05/12/2026
First event of our season is approaching! 🐢🐬
Meet the pilot: Kevin Heinzmann - Steampunk Sea
When you are not flying, what do you enjoy doing?
I do a lot of reading.
Why did you become a pilot?
I crewed for over 20 years. We finally decided to get our own balloon so we could do even more ballooning.
What do you find is the most challenging about flying a hot air balloon?
Finding landing spots that acceptable to everyone! Some great spots get missed because the wind won't cooperate. Some get passed by because the crew isn't happy with them. Some get flow over because the owner/occupant wouldn't be happy if we landed there.
Short description of something interesting that ballooning has allowed you to do?
We get to share the magic of ballooning with people of all ages. To see all the smiles when people get in the basket for pictures at a glow, is a great thing. It's also wonderful to be able to hear people talk about how different things looks on the ground when viewed from the air. It's a great feeling to be able to share a hobby we love with people who want to hear about it.
What do you most want the public to know/understand about hot air balloons and flying them?
Pilots want to fly, but we want to fly safely. We don't have control over the weather, and weather forecast are always changing as well as not being 100% accurate. People wonder why we don't fly when they don't see anything wrong with the weather. We might be looking at sources they don't look at, or we might be concern about what might change before we land. If we are going to error, we try to error on the side of safety. Our balloon "Steampunk Sea" was custom built for our family. There are eight animals on the balloon. Three of those are sewn on the outside. The others are all sew on the inside of the envelope. They are visible during the day if you look closely. If you really want to see them in their full glory, you need to catch them when the balloon is glowing after dark. We often challenge people to see if they can find all eight.
Generously Sponsored by: Dash Foundation
