Cameron Balloons

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title: "Cameron Balloons" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["balloon-manufacturers", "ballooning", "aircraft-manufacturers-of-england", "manufacturing-companies-based-in-bristol", "1971-establishments-in-england", "manufacturing-companies-established-in-1971"] description: "English hot air balloon company" topic_path: "geography/united-kingdom" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cameron_Balloons" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary English hot air balloon company ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox company"]

Field	Value
name	Cameron Balloons
foundation	1 April 1971
location_city	Bristol
location_country	England
location
locations
key_people	Don Cameron
industry	Balloon manufacture
homepage	Cameron Balloons Ltd.
intl
::

|name = Cameron Balloons

|logo = |type = |foundation = 1 April 1971 |location_city = Bristol |location_country = England |location =
|locations =
|key_people = Don Cameron |area_served = |industry = Balloon manufacture |products = |services = |revenue = |operating_income = |net_income = |num_employees = |parent = |divisions = |subsid = |slogan = |homepage =Cameron Balloons Ltd. |dissolved = |footnotes = |intl =
::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d1/cameron.balloons.yate.arp.750pix.jpg" caption="A Cameron Z105 balloon near [[Bristol"] ::

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/08/Skywhale_in_flight_May_2013.jpg" caption="The balloon ''[[The Skywhale]]'' which was designed by the sculptor [[Patricia Piccinini]] and manufactured by Cameron Balloons during 2012 and 2013"] ::

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/83/Cameron_balloons_over_Cameron_balloons2.JPG" caption="The Cameron's factory with two balloons manufactured by Cameron balloons"] ::

Cameron Balloons is a company established in 1971 in Bristol, England, by Don Cameron to manufacture hot air balloons. Cameron had previously, with others, constructed ten hot air balloons under the name Omega. Production was in the basement of his house, moving in 1972 to an old church in the city. In 1983 Cameron Balloons moved into its current premises in the former Robinsons paper bag/printing factory (built in 1887 in the Bedminster area of the city). In 1989 the company received the Queen's Award for Export.

Output has grown to around 110 balloons per year. , Cameron Balloons accounted for 1,073 of the 1,553 hot air balloons registered with the United Kingdom Civil Aviation Authority. Cameron Balloons is also famous for its special shapes, the first being Robertson's Golly, constructed in 1975. Most special shapes are made for commercial advertising, but some have been bought privately. Notable amongst these private buyers is the late Malcolm Forbes of Forbes magazine, who commissioned a number of special shapes, including Harley-Davidson motorbike, Sphinx, bust of Beethoven, French Chateau, Pagoda and Minaret. The company also produced the BBC Globe balloon, made popular by the BBC One 'Balloon' idents. More recently the company has manufactured special shapes for KAWS and Patricia Piccinini.

Expansion via acquisitions

During the 1990s, the company strengthened its position, via a string of acquisitions. First, Cameron acquired its main British competitor Thunder & Colt Balloons. Then, it bought the smaller Sky Balloons, which had been formed by former Thunder & Colt employees after the company's sale. Finally, Cameron acquired two-thirds ownership of Lindstrand Balloons, which had been formed by Per Lindstrand after he left Thunder & Colt in the early 1990s.

References

References

1. "Work Life: Hannah Cameron, Hot-Air Balloon Pilot". Stylist.
2. "Omegas, Western & Cameron". Ballooning History.
3. "The History of Cameron Balloons Ltd. (Bristol)". Balloning History.
4. "G-INFO database search". [[United Kingdom Civil Aviation Authority]].
5. (26 September 2009). "Bristol lift-off for billionaire's flying chateau". Bristol Post.
6. "We Made It: Cameron Balloons". Bruichladdich.
7. (9 August 2002). "Last flight for BBC balloon". [[BBC News]].
8. "Artist KAWS GIGANTIC".
9. "Skywhales".
10. "Thunder & Colt". Airship and Blimp Resources.
11. (2 April 2012). "Manuals and TCDSs". Easy Balloons.
12. (15 April 2015). "19 jobs go as Oswestry hot air balloon factory closes". Shropshire Star.

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::