|
Kent earned his fixed wing pilot certificate
while attending college. That was a long time ago. Starting off
as a fixed wing pilot accumulated time flying for pleasure and flying
skydivers for a local drop zone.
Then in 2002 the desire to expand on “a life in the air”
strongly re-emerged after a hot air balloon flight. Within six weeks
of that flight, he had added a commercial LTA rating to his pilot
certificate and purchased the first of many LTA aircraft.
Since that time he has had the opportunity to fly balloons at locations
and events across the United States, as well many international
events in the Middle East, Asia Pacific as well as South and Central
America.
In his desire to grow and share his passion he has/is:
- Accumulated over 2,000 hours of flight
time in fixed wing and Lighter than Air aircraft,
- Earned the Balloon Federation of America's Level 8 Pilot Achievement
award,
- Been designated a Balloon Federation
of America as a Flight Instructor,
- Achieved recognition as an "Elite Balloon Instructor"
from the Elite Balloon Instructor Program fueled by the National
Association of Flight Instructors (NAFI),
- Hundreds and hundreds of hours instructing
private and commercial under Part 61 and Part 141,
- FAASafety Team Representative, FAASafety
Team WINGSPro,
- Organized various balloon events and
rallies in the Intermountain region,
- Organized Balloon Safety Seminars for
over 10 years, and
- Presented Ballooning programs for students
at elementary, middle schools and high schools across the west.
One of his greatest joys is to introduce the sport of hot air
ballooning to people for their first time. He really enjoys
his role as an instructor where he is able to see student's
progression to earning their pilot certificate. It is Kent’s
desire to promote ballooning as a fun filled family activity
to the general public and corporate America.
|
Dee is the chief of many things for
Kachina, Splash and BelleStar.
As the crew chief and student pilot she is instrumental in making
sure that all things for launches, flight and retrievals are compete and
safe.
As chief photographer she deserves credit for most, if not all,
of the photos on the festivals pages.
If you find Kachina or Splash at a festival
or just flying in your area, your best opportunity to get one of
our cards or pins is to trade one of yours with her.
We love to get new pins to add to the collection.
|
