Blog Posts

Keep up to date with the project progress here but be sure to follow @FlyEveryState on Twitter for real time updates!

Hawaii - Flight
So thats it. All 50 states in 43 days, 3 hours, 39 minutes and 4 seconds.... This mornings flight was amazing after a sleepless night given the microclimates here... read more...
By Andrew Holly - 24/03/2016
Nebraska - Flight
We've just landed at Wahoo airport to complete probably the toughest challenge I've ever set my myself. A fabulous last flight of an hour above a very pretty Nebraska landscape... read more...
By Andrew Holly - 14/03/2016
Iowa - Flight
One of the most enjoyable flights of the whole trip tonight. We had driven 700 miles since dawn in order to make it to western Iowa and a chance to fly tonight... read more...
By Andrew Holly - 13/03/2016
Kentucky - Flight
Strategy time..... So our first flight was inventively but followed by three days of bad weather. So by flying Kentucky again we move our start date to February 10th... read more...
By Andrew Holly - 12/03/2016
Ohio - Flight
We could have taken the easy option and flown in northern Ohio this morning just fifty miles from our final landing spot last night. However, this morning contains some special strategy... read more...
By Andrew Holly - 12/03/2016
Fly Every State - Berkeley Primary School
The Fly Every State record attempt continues to generate huge interest and support but this time it was back in the UK, within the local community of Exclusive Ballooning's head office. Operations Manager Louise Moore visited Berkeley Primary School this morning and gave a presentation during a whole school assembly... read more...
By Louise Moore - 12/03/2016
Michigan - Flight
We made it! Second flight of the evening and a 25 minute flight landing safely before sunset. An unexpected bonus making up for our missed flight this evening and zero sleep overnight... read more...
By Andrew Holly - 11/03/2016
Indiana - Flight
Perfect blue skies and third time lucky for a flight in Indiana. Our second morning on the trip was our first canceled flight Indiana and this morning was also canceled due to winds. But this evening was lovely and our launch was from a school with amazing grounds and a lake... read more...
By Andrew Holly - 11/03/2016
Minnesota - Flight
Thats our final flight for our 30 day challenge..... And Minnesota gives us a grand total of 42 states in 30 days. Weve flown 44 times and tethered once as well as driven over 14,500 miles all inside 33 days... read more...
By Andrew Holly - 10/03/2016
Illinois - Flight
So weve landed on another unbelievably friendly farm, this time in Illinois. By now, the farmer who owns the field we launched from and indeed landed on in Wisconsin has all of his family here with him as retrieve crew... read more...
By Andrew Holly - 10/03/2016
Wisconsin - Flight
Driving 15 hours yesterday arriving at 3am this morning on a marginal forecast some might say is crazy. Maybe it is but then as a friend and fellow balloonist David Medcalf once said, "youll never fly if youre not in the launch field"... read more...
By Andrew Holly - 10/03/2016
New Jersey - Flight
And another makes 40! Ive already flown in New Jersey before a few years ago in a special shape iPad. But our record insists same balloon and has to be ratified and of course it needs to be with our 30 days which end tomorrow... read more...
By Andrew Holly - 09/03/2016
Pennsylvania - Flight
A 4:30 start this morning in order to reposition into Pennsylvania. Hopefully the first of two flights this morning and its clear blue skies. A very steerable flight we were able to take off, fly south, then west, then north and then set flying back over our launch site which was setup for us courtesy of local pilots... read more...
By Andrew Holly - 09/03/2016
Vermont - Flight
Finally.... A relaxed New England flight.... :) Flying just north of Burlington in Colchester, a very steerable morning allowing us to loop around several times in the valley without having to worry about the quintessential problem we have encountered in New England - trees... read more...
By Andrew Holly - 08/03/2016
New Hampshire - Flight
New Hampshire. Like Maine, but more trees. We had a small slot this morning with a strong inversion but a very quick upper wind. The inversion was strong enough and safe enough for a good flight and the direction took us from Salem North East towards Canobie lake... read more...
By Andrew Holly - 07/03/2016
Maine - Flight
Back to back tricky flights.... Southern Maine was always going to be tricky and as you can see from the pictures, it lived up to it. Trees as far as the eye can see with just a few landing options... read more...
