Long View Ballooning:

              

                                

 Welcome to the web site of the

Long View Ballooning

Irregularly scheduled Lighter than Airlines,

 

Where the destination doesn’t matter, because getting there is all the fun

 

Long View Ballooning flies (mostly) in the beautiful Berkshire hills of Western Massachusetts where your flight is like a silent nature walk. Floating peacefully above the trees affords a view of the world around us unseen from any other perspective.

 

Try this: Lean back in your chair, close your eyes and travel back in your mind to the time of your youth. Remember laying on the ground, in your back yard, gazing into the air, watching a hawk soar effortlessly overhead and wondering what it would be like to have such freedom, to live on the wings of the wind, and to gaze down at the large expanse of the world below. That, my friend, begins to describe the sensation of ballooning.

 

            If you can still remember those daydreams of your youth; if there’s anything left of that spark of curiosity, rekindle that spark with a hot air balloon flight in the Long View Balloon. You’ll be amazed as the world slips by beneath you. It’s almost surreal. You move with the wind, there’s no real sensation of movement and no wind in the basket, just peace and tranquility.

 

Morning Flight: Greet the rising sun as it paints the Berkshire landscape with wonderful colors, while the balloon majestically inflates. You feel such an emotional rush as you lift off and effortlessly drift over lush greenery, ground haze and, frequently wildlife such as deer, beaver, wild turkey and even moose. One flight we saw a bear. (You can now pinpoint where you saw him using our on-board GPS system, from which you'll get a flight profile and track printout after the flight) (Update: We just had another bear sighting in Richmond,

Sept., 2007. He was a big one!)

Afternoon Flight: Take off about 2 hours before sunset and feel the sheer delight of this unique form of flight. Contour flying at the treetop level lets you pick leaves and pine cones and see sights from an angle you’ve never seen before. Wave to people coming home from work. Everyone wants to say hello to you in a balloon. Cars honk. Dogs bark. What an extraordinary way to spend time with a special person  (Just to prove that wildlife sightings are not restricted to the morning we had our third bald eagle sighting on a flight over Berkshire County (Onota Lake) 5/20/08 He was magnificent as he circled below us.)(The other two were on flights over the Connecticut River)                                                 

 

Warning: Ballooning is highly addictive. Maybe you’ll start out innocently enough, going to a balloon festival or booking a flight. Then you might join a chase crew. Pretty soon you’ve graduated to the hard stuff – you buy a balloon, get your license and after that, if you’re like me, you get up early every morning to check out the weather on the net to see when is the next time you can fly.       Yes, I admit it, I’m a balloonaholic.                      Hopefully there is no cure.

 

The Connecticut River - Great place to Splash-n-dash (Photo taken by a passenger in the Thunderbuster Balloon - 8/07)

 

 

Click on one of the topics below to go to that page

e-mail us - click here: billvolk@westmass.com

Call us at 1-800-286-5401

You can use cash or a check (my preferred methods) to pay for the ride, but for those who simply must use a credit card, use one of the buttons below.

Contact us, then click on button to pay for your ride

If you don't want to pay in full today, but would like to reserve a date for a flight. I ask that you give a $100 deposit to lock in the date. IMPORTANT: Do not do this unless you have already talked to me to make sure the date you want is available

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Long View Ballooning now takes credit cards. Don't be hasty; check out the entire site, especially the FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) page, contact us with any more questions you may have, and then click on the button above to pay for a ride.  Important: Please e-mail me after you use this procedure. I discovered that PayPal does not notify me and I'd hate for you not to get the credit.

 

   Long View Ballooning does not accept accept nationwide balloon ride certificates. Click on the NO

   NATIONWIDE CERTIFICATES symbol to the left to find out why and why we strongly advise you to

   avoid such companies (scams).

 

 

Fly with us, or at least look for the Long View Balloon at the following upcoming 2009 Balloon Festivals:

 

As I write this we just came back from the Look Park Festival in Northampton, MA.(9/12-13, 08) I sincerely hope 2009 is better than 2008. We flew once at the Heineken Festival in Syracuse, once at Green River, once at Balloons over Niagara, drove all the way to Quebec Canada for a 6 day festival and did not fly at all, and flew twice at Look Park. That's 5 out of 29, not good. Lets hope 2009 is better than 2008. Watch the space below for the festivals we will attend un 2009 - nothing is scheduled yet.

 

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Flying with other balloons in the pattern is truly spectacular. To book a flight at any of these balloon festivals, contact us at billvolk@westmass.com

 

Contact Info:

Phones: 800-286-5401, 413-634-5401, 413-634-2174, & Cell phone (which only works occasionally up here in the hills): 413-695-6293

E-mail: billvolk@westmass.com

 

Pilot: Bill Volk

Address: Long View Ballooning

                73 West Main St.

                Cummington, MA 01026

This website is always changing. It was last updated October 29, 2008