Thailand Elephant

 

During the 1980s Malcolm Forbes, publisher of the Forbes magazine, built up a collection of special shape balloons. All built by Cameron Balloons in Bristol, Forbes had a special shape commissioned for each country he had visited. From the early 1980s balloonists from all around the world were invited to fly from Balleroy, his French estate, in Calvados, Northern France where he would unveil his newest creation. Nobody had ever seen hot air balloons like this before with only a very small number of shapes made before the most well-known of the fleet, the original Chateau de Balleroy. 

 

The Chateau, registered G-BKBR and built in 1982, was just one of many other spectacular special shapes which followed, including:

  - the Minar-e-Pakistan (G-BKNN, 83)
​  - Sphinx (G-BLFE, 84)
  - Thailand Elephant (G-BLRW, 85)
  - Harley Davidson (G-BMUN, 86)
  - Golden Temple (G-BMWN, 86)
  - Rosebud Egg (G-BNFK, 87)
  - Beethoven (G-BNJU, 87)
  - SulIman the Magnificent (G-TURK, 88)
  - Forbes Magazine (G-BPOV, 89)
  - Santa Maria (G-BPSP, 89)
​  - Mcaw (G-BRWZ, 90)
  - Chateau de Balleroy no.2 (G-BTCZ, 91)

 

Cameron Balloons test inflated each of Malcolm Forbes' balloons at Ashton Court Estate early in the morning, which is still done with new balloons to this day before they are shipped to their new home.