Crewing

The Long View Hot Air Balloon Crew – these are the people who make it all possible. If you don’t believe me, try unpacking, and putting up a hot air balloon by yourself. Even if you could do it, how would you get home?

Not all the fun is had by those in the basket. Up in the balloon the passengers and I are looking out on majestic vistas and lush landscapes. . . . Meanwhile down on the ground, the last time you, as a crew member, saw the balloon it was heading over “that” way.

Only now you can’t see the balloon because the damn pilot decided to fly low and do some “tree whapping”. So even if you could

Because I buy the champagne - They don't have to! flying, there doesn’t seem to be any roads going

in “that” direction Of course the lush Berkshire landscapes that are so beautiful from the air are damn difficult to see through when you’re in the chase vehicle. Now here comes the fun part – the goal is to get to the landing site before the balloon when you don’t know for sure where that place is or often how to get there, even if you did.

Chasing a balloon is best described as a road rally without rules or checkpoints. It’s a great way to learn about balloons and ballooning. Most pilots (including myself (as early as 1976) ) started out crewing.

Crew members help the pilot set up the basket, lay out the envelope, provide a second set of eyes in checking to make sure everything is OK, pack everything that isn’t otherwise airborne securely into the trailer after launch, chase the balloon, obtain landowner permission to land (if possible), assist with the deflation and “squeezing out” of the balloon, help packing everything up including the still heavy basket (still heavy despite 80 lbs or so of fuel having been burned away), join the passengers in their laughter and enthusiasm over the flight, and ride back to the launch site. Now, if that sounds like a lot of work. . . it is.

So if its so much work, why volunteer?? Well, I’ve already talked about the fun of balloon chasing. Other benefits are crew T-shirts, champagne toasts, a crew party, and great photo opportunities. However, the main reason why most people crew is the chance to fly. I frequently take up crew members and their families. Most of the present crew have been up on numerous occasions. Three of them are presently under instruction from me to get their pilot’s licenses.

But I gotta tell you that I crewed for years, loved it and never even got a flight. Now, it was my fault, because I skipped around, crewing for different people (seldom more than a couple of flights). The point is that, for me, crewing was exciting, fun, educational and a chance to look into magical, mystical, fraternity of balloonists. I kept coming back, even without the flight incentive.

A great way to learn more about balloon crewing is to Click Here to check out "A Guide to Crewing Hot Air Balloons" They do a pretty good job of describing what its like to be a crew member. Another (1 page) site that describes crewing can be reached if you Click Here Also check out the Operations Team web page of Pacific Peaks Balloon Co., for another perspective. To see if you have the "right stuff" to be a crew member take the CREW TEST

This is original art (in crayon) done by crew member Pete Feitner's daughter Karina after her tethered flight when she was 5. After that she has flown (free flight) on at least 5 other occasions, several times without parent and is a real trooper. I consider her a valued crew member. She is now 11.

The new Crew T-shirts are in. I think they are really sharp. Look at the last photo on the bottom row, below.

The Long View Balloon is headquartered in the western Massachusetts hill town of Cummington. I fly semi-regularly in Hampshire, Berkshire and Franklin Counties and in the Windsor Locks area of Connecticut. Long View Crew members live and work throughout that area (as well as Holyoke and Springfield). If you are interested in crewing, call me toll free at 1-800-286-5401 (Cummington, MA 413-634-5401) or send me an e-mail at billvolk@westmass.com . Include in your e-mail your name phone #, e-mail address, and snail mail address. We always need more crew since most people are only free occasionally (and although its hard for me to imagine, actually have lives outside of ballooning).