Jeff’s Hot Air Balloon Ride

jkennedy • September 13, 2010 • 1 Comment

The best way to watch the weather is to get outside, and in this case, get up into the sky! On Wednesday, September 8th, Jason Mortvedt and I got to go for a hot air balloon ride. Jason’s full-time job is the Assignment Editor at KWWL…but he is also a great photographer…and during the balloon ride he had his camera along. Mr. Kevin Kamp is the balloon pilot. We met Kevin and his crew in Marion. It was an ideal day, weatherwise…hardly any wind, very few clouds and not too humid. Jason and I watched while the balloon was inflated…first with cool air, then with hot air. Quite fascinating! I have flown fixed-wing aircraft for over 30 years, but had never done the balloon thing. Kevin was a very gracious host and explained much about ballooning during our flight. He also made a very gentle landing…and speaking as a pilot I can tell you that the landing is the most important part of the flight! That’s usually the part that your passengers remember, and if you bounce the landing they’ll tell all their friends that you don’t know how to fly very well. Nice job, Kevin!