For most, the thought of being thousands of feet in the air, without the ability to steer, is something out of a nightmare.
Simply add in a column of fire, and a small wicker basket, and Highland junior Waylon Sweeten is ready for takeoff.
Sweeten spends many of his weekends floating on air – literally. He is a novice balloonist, a student pilot who enjoys flying hot air balloons whenever he gets the chance.
“I like the freedom of it. The simplicity of it,” Sweeten said. “Just going up in the wind and that’s where you’re going. You have no control. You just let the wind take you wherever.”
A few years ago, Sweeten had the opportunity to take a free flight in a hot air balloon at a festival in Provo. After only being in the sky for about an hour, he was hooked on flying.
“I went up once and just got addicted to it, and so I kept going to more flight festivals,” Sweeten said.
Sweeten has been flying hot air balloons for three years and likes to go out once or twice a month in the spring, summer, and early fall, depending on the weather. Most have seen the colorful balloons that dot skylines; Waylon wants to be part of that picture anytime he can.
But as peaceful as they look in the sky, ballooning is a lot more complicated – and even dangerous – than most realize.
The balloons can only be in the air for 20-45 minutes at a time before the flyers have to touch down and refuel so they can go up again. The problem is, once the balloons are in the air the pilots have little to no control of where they will end up. The only thing they can determine is how high or low they go.
At a recent flight festival in Eden, UT, Sweeten’s instructor, Tom Rathke, took some sponsors in the balloon with him.
Although they started in an open field, the crew on the ground had to rush to someone’s backyard a few blocks away as the balloon was making its decent 20 minutes later.
While it’s awkward to land in someone’s backyard, many of the other balloons landed in the trees and on the roads, showing the lack of control these pilots have when flying a hot air balloon.
Many people may think flying hot air balloons is easy, but only people who actually fly them know the challenges that come with it.
“You learn about depth perception and your general feel of the atmosphere because you have to know where you are in the air without the use of any technology,” Sweeten said. “You have to be able to feel directly where you are in the air current based off of wherever you’re going.”
A lot of flying is also about communication. Because airspace needs to be shared to avoid any accidents, balloonists are required to communicate with Airspace Control in case planes from private airports are in flight.
Hot air ballooning is not just a hobby for Sweeten. He plans to get his pilot’s license and fly in hot air balloon festivals.
To get his pilot’s license, Sweeten had to take a multi-day training course with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). He then had to get in touch and fly with multiple pilots before taking a three-day long test to get officially certified to be a student pilot.
Student pilots have to fly with an instructor for about 200 flights before they can be eligible for a pilot’s license, which can be difficult if they don’t fly that often.
Sweeten has done eight flights as a student pilot so far and plans to keep going until he’s completed his student logbook.
Along with taking people up in the balloon and entertaining them from the ground, pilots can get sponsored by local companies to hang advertising banners while they’re flying.
This funding can cover the costs of operation and equipment the pilots need to have a successful flight.
Hot air ballooning isn’t just Sweeten’s thing. He shares this hobby with his sister and mom.
“It has become a great way for us to bond as a family,” Sweeten’s mom Emily said. “Waylon’s little sister and I always help as ground crew at these balloon festivals and for the private lessons.”
Because they share the same interests, Emily has been very supportive of Sweeten over the years.
She was first able to go to a festival a few years ago through her close friendship with Rathke’s wife.
After both her kids realized they liked hot air ballooning, Emily made sure to attend as many festivals as possible to get experience as being part of the ground crew and flying.
When Sweeten got old enough, Emily signed him up for a balloon pilot camp and woke up bright and early to drive him to various festivals across the state.
Along with all the flying opportunities, Emily also got him very focused private lessons with Rathke to further Sweeten’s flying experience.
Sweeten hasn’t been flying balloons for years just because it’s something to do. He’s been flying, attending festivals, going to camps, and taking lessons because he loves being in the balloon.
Being up high in the clouds is a very exhilarating experience. And for Sweeten, it’s the best feeling in the world.
