Lindstrand Balloons was a manufacturer of hot air balloons and other aerostats, owned by Swedish-born pilot and aeronautical designer Per Lindstrand and founded in December 1991.
Lindstrand started in Oswestry, England, with Colt Balloons (1978), then Thunder & Colt Balloons. He left Thunder & Colt Balloons to start Lindstrand Balloons, known for its leading-edge engineering, which included sophisticated testing and production facilities.
Lindstrand Balloons designed and built the hot air balloons flown by Per Lindstrand and Richard Branson on their record breaking flights; first across the Atlantic Ocean in 1987 and then the Pacific Ocean in 1990. Subsequently Lindstrand designed and built three Rozière balloons which Per Lindstrand and Branson and others used in their unsuccessful attempts to circumnavigate the Earth by balloon. Per Lindstrand played an instrumental role in making these flights possible, and was pilot for all of them.
In 2000 the main financier sold his 67% share to the parent company of Cameron Balloons. Per Lindstrand held the other 33%. Although relations were amicable, both parties preferred to have their own business and in 2003 the company was split: Per Lindstrand became 100% owner of Lindstrand Technologies Ltd. (LTL) and CHL became 100% owner of Lindstrand Balloons Ltd.
On April 15, 2015, Lindstrand Balloons (LBL) closed, with 19 workers losing their jobs, citing the strength of the pound and terrorism threats in the Middle East as factors in the slow sales of balloons.
Lindstrand LBL
Lindstrand LBL 240A, registration PH-VBH, built 1998, serial number 525 Goffert, Nijmegen, Netherlands, 8 July 2000
Lindstrand LTL
Lindstrand LTL Series 1-120, registration PH-HRC, built 2020, serial number 115 Tolhuis, Nijmegen, Netherlands, 12 August 2022
