In this episode, Andrew talks to Nicola Scaife about competition ballooning.

Nicola is an Australian balloon pilot with a passion for competition. She lives and flies in the beautiful Hunter Valley, NSW, Australia, with her husband Matthew and their son Hugo. She works as a commercial hot air balloon pilot for Balloon Aloft, flying up to 20 people in her basket each morning.

In 2013, Nicola competed as a pilot in her first ever hot air ballooning competition. Since then she has achieved some great results and is continuing to improve. In 2014 she became the 1st Women’s World Hot Air Ballooning Champion. In 2016, she defended her title. Her goal is not only to be the best female but also to be a competitive pilot in open competitions and to challenge the men!