Passengers: John & Laura Flynn
Date: June 25, 2007
Launch site: Altitude Endeavors World Headquarters
Weather:
Hot & humid with light winds
Crew: Deb, Jeremy, Marvin
What a pilot! What a crew!
What a flight!
I scheduled a flight for June 25, 2007 for my wife's 50th birthday. This, the
woman who is afraid of heights. She set a challenge for herself and Phil, his
crew, and I helped her pull it off. The flight was exciting (not scary) from the
filling of the balloon to the landing and celebration. Although the weather was
less than ideal (92 degrees and humid), we had an hour long gentle ride,
beautiful views, and an amazing landing.
What amazed me the most (besides my wife's calmness and smile) was Phil's
ability to fly that balloon. He took us up and down (80 to 600+ feet) above
ponds, rivers, forests, farms, etc. After all those views it was time to land.
We shouted hello to the chase team as we passed over head. Phil picked a spot
(someone's back yard), asked permission to land, and we started our descent. We
just brushed the tops of some trees and Phil put that balloon in between a
garage and a tree that might have been separated by fifty feet. We hovered a
foot off the ground for about 5 seconds and with a small bump we were down. The
chase team was right there to handle the balloon while we got out of the basket.
Now it was time for the celebratory toast. With much ritual, pomp and
circumstance we toasted our flight and safe return to Earth. Phil provided both
sparkling wine and sparkling juice and after that it was water (ice cold). The
temperature didn't change much as we flew in the balloon.
I could tell from this experience that the pilot and crew knew what they were
doing at every step. Phil answered any questions, but otherwise was polite and
unobtrusive. Phil had just four rules: 1. Get in the basket when asked. 2. Bend
your knees during the landing. 3. Get out of the basket when asked. 4. Enjoy
yourself. The crew was equally friendly. I can and will highly recommend
Altitude Endeavors for anyone wishing to experience a quality balloon ride.
Happy Flying,
John M. Flynn
Altitude Endeavors, Inc.
