Wendy flew with us. The story of his flight and of our special hot air balloon for people with disabilities.

Wendy is from the Isle of Man. She has traveled over two thousand kilometers from the Irish Sea to Chianti to make the second balloon crossing of his life. The first dates back to a year ago, still here, among the green Tuscan hills. “I had never been to Italy – she says – I came specifically to get on a hot air balloon: in my country and in England there is no such possibility”. Since 2007 we at Balloon in Tuscany have been offering the possibility to people with disabilities to hover on the colorful balloons. In 2011 there were eight, in the last six years about thirty.

Many cried with excitement on their first take-off. «A great feeling of freedom, that’s what I felt the first time I took off – recalls Wendy -. I was not afraid, in fact I was thrilled.

Being able to do something like everyone, like the so-called ‘normal’, was a unique feeling. It’s like my disability has been erased. Now – she jokes – my three children envy me ». The special basket was created by the English company Lindstrand. There are five other examples in the world, two in France, one in Austria and two more in the United States. The first to enter service was the Italian one. «It took several attempts – explains Simon Maybe, the engineer who designed the structure – First we designed a basket with a transparent floor. The second was equipped with an access ramp, but the disabled could not see the view. Then we arrived at the final version – he continues – with a resealable platform, equipped at the end of a transparent ‘window’, which also allows those sitting down to admire the landscape ».