Marlborough to fly it. While talking to a friend, Blenheim air traffic controller and aviation enthusiast, Rex Brereton, he found an accomplice and co-pilot for the mission.

Roly made a formal application to Civil Aviation which covered all aspects of the trip including radio communications, radar reflection and detection, wind criteria, over water operations, aerostatic balloon performance and survival equipment.

Roly and Rex got wind a French team were in the country wanting to cross the strait, which fuelled their desire to do it.

On October 25 1974 the Civil Aviation Division of the Ministry of Transported issued its approval. Roly and Rex decided Cape Jackson would be the launching point.

On December 28, 1974, a favourable wind was forecast so Roly and Rex hopped into Peter Perano's Float Air amphibian and headed to Tony and Betty Baker's farm. However, they couldn't land due to a change in weather. The plane also suffered some mechanical problems and longer could transport them.

They returned to Blenheim determined to find another way to get to Cape Jackson.

A friend of Rex's came to their aid, volunteering his twin-engine-powered launch to take them through Queen Charlotte Sound to the Baker's farm at 5am the following morning.

Unfortunately the winds at the cape had strengthened too much to permit a take-off, so they headed back to Blenheim.

Roly says at this point he started wondering how long they could wait for the right combination of winds.

The answer? Until New Year's Day 1975.

Just after 10am, after not much sleep, Rex presented Roly with a forecast of ideal wind conditions, confirmed by the Blenheim control tower and the Meteorological Office in Kelburn.

There was a high with an anticyclone hovering over the Tasman and New Zealand with generally calm conditions with south-westerly winds around the coast.

They reached the farm by boat by midday but as the temperature was too hot there could be lift-off problems; it became a waiting game.

At 2pm they decided to start the launch process.

Slowly the 77,500 cubic feet of balloon fabric developed its aeronautical shape but hot flying wires burned Roly three times and made the grass catch on fire.

The Bakers held down the rope as the adventurers went through their pre-flight check.

Carabiners, bottles, altimeter, radio, variometer, rip line, dump valve, SARBE radio, sea marker dye and flares were all checked.

Wet suits and life jackets were donned in case of an emergency before they jumped into the wicker basket. Four months of planning vigil were about to come to an end.

At 3.41pm the Bakers let go of the rope and the basket rose slowly into the sky. Shortly after take-off two escort aircraft could be seen near the balloon.

As they tracked from Cape Jackson to the The Brothers islands Roly noticed the balloon was slowly losing height.

The balloon canopy overheating detector fluttered to his feet. The crown's safe maximum temperature had been reached. Cooling was imperative.

With visions of a "blow-out", Roly quickly made the decision to drop the first of two empty aluminium gas cylinders into the ocean below. West Wind's ascent rate immediately jumped.

A second cylinder was dropped.

A marked surge in ascent followed with the balloon soaring to an altitude of about 8000 feet, leaving the variable winds behind.

They joined the forecast westerly, which guaranteed a safe passage to the North Island.

At 5pm West Wind was holding at 9500 feet and the support aircraft turned back to Omaka. By 5.30pm Mana Island was in sight.

They descended down to 1800 feet, planning on landing on a golf course near Paremata, but high tension power lines quickly reversed that decision.

The balloon continued on until the men saw empty grassy paddocks in Whitby which offered a safe landing site.

Roly says the wind speed was no more than five knots when they touched down "peacefully" at 6:41pm.

"Our three-hour basket-borne, non-sponsored, balloon adventure had come to a gentle close."

Roly says it was an "exceptional feeling of exhilaration and relief" after months of planning.

The following year he piloted a balloon over Mount Cook. In 1979 he joined the Sultan of Oman Airforce in the Middle East, where he continued to fly West Wind until 1982.

The passionate balloonist has continued to take an interest in other people's balloons but never piloted one himself again.

In 2005, Roly moved to the Marlborough Sounds to retire.

He's now settled in Christchurch, where he can see balloons soaring across the plains, but says he will always have fond memories of the top of the South Island where the dream of being the first person to cross Cook Strait in a hot air balloon came true.

- The Marlborough Express