Hot Air Balloon Flights operated by Thompson Aire

Our flights are flown daily (Weather Permitting) at sunrise. We start our program at 6am.  Plan on three to four hours outside. 

We will start our adventure with a pre-flight briefing at the Best Western Lakeside. There we will introduce you to your pilot.   We will talk about your mornings adventure and answer any questions you may have about the flight. 

We have found that people enjoy the whole program even more when they know what to expect each step along the way.

 After our pre-flight briefing we will step outside and launch a small helium balloon to determine the wind direction for the morning.

Once the balloon is inflated and ready for flight you will board and liftoff into the heavens. Our flight will last approximately an hour. During the flight we will point out all of the spectacular sites this area has to offer.  Bring lots of film and batteries.  The area we fly has a great variety of things to see.  The entire area is a great mix from swamps and forests to resorts and residential.  Theme parks and wildlife.  You may see a 4 foot alligator or even a 4 foot mouse. As we mentioned above we plan our flight using the layers of wind in the atmosphere.  We do our best to create a flight plan where we can both fly up high and have a look around and also come down to the tree tops and view the swamps and forest up close where you can actually see the wildlife! At our landing site our ground support team will be waiting for us.  Once the balloon has been stored away will will have the traditional champagne toast.  We will also explain some of the history of balloon flight as well as how the tradition of champagne upon landing came about.

We will then return for an all you can eat buffet breakfast where all the passengers will receive their first flight certificate suitable for framing. Plan on about 3 to 4 hours for the entire trip. Don't want to fly but want to come along?