The skies above Benalla this past weekend were a sight to behold.

The Art of Flight Festival saw colourful hot-air balloons filling the skies.

Held from April 6-12 organisers are keen to make this an annual event.

Event chairman Paul Gibbs said the festival was a ‘great success’.

“We have an event champion,” he said.

“That was Dominic Barefoot, from the UK.

“And the Australian champion retained his title. That was Edward Saunders from the Yarra Valley.”

The were 25 competitors taking part in the event, coming from all corners of the world.

“We had some adverse weather at the end of the week, but we did lots of flying and had westerly conditions mainly, which saw us launching at Dookie Ag College,” Mr Gibbs said.

“The best place, as it turned out, to watch the balloons approach the target was Goorambat oval.”

Mr Gibbs said competitors enjoyed flying in and around Benalla.

“They’re looking forward to coming back, and we’ve just announced the dates for next year,” he said.

So, mark your calendars as next year’s Art of Flight Festival will take place on the weekend of April 10 and 11, 2027.

“We're trying to develop a reputation for the event, both with spectators and with competitors,” Mr Gibbs said.

“And we managed to attract pilots from all over this time. I guess that tells the story.

“Unfortunately, for our balloon glow, we only got two-thirds of the way through before we had a rain shower and a wind gust that flattened half of the fleet.

“Luckily, everybody was okay. And once the balloons were dried out, we did some flying Sunday morning.”

There was also a well-attended event at the Benalla Airport held in conjunction with the Aviation Museum and the Gliding Club of Victoria on Sunday morning.

“We had a reasonable crowd down at the airport for that,” Mr Gibbs said.

“There were nearly 200 people in attendance.

“They enjoyed some food offered by Benalla Rotary, and some coffees as we all watched the balloons.

“There was also a beautiful Beech 18 (vintage aircraft) that was brought in from Wangaratta by Doug Hamilton at Precision Air.

“We also had Mark Bland fly over from Mt Beauty, in his beautiful RV-4.

“And one of the glider pilots, Louise O’Grady, she had her Piper Cub there.

“The gliding club also had its simulator out, and also a glider that people could sit in.”

Mr Gibbs said an even like this relies on the help of local volunteers.

“The event wouldn't be possible without a whole lot of keen aviation enthusiasts from the local community.”

Head to the Benalla Ensign Facebook page for more photos from the event.

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Friday, 4th January 2030

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