Hot-air balloonists descended on Benalla Airport after a morning of graceful floating in the skies above the north-east for the official opening of the new LPG refuelling station.
Photo by
Simon Ruppert
Petrol stations across the country cutting back on LPG has left hot-air balloon enthusiasts needing an alternative way of refuelling.
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A new refuelling station at Benalla Airport, opened on Saturday, June 14, will give balloonists even more reason to visit the Rose City.
The station is jointly funded by Goldrush Ballooning and the Ballooning Association of Victoria, which is based at the airport.
World hot-air balloon bronze medallist and five-time Australian champion Paul Gibbs, director of operations at Goldrush Ballooning, said the refuelling station was a game changer.
“To have our own dedicated facility means that balloonists will congregate here because it’s so easy,” he said.
“The other big thing for us is that when we have an event, it means that we can refuel many balloons very quickly.”
One such event will be held on Tuesday, April 7, 2026 when there will be 30 hot-air balloons visiting Benalla for the Australian championships.
“On top of the nationals, we’re hoping to have an annual ballooning event in Benalla every April,” Paul said.
State Member for Euroa Annabelle Cleeland cuts the ribbon to officially open the new hot-air balloon refuelling station at Benalla Airport.
“We’re building up to bid for the FAI ((Fédération Aéronautique Internationale) world championships.
“So we’ve got this five-year plan that we’re trying to develop, and this is the beginning of it.”
Paul said in the coming months and years, people would see an ever-increasing number of hot-air balloons in the Rose City.
“At next year’s event we've got young Dominic Bareford, who’s a former world champion, coming to the event,” he said.
A fleet of hot-air balloons enjoyed a morning in the skies above the north-east before heading to Benalla for the opening of the new LPG refuelling station. Photo: Rene Martens.
“He's actually a UK pilot, so we’ll be purchasing a Category 2 sanction from FAI that enables us to have internationals at our event.
“So there’ll actually be Australian national titles, which will be for the Aussies, but there’ll be an open scoring for everybody who’s in attendance, including the international pilots.
“Dominic is very competitive, and he’ll be giving our young pilots a really good run.”
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