By Andrew Holly - 06/03/2016
Rhode Island - Flight
Another one of the fabulous flights Ive ever done. After the frustration of trying to get airborne last night, (we had the balloon laid out and the winds switched 180 degrees in five minutes all the way to a few thousand feet....) an awesome flight this morning on the tiny tiny island of Aquidneck which is in Rhode Island... read more...
By Andrew Holly - 06/03/2016
Massachusetts - Flight
This is where it starts to get really very tricky..... Lots of trees, lots of ridges, occasional turbulence... New England was always going to be a challenge because of the amount of forests... read more...
By Andrew Holly - 05/03/2016
New York - Flight
Early start for us traveling up from New Jersey to an airfield just south of Albany. Helped by local balloonist Kevin Morris, we had access to launching at the local airfield... read more...
By Andrew Holly - 05/03/2016
Delaware - Flight
A murky flight in the tiny state of Delaware. A bit like flying on an island - we have the river and ocean to one side with the added difficulty of huge tree coverage and marshlands. The entire state is only 13 miles wide and with Philadelphia to the north, DC and Baltimore to the west there are also some air traffic issues to tackle... read more...
By Andrew Holly - 03/03/2016
Maryland - Flight
Third flight of the morning, second church take off and state number 30.... Maryland. Nice open area with great views of the river that separates Maryland with West Virginia and also the mountains... read more...
By Andrew Holly - 03/03/2016
West Virginia - Flight
Flying from a church car park, something that is becoming a familiar tactic, the fore act winds angel completely on us turning us more towards the blue ridged mountains... read more...
By Andrew Holly - 03/03/2016
Virginia - Flight
A short flight taking off five minutes after sunrise this morning as the aim today is at least two flights but possibly three.... Taking off from a fabulous front garden the winds wee changeable throughout... read more...
By Andrew Holly - 03/03/2016
North Carolina - Flight
Second flight this morning.... And again so close to landing back on our launch spot but sadly would have been less than 15 minutes. So instead we flew off heading to the airport although the winds wouldnt quite get us there to land... read more...
By Andrew Holly - 01/03/2016
South Carolina - Flight
Short and sweet fight at sunrise in South Carolina. Taking off from a fantastic private airfield, we climbed through an inversion layer to find an unexpected wind bringing us back across the field at around 1500ft... read more...
By Andrew Holly - 01/03/2016
Flordia - Flight
An amazing flight in the sunshine. Flying from the driveway of Art Hodges house, we had a fabulous flight of an hour splashing and dashing in five different lakes. Amazing visibility this morning and perfect weather with light to no wind on the ground and a good speed just above... read more...
By Andrew Holly - 29/02/2016
Dawson, Georgia - Flight
Another short fly in to an airport - the second in three days. This area of Georgia is densely wooded and a fast flight poses he issue of a tricky landing. Whilst there are several open areas, the farm land can be difficult to access and also the fields here are saturated and not drivable at present... read more...
By Andrew Holly - 28/02/2016
Decatur, Alabama - Flight
Another contrasting flight today as the trees are back! Fairly wooded area but still enough open farmland to afford a quick landing If needed. The forecast winds were light on the ground but increasing quickly and thats exactly what we had... read more...
By Andrew Holly - 28/02/2016
Downtown Tulsa, Oklahoma - Flight
After a week of flying open countryside and desert, today was a fabulous contrast. Flying from downtown Tulsa, Oklahoma, we took off with an early morning jet which gave us light winds on the ground but a zippy 25 knots at 500 feet... read more...
By Andrew Holly - 27/02/2016
Hamilton County, Kansas - Flight
Kansas! We were hoping to make the town of garden city for flying but with sunset fast approaching, we arrived at the local airport in the small Kansas town of Syracuse.... read more...
By Andrew Holly - 26/02/2016
Eerie, Colorado - Flight
This morning was a chance to have a nice relaxing flight after a few days of rushing and quick flights. Flying from the home of well known and respected Balloonist David Levin, we took off in clear blue skies and lights winds with frost on the ground... read more...
By Andrew Holly - 26/02/2016
Lusk, Wyoming - Flight
Slow, short and sweet flight in Wyoming as we were hoping to try and get another flight in on the Nebraska side of the state one. Sadly sunset got to us first! Flying from the yard of a friendly local family, they all followed us to the landing spot meaning we had quite the entourage... read more...
