LimeLite Balloons

[Eric Wiggins]

LimeLite is a new company that builds systems in the "Light Sport" category. It seems to me that these could finally fill the void left by the Aerostar Aurora: a small, inexpensive "People's Balloon". Does anybody know anything about them besides the informaton  on their website? or about Light Sport balloons in general?

Thanks, Eric 

[Andy Marshall]

Hi Eric, do you have a link to the web site?

 

[mark mitchell]

http://limeliteballoons.com/

[Adam]

I think what Andy is doing with limelite is exactly what the sport needs.  Small, affordable balloons for people who want to fly for fun.  Long overdue and I commend him on what he is doing. 

$13k for a complete rig is an awesome price.

I am not totally convinced by his choice of burner as I have never used a National burner, but clearly he has chosen it for a value for money proposition.

I Hope he is very successful and it encourages more LSA balloon manufacturers to start up.

[Daniel Salters]

ABSOLUTELY! This is EXACTLY what the sport needs--to get back to being a SPORT. The opportunities LSA allows means we are heading in the right direction. Someone had to be the first to do it and I definitely look forward to what is ahead.

[Eric Wiggins]

The burner seems to have lots of nice options. Two blastvalves, a glow valve, a piezo, etc. I'm wondering how powerful it is, though...

[Andy Richardson]

the burner has plenty of power, it is estimated to be around 15MIL BTU's

[Andy Richardson]

Andy from LimeLite here. That is exactly what we are trying to do... We are specifically trying to fill a huge void in the market.  We are not catering to the corporate, or the ride market.. Limelite is set up for the sport and pleasure customer…everything incorporated into the systems is built to be affordable.

I can not believe the huge and wonderful response I am receiving from some people in the ballooning community… many of them are saying that Limelite may be their last resort to say in the sport because they can’t afford other systems. I would love to answer any questions and talk balloons with everybody.  We have big plans for Limelite to get new blood and attract new LTA pilots to our wonderful sport! I want average hardworking people to be able to have an honest attempt to enjoy the sport even if you don’t make tons of money. [e-mail]

[Eric Wiggins]

I absolutely love the Aurora. There used to be a ton in my area, but that number has gone down in recent years, along with the number of pilots... But since Aerostar decided to leave the balloon business there haven't been many other choices for a small balloon. FireFly's 4.0 basket was really as close as you could get. Cam and Lindy have the smaller envelope, but still just the standard 42x52ish basket.... I was overjoyed when I accidentally found LimeLite on Blastvalve! It fits right in the niche where I wanna fly. I would love to see more pictures (and maybe some color grids) of the Barchetta and Plus 2. Also, the Gemini II... It reminds me of an older Aerostar or maybe Raven. Complete with a lack of gimbal handle, other than the toggles themselves. Does it have two pilot lights? Does the glow valve pull from only one side, or both? I know I keep hitting you with questions, but right now LimeLite is on the top of my list. One more... How'd you come up with the name?

[Andy Richardson]

what is your email I will send over color grids... it does look similar to aerostar in looks... we are adding the handle to all the new ones that leave the factory it does have 2 pilot lights.. and yes the glow valve is off of only one side. rego style fittings for the fuel tanks and blast valve...  you get a NEW tee shirt with your new balloon system screen printed on it that says NOW YOU ARE IN THE LIME LITE!!!!!  that is how we came up with the name....

[Eric Hodges]

Let's say I had a dead balloon and wanted to buy one of your systems.  Could I send you my burner and have you install it on the system at the time of manufacture.  It looks like your basket will accept a Cameron burner frame.  What if I wanted to keep my burner and have it on one of your systems?  Is that a possibility.  BTW I really commend you for doing what you are doing.  This could be the shot in the arm ballooning needs.

[Andy Richardson]

yes that is possible. we could keep your burner and build it with my system. although if you flew test flew one of my systems I think you would really like it... love to work something out with ya!

Andy

[Eric Wiggins]

how big is an Aurora basket? Would it be bigger or smaller than the 36x36 basket? The Aurora is already a tiny basket, and it's pretty crowded with a passenger.