Stan Hess, Veteran Balloonist and Tour Director of Lancaster Balloon Rides (operated by The US Hot Air Balloon Team), has provided a first class balloon experience for countless thousands of ballooning enthusiasts. For more than 30 years Stan’s dedication to the sport has earned him a place of distinction among his peers.
As he likes to say; I took my first flight in a hot air balloon more than 30 years ago, and I never stopped. Within 6 months of that flight I bought my first balloon and became a commercially rated pilot within that same year.
Experiences include night flights, Dawn patrol, handicap tethers, parachute drops, hang gliding drops and releases. Stan counts flying balloons in Australia, Japan, Hawaii, Canada, Switzerland, Germany, Yugoslavia, Austria, France, and others among life’s highlights and wonderful adventures.
Everything aside, Stan says it is not about him, But about the balloons and the people who he has met at every landing, and the passengers, participants and crew who have joined him during these times. After many thousands of flights I can not explain the attraction and affection that human beings, young and old, have toward hot air balloons. I consider it an honor to represent Ballooning, and flight in a hot air balloon to everyone I encounter.
