I have been active around the Central Ohio Balloon community, as a crew member, and more recently as a pilot, since the mid-1980’s. In June of 2000, my wife Kim and I decided it was time for him to learn to fly balloons. By the end of the year we had purchased a balloon, and I had received my Lighter Than Air Private Pilot Certificate.

I am currently a commercial balloon pilot, flying my own balloon and working as a pilot with the Central Ohio RE/MAX Balloon Team, since 2003. I also teach outdoor activity courses for the Ohio State University, College of Education, School of Physical Activity and Educational Services. One of the many courses I instruct is an Introduction to Hot-Air Ballooning. This is one of very few major university academic courses on hot air ballooning in the world and is offered during Summer Quarter.

Every flight in a balloon is exciting. Each flight has something fun & different about it. If I had to pick a single flight as my most exciting, it might be a flight that took place during a balloon rally in West Virginia. During this particualr flight, I flew almost 30 miles in 1 hour. The winds above the mountains was very fast, while winds in the valleys were light, so the landing was fun & easy. It took my crew an hour to find where I landed.

I got into ballooning when a good friend started to learn to fly and asked me to crew for him. I have been in the adventure business for many years. This business includes equipment sales, guiding, and instructing all levels of activities such as whitewater rafting, rock climbing, backpacking, etc. in the U.S. and Central America. Hot air ballooning was a natural extention of my interests and business. The rest is history.