Battle Creek Field of Flight Air Show and Balloon Festival

Tom "Uncle Tom" Bergeon is from Mason, Michigan. Tom says he got into hot air ballooning because he was a world glass greenie (sea sick), so he took to the skies in a balloon. He has been a licensed balloon pilot for 33 years with over 4000 hours being pilot-in-command of a balloon.

Uncle Tom is a retired engineer & business owner. He is married to his wife Mickey and has 6 children, Jami, Bob, Tom, John, David & Matt. Bob & Matt have followed in their father's footsteps and are also balloon pilots.

Tom's balloon name is "Mighty Max" and is the "RE/MAX" balloon. Tom has participated in all but one Field of Flight events since 1980. The only year he did not participate was 2003. Tom's crew includes his wife Mickey and Ellis Foss, a man with great work ethic who is always there and who flies about 125 times a year with him.

Trevor Blount, from Chesapeake, Virgina will fly his Magic Destiny balloon for the first time this year in the Field of Flight Hot-Air Balloon Competition in Battle Creek. He has been a licensed hot-air balloon pilot for 14 years and has logged 75 pilot-in-command hours.

When he's not flying his balloon, he is employed by the U.S. Coast Guard as a Lieutenant, stationed with the USCG's National Strike Force in Elizabeth City, North Carolina. Trevor and his wife Jessa have two children.

Phil Clinger is from Battle Creek, Michigan and has participated in the Battle Creek Field of Flight Hot-Air Balloon Competition for 13 years and will be returning this year in his balloon named Overheat. He has been a licensed hot-air balloon pilot for 16 years and has logged over 550 pilot-in-command hours.

Prior competition 1st place finishes include 2001 & 2002 Pumpkin Drop, 2002 Pro Football Hall of Fame Fest, 2003 & 2009 Flag City Balloonfest, 2003 Holiday Balloon Fest, 2007 & 2008 Birk Lake Invitational, and 2012 World Championship - Fiesta Division.

When he's not flying his balloon, Phil is managing his hot-air balloon ride and aerial advertising company, Altitude Endeavers, Inc. He and his wife Tammy have two children, Dalton & Alexandra.

Website: http://www.altitudeendeavors.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AltitudeEndeavors

Harold "Bubba" Cliver is from Lewisville Texas. He has 25 years as a licensed hot-air balloon pilot and 1080 pilot-in-command hours. When he's not ballooning for pleasure or competition, he is a professional pilot.

Bubba is returning for his 5th year to compete in the Field of Flight Hot-Air Balloon Competition. His balloon name is Rainbow Stick, but he is actually hoping to have a new balloon before the start of the festival.

Larry Coan is from Livonia, Michigan. He is an engineer for the Ford Motor Company. He is married to his wife Amy. Larry received a hot-air balloon ride for his 27th birthday and was hooked. The rest is history. He has been piloting a balloon for 8 years with 250 hours as pilot-in-command of a balloon.

The name of his balloon is "Superfluous", pronounced su·PER-flu·ous, which means being more than is sufficient or required; excessive. This will be his 7th year participating in the event. Larry's crew chief is Jonny Hodge, who grew up in the sport because his dad was a pilot since he was a baby.

Larry placed #4 in the 2011 hot-air balloon competition.

Battle Creek, Michigan's own Deven Cook will be participating in his 6th Field of Flight Hot-Air Balloon Competition this year with his Even Higher balloon. He has been a licensed hot-air balloon pilot for 3 years and has logged 100 pilot-in-command hours.

He is employed as a Cyber Security Officer for the Department of Veterans Affairs. Deven and his wife Lindsey have 4 kids, Elizabeth 22, Gabby 20, D.J. 15, and Abigail (pictured with daddy) 19 months.

Barb Demaree is from Ft. Myers, Florida and will be flying her Hot Ziggity balloon in the Battle Creek Field of Flight Hot-Air Balloon Competition. More about Barb in her own words...

"I have flown over 33 years and got interested by watching Nikki Caplan inflate in Forest Park at St. Louis, Missouri.  I flew private airplanes but got very interested in ballooning in 1981 and haven't stopped yet. 

I have been an observer, debriefer, spectator, organizer, crew trainer, and competitor for balloon events. I have either flown or officiated in nine different states and two countries. I have worked with regional, state, national and world competitions.  It has been a delightful adventure! 

I have two grown children and one grandchild. I taught school 15 years and have taught various grades. I have been involved in medical organizations (national president of hospital hospitality houses), theater (all levels), politics (city councilman and held offices of  many organizations ), on housing authority board for 5 years, traveled, cards, and others. Being involved in many types of activities keeps me 'on my toes'."

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/barbara.demaree.14

Nick Donner is from Louisville, Kentucky. He has been a licensed balloon pilot for 15 years and has 1300 hours being pilot-in-command of a balloon. When not flying balloons, Nick is an airline pilot. His family has been involved in hot-air ballooning since before he was born; mom Terri & sister Amelia. His brother Chase is also a pilot.

