The pilots at the heart of the Bristol Balloon Fiesta

Police sergeant Max Densley-Alford flies balloons in his spare time

Every year the sight of huge numbers of hot air balloons floating over the city delights Bristolians, but what is it like for those people who take to the air to create the iconic Bristol International Balloon Fiesta?

“It’s going to be a weekend of pretty much no sleep, but we’re really looking forward to it," said 26-year-old Max Densley-Alford, a sergeant for Avon and Somerset Police, who also works as a private pilot in his spare time.

“We haven’t missed a year yet, and I don’t plan on missing a year," he added.

The Bristol International Balloon Fiesta has returned to Ashton Court on the edge of the city.

About 100 pilots are involved in the three-day event, with organisers saying roughly three quarters of them come from either Bristol or the wider West.

Flying at the fiesta for the first time, Mr Densley-Alford, who lives in Kingswood, said he and his crew, made up of his wife and his in-laws, plan to take to the air "as much as we can".

On what he loves the most about ballooning, Mr Densley-Alford said it was the "community spirit".

“If I go flying, there’s normally a couple of other balloons flying at the same time.

"It’s quite a big sense of freedom when you’re flying - there’s nothing else that can compare to the feeling of going up. It’s peaceful and it’s tranquil," he added.

Mr Densley-Alford said he had been involved in ballooning since he was a child

Mandy Thompson, who lives in Henbury and is a private hot air balloon pilot for S M Gauge, also said it is a "totally different experience" from being on the ground.

Attending the fiesta since she was a child with her family, Ms Thompson says she had sympathy with those who could never understand why the mass ascents sometimes get called off for safety reasons - until she started flying balloons eight years ago.

"All those memories of the balloons not launching - I couldn't quite get my head around it," she said.

"You may think it's a perfectly sunny day, but there is so much to take into consideration. It's the wind, it's the temperature, the direction."

Now she is part of the ballooning scene, Ms Thompson says she appreciates all the elements that have to come together for a balloon to take off.

"It's just as heartbreaking for us as it is for members of the public [when balloons cannot take off at the fiesta] because we're there to do what we enjoy and we can't do it sometimes".

However, Ms Thompson said when they do take off, hearing the "roars from the crowd" make it all worthwhile.

Mandy said she decided to become a hot air balloon pilot after crewing for her brother

But how do people get into hot air ballooning in the first place?

For Mr Densley-Alford, while he had been around ballooning since he was born, he said it was a friend, Pete Gregory, from Cirencester, who died last year, that encouraged him to take a plunge and get his licence.

Mr Densley-Alford said alongside other friends in the ballooning community, he and Pete would build up flying hours together.

“It’s him that made it happen, really," he said.

Mandy Thompson is a private hot air balloon pilot for S M Gauge

Ms Thompson said while it was her brother's passion and interest in ballooning that initially got her hooked, a friend of hers called Katie - who died of cancer in December - who supported her in becoming a pilot.

"She encouraged me a lot throughout my training. She flew model hot air balloons for us as well, which I've now passed on to her daughter," she said.

Ms Thompson said she will spend the rest of the season, including at the fiesta, flying in Katie's memory, and is also planning to fly to France to raise funds for St Peter's Hospice and Brain Tumour Research, two charities who helped Katie during her illness.

Describing her as someone who "would light up a room" and had an "infectious laugh", Ms Thompson said Katie "just never gave up regardless of how she was feeling".

Ms Thompson said it was her friend Katie, left, who died of cancer last year, who supported her in becoming a hot air balloon pilot

Expecting to take part in the trip to France between October and April, Ms Thompson said the timing of the challenge will depend on the right weather window and the wind direction.

"You have to think of air traffic control and make sure all the safety precautions are in place as well," she said.

"I'll be more anxious the closer it gets but at the moment, I'm thinking, I'm just doing this for Katie," she added.

Max pilots the balloons while his wife and in-laws crew for him