Ballooning Maps from Equinox Ballooning can offer overprinted 1:50:000 scale maps for balloonists. As each map is generated for you after it’s been ordered, please be aware that it takes time to create each map, get it printed and delivered to you. Current delivery times are around a week, but it may be possible to pay for speedier delivery, please ask first.
Benefits of a ballooning map:
- Custom printed on mapping paper and folded like the maps you’ve been used to
- Important ballooning items are emphasised – high voltage lines are printed “on top” of everything and have a coloured highlight, sports pitches and parks are printed in bold greens.
- Latest BBAC SAs are printed with an easy-to-understand height/reason legend, and fees if charged and known
- Latest airspace and airport info from OpenAIP.net up to 5,000′
- Map areas are either based on the current OS Landranger coverage or centred on your own launchsite. Maps are 42x42km, slightly bigger than the OS 40x40km Landrangers
- Farm house names printed where known and possible.
- Many other benefits too!
Limitations
- Many older BBAC SAs are not correctly categorised and will appear as a “?” on the map. These are being updated as far as possible when maps are ordered.
- The gel ink used by the printers can flake a little along the external folds where there is high ink coverage (for example, a wood or park). This is unavoidable but should not affect your enjoyment and use of the map significantly.
- Rights of way (footpaths and bridleways) are dependant on local authority published files and may not be complete.
- The base map is NOT the published Ordnance Survey 1:50,000 raster (image) but the data comes from the Ordnance Survey under the Open Data licence and is styled to be familiar to users of the OS maps.
Sample Images are shown below. The style might change slightly on the maps you receive as we develop and improve the presentation and the layout. The printed maps are very clear – the images below may look blurry depending on your screen resolution.
![](https://ballooningmaps.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/bristol-example-1-1024x477.png)
![](https://ballooningmaps.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/bristol-example-2-1024x757.png)