Ballooning history is full of colorful charactors, interesting adventures, and wonderful stories. In this section of the website we want to share some of these stories with all of you.
Read about Notable Balloonists as identified by the BFA Hall of Fame Committee. Click the following link to access the biographies and other information on US Hall of Fame Award recipients and other Notable Balloonists.
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BFA Board of Director Officers - Alphabetical List
Feb 5 2022Most years as an officer at each postions President: [4] J. Michael Wallace (1992, 93, 95, 96), [3] Don Kersten (1970, 75, 76), [3] Peter Pellegrino (1967, 68, 69), [3] Rick Jones (2000, ... -
Early FAA Balloon Pilots Licenses
Sep 25 2016After Raven developed the first modern hot air balloon in 1960 – 1961, there was no pilots license requirements by the FAA. ... -
Early in 1969
Sep 25 2016Early in 1969, one of my first contracts was with CVS stores, owned by Melville Shoe Corporation. I would fly from the local CVS store and would throw out ping pong balls numbered with discounts as I took off. ... -
S-40's
Sep 25 2016We were flying S-40's (very small balloons)back in the late 60's. The tops were shrinking and we couldn't understand why. The solution was, ... -
Dirty Ballooning
Sep 25 20154 squeaky clean pilots went up in the same basket. Two men, and two women. Nobody here was married, but they were all pilots. Each offered advice on the "best" way to fly today. ... -
Fall of 1973
Sep 13 2013I saw my first balloon in the fall of 1973. A Stokes balloon came to town and tethered as a means of bringing attention & excitement to the tourist town of Helen, GA. Then in October of 1973 a balloon was pu... -
Ed Yost - BFA History Letter
Dec 28 2014A Letter to the BFA From Ed Yost Those who flew, pass it on to you! The Balloon Club of America represented by Pete Pelegreno, Don Kersten, a lawyer from Iowa and neophyte balloonist plus Ed Yost, a veteran fl... -
Lake Michigan Crossing 1982
Sep 11 2013By T.Sheppard/G. Britton Two Michigan pilots flew from West Bend Airport to Stanton Michigan on Saturday February 13, 1982 in a Cameron 077. ... -
Balloon Club of America - history
Sep 9 2013By Don Piccard An early BCA member was Tony Fairbanks who had been a student pilot in the Cleveland Balloon Club before WWII. ...