Nick's balloon is named "Nike-Victory". This will be Nick's 13th year participating in the event. In 2011, Nick not only won the Field of Flight Competition, but he also won the US Nationals that year. In 2012, Nick became the World Hot-Air Balloon Champion. Visit his Balloon Pong website. His crew includes his biggest fan, mom, Terri, who is an airline pilot and his friend Yudai Fujita, Japanese National Champion.

Nick placed #4 in 2012 and #1 in 2011 in the Field of Flight hot-air balloon competitions.

Ken Draughn is from Burlington, North Carolina and will be flying his first Field of Flight Competition in Battle Creek this year in his Xtremely Contagious balloon. He has been a licensed pilot for 20+ years and has logged 1300 pilot-in-command hours. When he's not flying his hot-air balloon, he is self employed. 

Tom Eismin will be returning to Battle Creek for his 6th year flying in the Field of Flight Hot-Air Balloon Competition. He is from West LaFayette, Indiana. Tom has been a licensed hot-air balloon pilot for 15 years and has logged 400 pilot-in-command hours. His balloon name is Blue Magic. When Tom is not flying his balloon, he works as a Professor.

Rick Ferrall is from Lawrenceville, Georgia. He is Regional Manager for MetroCast Communications. Rick got into hot air ballooning during the 1981 Balloon Festival in Battle Creek. 19 years later he became a pilot. With 14 years of piloting under his belt, he now has around 500 hours as pilot-in-command of a balloon.

His balloon name is "Stairway to Heaven".The Led Zeppelin song came on the radio and the rest is history. Rick has participated in 7 Field of Flight competitions. His crew consists of his wife Debi as crew chief, daughter Katie Groft and son Brian Ferrall.

Tom Forenz is from Wheatridge, Colorado and has been a licensed hot-air balloon pilot for 28 years with 1650 hours as pilot-in-command. He will be returning for his 3rd year in his Da Blues Balloon to compete in the Battle Creek Field of Flight Hot-Air Balloon Championship. When Tom is not ballooning, he is also a writer.

Yudai Fujita will be coming all the way from Japan and will be flying Chase Donner's balloon, the Aeolus, in this year's Battle Creek Field of Flight Hot-Air Balloon Competition. 

Kinnie "The Rocketman" Gibson has participated in the Battle Creek Hot-Air Balloon Competition one other time in the late 1970s and will return this year flying his Airbender balloon in this year's. He began his ballooning career in the 1970’s and soon found himself flying logoed balloons for Mickey Gilley and Evil Knevil. Kinnie has logged 2725 pilot-in-command hours.

Kinnie Gibson, creator of the Rocketman Persona and owner of Powerhouse Productions Inc., has flown over 600 performance flights using this amazing machine. Kinnie has personally debuted the Rocketman on 6 continents.  Highlights include: 2 Super Bowls, a flight around the Egyptian Sphinx, show at Disney for “The Rocketeer” a summer with Michael Jackson's on his “Dangerous Tour” and many TV shows such as "The A-Team, Knight Rider, Walker Texas Ranger and Chips."

In addition to Gibson’s unique career as a Rocketbelt pilot, Kinnie is a Hollywood Stuntman, second unit director and producer. For over 10 years Kinnie helped entertain the audiences of “Walker Texas Ranger” where he fights the bad guys as Chuck Norris’s stunt man.

Always having a love of being in the air, Kinnie acquired several aerial hobbies. He mastered the art of skydiving, participating on many competition teams. Kinnie holds a pro-ratting in this sport. Kinnie also enjoys flying a myriad of aircrafts including Hot-Air Balloons. Later Kinnie would launch his Hollywood Stunt career flying a balloon in Disney’s “Night Crossing” then go on to receive an award for best aerial stuntman for his filming on the TV series “Fall Guy”.  Kinnie strapped himself to a hot air balloon, reaching an altitude of 8,000 feet where he proceeds to fight another stuntman, get knocked off the balloon, free fall, deploy a hidden parachute and land to safety.

Website: http://www.rocketman.tv/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rocketman
YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X1ZatjAvtvc&lr=1
   

Ron Groce is from Mason, Michigan. He has been a licensed balloon pilot for 31 years with over 1000 hours as a pilot-in-command of a balloon. He is a machinist by trade. He is married to his wife Jami. The name of his balloon is "Freebi". He has participated in every single event at the Battle Creek Field of Flight Air Show & Balloon Festival.

Joe Heartsill is from San Angelo, Texas. Joe attended the Albuquerque, New Mexico balloon festival in 1978 and knew he had to get one for himself. He purchased his balloon and didn't even know how to fly it! He has been a licensed balloon pilot for 33 years and has over 2000 hours as pilot-in-command of a balloon. Joe works in Investments. He is married to his wife Nancy and has a daughter named Kate as well as his two sons, Rhett & Lucas.

The name of his balloon is "Texas Racer" simply because he loves to race and is from Texas. This will be his 26nd year participating in the event. His crew includes his wife Nancy as crew chief, daughter and her husband, Kate & Joel Ives, Mike Best, and Battle Creek local Bryan Evans.

