Learning to Fly: Hot air balloons in Boulder County

Often on a clear, crisp morning when the weather is fine and the wind is calm, Niwot residents who are lucky enough to be out early may get a view of a slow moving, brightly colored train of balloons flying low on the horizon.

While a few of them are navigated by private pilots, many of the balloons in the sky just east of town belong to commercial companies. According to RefUSA, there are 21 commercial hot air balloon sightseeing companies in Colorado, and the majority of balloons that travel above Niwot belong to a company called Fair Winds, established by Jeff Meeker in the early 1990s.

For over twenty years Fair Winds launched their hot air balloons from a field in Gunbarrel, but when Avery Brewing bought the land in 2013 to build The Avery Tap Room and Restaurant, Meeker had to find a new location.

"We needed to move," Meeker said. "We were looking for other spots farther east, because the Gunbarrel area has become more populated, and we just felt there were a little more abundance of landing spots more to the east." Meeker found the perfect location for the business and Boulder launchsite at 107th Street in Lafayette.

Marla Guzzo, a resident of Niwot, is a private hot air balloon pilot who occasionally shares the launchsite with Fair Winds. "We launch from there every morning that it's possible," Guzzo said. "It's early morning and we actually go towards the east, first because that's the way the wind is flowing from the mountains, and second, because there are a lot more landing spots in Weld County than there are in Boulder County."

When Guzzo talks about the experience her voice is filled with emotion. "It's quiet. It's this sense of flying," she said. "It's flying, like a bird, or just floating in the air. You can't feel the wind because you are the wind. It's hard to describe, because this was just like a dream for so long, for me."

It took many years for her to fulfill her dream from the time Guzzo had her first hot air balloon experience in 1982. As a senior in college at the University of Maryland she had an opportunity in the fall semester to go to the University of New Mexico. There, a friend convinced her to attend a 10-day hot air balloon festival in Albuquerque in October.

"I'm seeing 200 hot air balloons being inflated," Guzzo said. "I am just in awe. And there was a female pilot who said, 'Can you girls help me? I don't have a crew.' And we said, 'Sure.' So she told us what to do and how to hold the balloon--the envelope, they call it. She set it up and got ready to go, and said, 'I have room for one in my basket.' My friend said, 'I'm not going.' And I said, 'I'll go!' And I jumped in the basket."

After college, Guzzo worked as an international reservations manager for the airline industry. Thirty years later, in 2012, she drove from Colorado back down to the Albuquerque festival, as a spectator. "I went down there with my husband and told him my whole story from 30 years earlier. And we see a female pilot. And he says, 'Let's see if she needs help.' And so we did. And she said, 'Sure.'"

"She flies. We chase her. Talk to her on the radio. I'm having the time of my life. We get back and we do a tailgate after, and I told her my whole story and she said, 'I'm an instructor. I can teach you how to fly.'"

That same weekend in October 2012, Guzzo got her student pilot's license. Shortly after that she bought a balloon, and finished the work to get her license. Now she enjoys the opportunity to fly as frequently as possible.

Although there is a general flight plan for the hot air balloons, pilots don't always know exactly where they will land. "The ballooning joke," Guzzo said, "is that we land on the ground. If we just landed anywhere, we would be trespassing. And many people don't like that. And we try not to do that. And so where we land are places that are not open space, because we're not allowed to land in open space. So we look for land that, if it's a private, somebody's yard or a field, what happens is as you're flying there and if you want to land there, you send your ground crew to knock on the door and ask permission."

"That's always interesting at 7 o'clock in the morning--to knock on doors. Most people absolutely are enthralled and love it and feel honored, and some people don't want you there and say 'no.' And if that's the case, you fly on and find another spot. Parks, parking lots. You look for places you can land that won't disturb anybody and won't be trespassing.

What is more important too is that we're looking for a place that has access for the truck to come and retrieve the balloon. We don't want to be in the middle of a field. We don't want to disturb anything in the field, where things are growing. We don't want to be in a fenced-in area because then it's harder to get the balloon out. If we land in a neighborhood, for example, often times kids will come out in pajamas, and families, and we love to let them help us pack up the balloon just as part of the whole experience."

According to the FAA, there are over 7,500 hot air balloons active in the United States, and the sport attracts a wide variety of enthusiasts. Mark Umile, an employee at Longmont's Target store, is an avid fan. When he is not busy with his full-time job, Umile is up by 5:00 am to prepare for a day as a crew volunteer for Jeff Meeker.

"I like crewing with him," Umile said, "because he's a really nice person, and we've been ballooning for quite some time. About six years." Umile follows behind the balloon after it takes off in the morning, and he is part of a team that chases along below it. "I follow him with my truck," Umile said.

Once the balloon lands, Umile helps pack up, a process that involves landing the basket, deflating and packing the balloon, and tilting up the basket so it can get into the trailer. "It's very heavy," Umile said, "with the propane tanks in the back. So it takes about six people to push it in." The hard work pays off. Often those who help volunteer are treated with a free balloon ride. According to Umile, "There's all kinds of things to look at. You can see Denver and Longmont and Fort Collins and Loveland."

For those who would like to learn more about the experience, Guzzo recommends volunteering. For those who are more serious about learning to fly, the first step is to sign up for a student license. "Students need to fly with an instructor for at least 10 hours," Guzzo advised. "And then you have to do two solos. You get signed off by your instructor that you've done those."

You must pass a written test and take an oral test with a designated examiner from the FAA. Then there is a practical test where the examiner flies with you. The examiner asks questions to make sure that you know what you are doing. "And then, if you do it all well and you get your license, they make sure that you understand this is a license to learn," Guzzo added. "Just like with your driver's license. You can pass a test and pass a little practical, but that doesn't mean you're an expert at it yet. You're a novice, and the next time you're going is learning, each time."