By Andrew Holly - 25/02/2016
Ludlow, South Dakota - Flight
South Dakota easily now one of my favourite States. The landscape is incredible with winding rivers, the mountains of Montana in the distance and huge open steer farms... read more...
By Andrew Holly - 25/02/2016
Bowman, North Dakota - Flight
This mornings flight was a tactical one - inflated before sunrise and ready to take off just as the sun hit the skyline. Short and sweet as the intention is to grab a second flight 30 miles away in South Dakota before the winds kick in... read more...
By Andrew Holly - 25/02/2016
Billings, Montana - Flight
Flying with the local ballooning community this morning in Billings Montana. Short flight of just under 30 minutes giving us views across to the mountains... read more...
By Andrew Holly - 24/02/2016
Walla Walla, Washington - Flight
A great relaxed flight this morning. We had around a dozen crew turn out to help us including local Lindstrand dealer Kong. TV and two reporters were also here as media momentum grows as we travel around... read more...
By Andrew Holly - 23/02/2016
Helix, Oregon - Flight
Complete bonus flight tonight. We were not expecting to fly but the winds settled and the snowstorms were stuck on the mountains. We found a small town called Helix which was just south of the state line into Washington... read more...
By Andrew Holly - 22/02/2016
Malad City, Idaho - Flight
Incredible contrast for tonight’s short flight. After a 7 hour drive we just made it inside the Idaho state line for a fantastic flight in the snow. Flying in the valley at Malad City there was virtually no wind.... read more...
By Andrew Holly - 21/02/2016
Kanab Balloons and Tunes, Utah - Flight
Yet another incredibly memorable flight. Flying alongside the red rocks and into the canyons here is amazing. This is definitely a balloon event we will want to return to. Flying with 40 balloons, we took off and had to stay within the Utah state lane which meant staying fairly low initially... read more...
By Andrew Holly - 21/02/2016
Las Vegas, Nevada - Flight
We matched the record! Nevada U.S. state number 11 for us and another diverse amazing flight. Flying on the west side of town, we are close to the strip as balloons can be with the busy airport preventing us getting any closer... read more...
By Andrew Holly - 20/02/2016
Temecula, California - Flight
I should probably try and stop every blog from starting with ’...another amazing flight......’ We took off this morning alongside one of eight local balloons from a beautiful area within the winery region in Temecula California... read more...
By Andrew Holly - 19/02/2016
Colouring the States
Before the team left for the US, they presented the office with a special present... a blank map of the US states. While we were initially confused as to why we needed another map, as at that point we had more than Stanfords, we were told this was so we could colour in each State every time they had a successful flight... read more...
By Louise Moore - 17/02/2016
Press Roundup - 17th Feb 2016
The team have managed to successfully fly nine states, which taking into account some of the weather systems they’ve experienced is very good. Louise, Jack and I have been working hard back here in the UK arranging filming locations, flight permissions and working with press. Here’s a round up of the press coverage so far, with much more on the way…!
By Mike Buckle - 17/02/2016
Lake Havasu, Arizona - Flight
And yet another amazing flight....... The perfect flight in Lake Havasu City Arizona would be to fly directly over London Bridge, dip in the water before heading off over the lake and being towed back to the beach by boat and that was exactly the flight we had this morning... read more...
By Andrew Holly - 17/02/2016
Meteor Crater, Arizona - Flight
Just landed from one of the most incredible flights I will ever do. We had permission to fly over the meteor crater launching and landing on the respective sides on the service roads. We had to hope for perfect weather and we had it... read more...
By Andrew Holly - 16/02/2016
Albuquerque, New Mexico - Flight
Perfect flying morning here Albuquerque with light winds and blue skies! With Albuquerque being the world capital of ballooning, this tour wouldn’t have been complete without this flight... read more...
By Andrew Holly - 16/02/2016
Cadillac Ranch, Texas - Flight
Beautiful sunrise flight in Texas. We’ve had permission to take off at Cadillac ranch for a little while thanks mainly to Pauline Baker and Buzz Wills.... read more...
By Andrew Holly - 15/02/2016
Timeout in Texas
So no flying today as it's windy but a time out in west Texas with good friends the Heartsill family. We spent the morning on four wheelers exploring the ranch and now we just arrived at our first rodeo!
By Andrew Holly - 14/02/2016
Mud City, Missouri - Flight
Our weather guru brad already was talking of strange winds this morning and that’s what we had. Nice and stable though so all good. We found a guy called Joel who let us take off from his yard in the fabulously named Mud City..... read more...
