You could make 36,624 strings out of the balloon!

Each stringtime girl featured on the balloon is around 40 feet tall.

That means that each girl's waistline is approximately 17 feet wide.

There are four girls in all featured on the balloon.

The X type manufactured by Lindstrand is a new type of balloon, designed especially for competitions.

It is 18.83 m tall, 14.5 m in diameter with a surface area of 8210 feet.

Shaped like a rugby ball, the balloon has load straps on the inside instead of the outside and it's made from special new silicone coated fabric called Xtel
 

The design and fabric are both essential in enabling the balloon to reach top speeds of ascent and descent without distorting.

It can ascend and descend three times faster than an average balloon - up to 1800 feet a minute compared with the usual 600 feet a minute.

If you turned the X69 type upside down you could fit 69,000 basketballs in the space.

This is one of the only balloons to have been printed all over

The mouth of the balloon is made from nomex® - the same material as Formula One drivers' suits which is flame resistant and very expensive.

Emma B’s Hot G 

Emma B, today, made spectators go all hot under the collar as she launched a raunchy hot air balloon for underwear giants Sloggi.

The special racing balloon shows four sexy models in nothing but g-strings and Emma B was on hand to make sure the balloon got the lift-off it required. 

The stunning model, who has recently filmed celebrity Fear Factor, posed for photographers and gave everyone a tantalising glimpse of her own Sloggi G-string before the balloon’s maiden flight this weekend. 

The racing balloon is a Lindstrand X69, the first of its kind in the world, and also the fastest ascending/descending.  It has been created by Andrew Holly from Exclusive Ballooning and manufactured by ballooning specialists Lindstrand. 

The Sloggi ‘String Time’ balloon will be seen all over Europe as Andrew and his dedicated ballooning team will travel to balloon fiestas, racing events and other special events throughout the year. 

Emma B, said: ‘I think this will certainly be a traffic stopper and potentially even a heart stopper as it travels across the country this summer. I think this is an ingenious idea from Sloggi.’

A spokesperson from Sloggi, said: ‘This balloon is just going to knock the socks off people when they first see it.  You can’t help but stare – the girls look fantastic, it’s not everyday you see ladies in g-strings racing through the sky!’

They added: ‘As this is the first racing balloon of its kind, we should see it leading the pack and winning races around Europe.  We are really proud of this balloon design and are obviously very excited about the year ahead’. 

The Sloggi String Time balloon will make it’s maiden flight this weekend at the Oxford Balloon Fiesta. 

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