A hot-air balloon without hot air! When an order was received to make a model of the first hot air balloon which flew in 1783 the Cameron Fabric Engineering team was delighted. The balloon was required to ascend realistically under the control of visitors who could press a button to fuel the fire. But it was ruled that there could be no naked flames, or even electrical heaters for safety reasons.

The solution was a cleverly disguised winch system and the addition of a micro-processor so that the balloon would react realistically to the “burn” command. A small fan was used to operate a realistic flame effect.