After being a fixed wing pilot for several years, Ben got his Balloon rating in ’89 and was immediately promoted to Chief pilot for Harrison Aire out of Ringoes, NJ, having taken the job as initially as ground crew – and the Chief pilot suddenly quitting his job. Following the promotion, the training was intense to become seasoned. This training also illuminated what weather conditions should not be flown in. At that time, Ben left and started his own passenger Ride business in Doylestown, PA. Color the Sky was formed in ’92 and 2 years later took on the entire corporate account for flying the Remax Balloon of New Jersey. The corporate flying was time consuming enough that after the birth of his second son, it was pushed to a close friend to take over the reigns so flying could become fun (and local) once again. After years of flying, the weather wasn’t as consistent as it was when the company first started and flying became a chore as it was more rescheduling than flying. The company closed after 16 years and flying was now for hire with others.
Joining Neal and Kim’s group in 2010, without the pressure of running the business end, ballooning became as fun as it was when it started back 26 years ago and over 1,000 flight hours later. Each flight as pilot or crew is looked forward to, the area is well known and the comradery strong.