UP, UP AND AWAY

From 1,000 feet in the air, Lynch said passengers can enjoy a mostly quiet, gentle flight over Neosho, driven by the winds and hot air in a giant balloon (Right) Lynch said he travels each year to Albuquerque, N.M., for the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta, where hundreds of balloons take flight, compete in contests and enjoy the company of fellow balloon pilots.

The view from above

In today’s modern world, many of us have boarded an airplane to go on vacation or visit friends or family at some distant destination. But in Neosho, one local pilot has been taking community members to the skies in a less conventional, and much older way – hot air balloons.

Bill Lynch has been flying his hot air balloon for more than 30 years, and has taken hundreds of thrill-seekers and sight-seers into the sky for a serene tour of the region.

Lynch got his start working as a crew member for another hot air balloon outfit in Neosho 35 years ago. After working as a crew member, he was able to purchase a balloon of his own and began Aircraft-Balloons, Inc., offering private tours to community members hoping to see a birds-eye-view of the surrounding area.

“We do most of our flights out of Neosho, but every year I go to the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta (in Albuquerque, N.M.),” Lynch said. “I’ve been doing that for 28 years. There are hundreds of balloons. You have to see it.”

At hot air balloon festivals, Lynch and his crew participate in a number of contests, including “races,” where balloon pilots launch about a mile from a target, fly to the target and attempt to drop a bag on a bullseye from the air. The pilot who gets closest to the bullseye wins the contest.

He also said another game is to throw a hoop from a hovering hot air balloon onto a pole. Those who can get a ringer will split a cash prize.

But those trips are for him, and an opportunity to enjoy time in his balloon.

Day-to-day, his business is taking others up to experience the world from a hot air balloon.

He charges $400 per flight, and can take two passengers up at a time. Lynch said there is a 350-pound weight limit for the two passengers to ensure he can gain altitude with the ballon equipment, himself and the visitors.

“We have four 10-gallon propane tanks, me, and the two people, I don’t care how weight is distributed, but you have to be able to get enough lift. If you have too much weight in the basket, it distorts the balloon,” he said.

Each flight lasts approximately an hour, and the distance the balloon travels depends entirely on the wind.

“If the wind is blowing at four miles an hour, we’ll go about four miles,” Lynch said. “If it’s blowing at eight miles per hour, we’ll go about eight miles. But it can change. Sometimes the wind is a little stronger when you’re at 800 feet than it is on the ground.”

Because a hot air balloon is wind propelled, he said weather is a huge factor in flights. He said he and his crew pay close attention to weather conditions, incoming storms and wind.

“This spring has been unrelenting with the wind and the rain,” he said, explaining that it really dampens the flight opportunities.

Lynch said he typically flies passengers at about 1,000 feet of elevation, which provides a beautiful view from a height that doesn’t startle wildlife or interfere with power lines.

He also said he has flown as high as 12,000 feet in Lamar, when he had an opportunity to take some sky divers up for a jump.

“You don’t get a constant engine sound, but it’s not totally quiet, you have to turn on the burner every 30 or 40 seconds to keep hot air in the balloon,” but other than the burner, the balloon sails almost silently through the sky. “It’s very gentle when you’re flying in a balloon.”

Lynch purchased a new hot air balloon recently, but said there hasn’t been much change in the hot air balloon technology.

“Over time, they’ve improved the burners and the valves at the top of the balloon, but not much else has changed,” he said.

Lynch is available for flights by appointment, and can be reached at 417437-2834,

He said over his 30-year career piloting balloons he has witnessed a number of marriage proposals, anniversaries and birthday celebrations.

While summer heat can postpone balloon flights, because the air in the balloon must get hot enough to achieve lift, he said he recently took flight in the depths of winter so a customer could propose to his girlfriend over a snowy landscape. n