By Andrew Holly - 12/02/2016
Collierville, Tennessee - Flight
Short quick lovely flight on the outskirts of Memphis Tennessee. Flying with local pilot Skip Durham - it’s a great example of how we wanted our trip to pan out.... read more...
By Andrew Holly - 11/02/2016
Ground Zero Blues Bar
We've had an amazing morning with a private tour of Bill and Morgan's famous Ground Zero Blues Bar. It's quite the most incredible place and probably not what you expect at all... read more...
By Andrew Holly - 11/02/2016
Jonestown, Mississippi - Flight
An amazing flight with Clarksdale’s mayor and actor businessman Bill Luckett. Bill gave us a tour guide commentary to the Mississippi delta this morning as we zig zagged from north to south and back again... read more...
By Andrew Holly - 11/02/2016
Hamburg, Arkansas - Flight
Just landed and packing away with lots of friendly curious locals! The balloon causes a stir like it would anywhere but with the British flag and the #FlyEveryState banner on it, even more so... read more...
By Andrew Holly - 10/02/2016
Natchez, Mississippi - Flight
A fantastic flight with another old friend Eddie Ray flying over Vidalia, Louisiana. We took off from the levy of the mighty Mississippi on the north west side of the town and landed 30 feet from the mighty Mississippi on the south west side of the town... read more...
By Andrew Holly - 10/02/2016
Natchez, Mississippi
We have arrived in Natchez and just had a fabulous filet at the Castle restaurant which is here at Dunleith... read more...
By Andrew Holly - 09/02/2016
Jackson, Mississippi
We are just getting onto the Natchez Trace Parkway which is the old stagecoach route from Natchez to Memphis. We are playing Johnny Cash ‘we’re going to Jackson…’ Such an amazing scenic route… This is what this trip is all about for us, road trip!
By Andrew Holly - 09/02/2016
Meridian, Mississippi
Just arrived at our second Torgerson property en-route, this time with Matt’s folks Tjwanna and Larry and also Matt’s brother Drew. Arrived late though so straight to bed…
By Andrew Holly - 09/02/2016
Johnny Cash Museum, Nashville
We have just left the Johnny Cash museum… We had arranged a private tour and interview with Randal and Annaclare which was fantastic but we weren’t expecting to be able to speak with Bill himself... read more...
By Andrew Holly - 08/02/2016
Chatanooga Choo Choo - Tour
We had a great morning at the Chatanooga Choo Choo! We were given a private tour with Marvin who is an absolute star. He took us around the whole site at speeds of up to 0.4mph on his golf cart... read more...
By Andrew Holly - 08/02/2016
Chatanooga Choo Choo
We just checked into the Chatanooga Choo Choo hotel and it’s incredible! Having a tour in the morning - flying canceled as the winds are still too high... read more...
By Andrew Holly - 07/02/2016
Knoxville, Tennessee
We just arrived in Knoxville having diverted here to try and find some light winds. Although the winds may be light enough, the sun is just setting so we are beaten by the weather today... read more...
By Andrew Holly - 07/02/2016
Diamond Caverns
We've just had a fantastic Private tour of the Diamond caves with our tour guide Julie. They are spectacular to walk through and intriguing to learn about the cave wars in the area... read more...
By Andrew Holly - 07/02/2016
Indiana
We've driven into Indiana and met up with more ballooning friends... Unfortunately the forecasted winds are too strong for safe flying. We are going to have to re-think our strategy as over the next few days we will have a big weather system... read more...
By Andrew Holly - 06/02/2016
Louisville, Kentucky - Flight
Fantastic first flight and we are off! Flying alongside five local balloons, it was also the first time I've been able to fly with one of my best friends Matt Torgerson. Normally we are flying alongside... read more...
By Andrew Holly - 06/02/2016
Arrival in Kentucky
We're here! We arrived in Kentucky - just - and are already unpacking and getting ready for tomorrow. We have a plan in place for converting part of our van for the trip and it looks fantastic with the new sign writing!
By Andrew Holly - 05/02/2016
Team Depart UK
So we are all checked in, just waiting to board. Our Atlanta flight is delayed so the connection time is going to be tight but America here we come..!
By Andrew Holly - 05/02/2016