Local hot air balloon aficionados have piloted a program designed to lift newcomers into the wild blue yonder without the financial sandbags that often keep the curious grounded.
Willamette Aerostat Society (WAS) this spring launched what it believes to be the nation’s first hot air balloon rental program in hopes of drawing more people to the sport by breaking down one of the largest barriers to entry: cost.
“It’s cost prohibitive for a lot of people to go out and purchase a balloon system and a trailer and something to tow it,” said Jack Loflin. “If you want to learn how to fly an airplane you typically don’t go out and buy an airplane. You rent. That’s how almost everyone learns to fly.”
WAS members can check out a complete system, including a trailer to haul it, for $150 per day. Fuel costs and flying lessons are separate. The club provides renters with an approved list of certified instructors. Club membership is $20 a year.
Comparable set-ups range from about $10,000 to $30,000, depending on their age.
Loflin estimates it will take newcomers about 10 flights to gain the mastery needed for private licensure. With instruction and fuel costs, a newbie can go from zero to pilot for under $3,000 through the rental program.
“For, say, $500, we can get someone a lesson or two in a balloon and let them make the decision as to whether it’s something they want to pursue,” Jack said. “It’s a much easier way to crack the door open to learn more about ballooning.”
WAS worked with Linn-Benton Community College to provide two short summer courses that are designed to train crew and new pilots alike. WAS is offering a two-day crew school as well as a 5-day private pilot ground school. The crew school will be taught by master crew chiefs and the ground school will be taught by certified flight instructors. More information can be found at www.linnbenton.edu/register.
Longtime pilot Laura Hancock and her ballooning partner Gerald Bales gifted WAS their balloon, Morning Glory, to set the program aloft.
For Hancock, who flew her “baby” for more than 20 years with Bales, the move was a pay-it-forward moment.
Morning Glory was gifted to her by a stranger 25 years ago during the 2000 Tigard Festival of Balloons.
“(The balloon’s then-owner) said, ‘I have a hot air balloon in my garage that I will never fly. If you want it, you can have it,” she recalled. “He goes, ‘It’s an older system. It hasn’t been flown in years. I don’t know what it means but it’s yours if you want it.’
And, of course, she did.
Hancock was piloting professionally for Vista Balloon Adventures at the time but didn’t own a craft.
When it turned out that most of the system’s components – the basket, burners, instruments, and radios – were in excellent condition, but the envelope – the fabric balloon itself – was moldy and unusable, her friend Bales bought a new one, and the pair puzzled their respective pieces together into a whole.
Morning Glory carried them through more than two decades of adventures.
“Being in a balloon is magical,” Hancock said. “You see things you will never see in an airplane. You’ll be flying and see a skunk going across the field. Every time you hit the burners, his tail goes up, and you know (not to) land there because it’s going to smell really bad. Being up above geese being when you’re flying in the sun, the sun shining on their wings and their wings are shining like silver, flying over the water and seeing your mirror image.”
Re-homing Morning Glory to help the struggling sport she loves keep soaring felt fitting.
“The (donation) is kind of a payback to the universe for giving me this opportunity (to balloon all over the West and around the world.) I hope it gets other people in the air,” she said.
The Tigard Festival of Balloons pitched in on accessories to complete the outfit, and WAS had it inspected and insured to prepare for the upcoming season.
“The Tigard Festival of Balloons helped fund equipment and supplies to get the hot air balloon system back into flight-ready shape because the future of ballooning depends on building access, opportunity, and a strong community,” Festival Executive Director Cindy Murphy said.
The lift-off-ready craft also provides an avenue for experienced pilots who don’t own a balloon to fly. This means access to soaring over the Willamette Valley during the region’s short season without taking on the expense of owning and insuring a craft that sits in storage for eight months every year.
Loflin and his wife, WAS President Sallie Loflin, who were instrumental in developing the program, modeled it after similar airplane rental programs that Jack was familiar with as an airplane pilot.
“Jack and Sallie were amazing,” Hancock said. “They really went they went the extra mile.”
Renters must also provide a tow vehicle that meets club-provided towing capacity specifications and at least two crew members who remain on the ground for the duration of the trip.
Though Morning Glory has often sailed the skies above Tigard, the balloon will remain earthbound at this year’s Festival.
WAS members will display it throughout the weekend, but will not fly it.
To learn more about WAS or their hot air balloon rental program, visit wasballoon.org.
