Thread: Ripleys opens helium balloon ride over Pattaya

Ripley’s open’s ‘Sky Rider,’ Thailand’s 1st tethered balloon ride
Friday, 19 April 2013 From Issue Vol. XXI No. 16

By Pawinee Kaewkert

Ripley?s open?s ?Sky Rider,? Thailand?s 1st tethered balloon ride - Pattaya Mail - Pattaya News, Communities, Opinions and much more...

Ripley’s Believe It or Not! is giving tourists a bird’s eye view of Pattaya with the opening of Thailand’s first tethered helium balloon.

Called “Ripley’s Sky Rider,” the balloon ride on the roof of Royal Garden Plaza opened to the public April 3 after undergoing tests since December. Manufactured and operated by France’s Aerophile SAS, the 72-meter-wide balloon’s 6,200 cu. meters of air can carry 30 passengers 150 meters in the air.

Somporn Naksuetrong, deputy managing director for Royal Garden and Ripley’s, said the balloon is Aerophile’s first to be operated from a rooftop. Three Thai pilots trained in France will operate the ride and are supervised by Aerophile’s Herve Moine.

Somporn Naksuetrong, deputy managing director for Royal Garden and Ripley’s Believe It or Not!, answers questions from the media regarding the Ripley’s Sky Rider after calling an unofficial press conference on the giant balloon.

The ride is Ripley’s eighth attraction to open at the South Pattaya mall and cost the company 80 million baht to install. The company hopes to recover its investment by charging Thais 1,000 baht and foreigners 1,500 baht for each 10-minute ride. Until Sky Rider officially opens in May, Ripley’s is running a morning special, offering rides for 300 baht each from 7-11 a.m. From 11 a.m. to 11 p.m., Ripley’s offers a buy one-get one free discount ticket offer.

The Aerophile AERO30NG used is currently the world’s largest tethered balloon model and is used in six other amusement parks around the world. A larger balloon, the Cloud 9 in Las Vegas, previously held the record for the largest tethered balloon. Despite charging half of Ripley’s ticket price, it went out of business in 2010.

Somporn said there is no restriction on age or height of passengers, although he warned wind conditions might limit how many people can fly simultaneously.

Ripley’s Sky Rider offers passengers a bird’s eye view of Pattaya.

Ripley’s Sky Rider heads up into the sky above the Royal Garden Plaza.

This article was published in the Pattaya Mail newspaper on Friday April 19, 2013 (Vol. XXI No. 16).

hey they start off with double pricing !!!

what about farang with DL or WP. 1k ?

not that id be bothered to go look at pattaya s skyline anyway .

Yeah but will they have proper international safety standards in place? I can imagine a poorly paid Isaan employee drunk operating the gas thing whilst smoking

The Egyptian holiday balloon fireball is too fresh in My memory.

National
Balloon crash: 'It's burst into flames and they're dead'

In New Zealand last year 11 people died in a balloon crash, now would i rather ride in a balloon in a country with world class H & S rules or a country like this where they can't even moderate the appalling road toll,

^^ & ^^^ Helium isnt flamable.

Even so. Fuck Ripleys for their endorsement of dual pricing. Cunts.

Jumpers,a new way of making the news,forget balconies,balloon jumping is the Pattaya rage.

correct Wasabi, the first thing that will happen some pussy struck punter will come out of Pattaya bar after hearing the news from his last "love you long time" GF and will think making a high flying jump to end it all, from the balloon will be a good idea.

Maybe a good idea for him to breath in Heluim and it will make his voice really squeaky and a higher pitched scream can insue.

Originally Posted by peterpan

correct Wasabi, the first thing that will happen some pussy struck punter will come out of Pattaya bar after hearing the news from his last "love you long time" GF and will think making a high flying jump to end it all, from the balloon will be a good idea.

After all, most of these guys are loser attention seekers and this would show them all, that's for certain!!

Wow, what a massive load of horse shite. I'll never go on it but double pricing from the get-go is a joke. I can't believe they are still trying to pull this off.

How long before an enterprising "local" steals the tether and tries to sell it back to them.

Thais 1,000 baht and foreigners 1,500 baht

nasty fuckers.

These things drop from the sky all of the time even in countries with high safety standards.

If done on a regular basis, Pattaya balcony jumpers could find this a more respectable way to 'check out' ..

Wonder how much they'll demand if you 'damage' the gondola.

Saw that when I was there recently no way was I going on it.

10 minutes ,thas just a very quick up and then down ,it will use that getting up and down too mut .are there squat toilets on board ? and will the dumped load fall to earth ?

Don't pay a Satang for this crap. If you want a view, you can go to almost any highrise in Pattaya or Jomtien, take the elevator to the top floor, and walk a few steps to the roof. Safer, and for free. Two years ago I had the new-years eve party with my GF on top of the Metro Condo in Jomtien, and we don't live there. Best free view is from Pattaya Hill Resort.

Can I get a BJ on this balloon ride?

From a dude?

My first small airplane flight was with a long time friend who drank a 6 pack of beer before and while we were flying down the coast through LAX's airspace in a single engine Mooney. I trusted him and would fly with him again, but would not even think of flying on one of these balloons with a Thai male pilot.

I dont believe that Ripleys are doing this . Where is the evidence?
Why are there no photos and videos?
Its a conspiracy , the CIA are behind this .
Everyone needs to wake up and stop believing all these false flag stories .

Originally Posted by peterpan

National
Balloon crash: 'It's burst into flames and they're dead'

In New Zealand last year 11 people died in a balloon crash, now would i rather ride in a balloon in a country with world class H & S rules or a country like this where they can't even moderate the appalling road toll,

Fuck these things. Too dangerous.

Youtube is full of disasters. I will laugh when one is hung up in the power lines on a windy day