Rhett Heartsill's father is Joe Heartsill (Texas Racer). Due to this, Rhett was born into the hot-air ballooning world. Rhett and his wife Jobi are both from San Angelo, Texas. He has been a licensed balloon pilot for 8 years and has 274 hours as pilot-in-command of a balloon. He works as a geologist.

The name of his balloon is "Texas Star", which looks very similar to his dad's balloon. This will be is 7th year participating in the event. His crew consists of his sister Kate and her husband Joel. Rhett placed #3 in 2012 and #12 in 2011 in the hot-air balloon competitions.

Gary Heavin is from Waco, Texas. Gary started hot-air ballooning because of his love for flying and competition. He has been a licensed balloon pilot for over 30 years with over 750 hours as pilot-in-command of a balloon.

Gary will be flying a different balloon this year instead of his Curves balloon. His new balloon is called "Almost Heaven", a play on his last name, Heavin. He and his wife Diane have two kids, Shilah and Brandon (the other Curves balloon pilot). Gary is the founder, owner and CEO of Curves International. His Curves balloon name is a double etendre' play on his last name..."Heavin Bound/Almost Heavin".

This will Gary's 5th year participating in the event. Both his wife Diane and daughter Shila are on his crew. Gary placed #10 in the 2012 hot-air balloon competitions.

Dave "Capt. Flaque" Jaques (pronounced flack) is from Venice, Florida but is a Battle Creek native. He is a retired electrician from Post. His latest project is building his "man cave". He has three boys, Brian, Mike and Tyler (Post 2 Balloon). He has been a licensed balloon pilot for 27 years with 700 hours as pilot-in-command of a balloon.

Dave has participated in this event for so many years that he has lost count. His balloon is the highly recognized "Post Sugar Bear" balloon.

Back in 1984, two of his friends bought a balloon. He crewed for them and eventually formed the Post Balloon Club. His crew is made up of Post Balloon Club members as well as local volunteers.

LIKE the Post Balloon Club Facebook Page.

Tyler Jaques is from Battle Creek, Michigan. He has been a licensed balloon pilot for 6 years and has about 150 hours being pilot-in-command. Tyler is presently a manager at Meijer. He has a daughter named Brittney and his girlfriend's name is Erica Brandt.

This will be his 5th year competing in the event but he has crewed at the event since he was a child. He became interested in hot-air ballooning because his father, Dave Jaques, is also a pilot of the Post Sugar Bear balloon. It truly is great for him to be participating. His balloon is the "Post 2" Balloon. His crew is made up of Post Balloon Club members as well as local volunteers.

LIKE the Post Balloon Club Facebook Page.

Kevin Kamp is from Marion, Iowa. He has been a licensed balloon pilot for 12 years with over 400 hours as pilot-in-command of a balloon. Kevin is a Professional Photographer and has a son named Peter.

The name of Kevin's balloon is "Linn-'Air'-ea". This will be his 4th year participating in the Battle Creek Field of Flight Hot-Air Balloon Competition.

Rick Kerber is from Wayland, Michigan. Rick has 2 uncles and one aunt who have piloted balloons. He started when he was 16. He has been a licensed balloon pilot for 12 years with 380 hours as pilot in command of a balloon. Rick has been a rental manager at Michigan CAT for 28 years. He is married to his wife Cris and has two daughters, Jennie & Megan.

Rick flies the "Michigan CAT" Balloon. This will be his 7th year participating in the event. Rick's family will be his crew. Rick placed #15 in the 2012 Field of Flight hot-air balloon competition.

Jeremy King was born and raised in Indianola Iowa, where the National Championships used to be held, so he has been around the hot-air ballooning world all his life. He started as a baby being pulled around the balloon field in a wagon while his mother sold programs. As he got older he was able to sell programs himself.  At the age of 14 he signed up to crew and right there knew he wanted to be a pilot someday.  It took many years of crewing and flying with friends before he decided to go get a balloon and license himself. 

In 2003 Jeremy started his training in a good friend's balloon. In early 2004 Jeremy talked his crew chief into driving down to Florida to pick up a balloon. He has been a licensed balloon pilot for 7 years with 420 hours as pilot-in-command of a balloon and he received his commercial license in June 2008. Now he is training some of his crew to become pilots.

Jeremy is a handyman as well as the proud dad of his new son, Cooper Wade King. He will be flying the balloon called "That One There" and he flies for "HBC Contracting". This will be his 5th year participating the event. Check out Jeremy's website and also LIKE his Team Flyin' KOAT Facebook Page. KOAT = King Of All Trades. Jeremy truly loves to be in the air and see the faces of people when he comes floating by. His crew consists of Brad Morris and Jean & Courtney Grant.

Rick Kohut is from Louisville, Ohio and will be returning to Battle Creek for his 6th year to fly his balloon named Windtrek in the 2013 Hot-Air Balloon Competition.

He has been a licensed pilot for 12 years and has logged 500 pilot-in-command hours. When Rick is not flying his balloon, he is employed in Medical Care Management. Josh is married to Deb and has a son, Josh, 22.

Steve Mitchell a/k/a "Steve-O"  or  "Snakes 'n Sparklers" is from Broadview Heights, Ohio. Steve grew up in Battle Creek. His parents, Jeff and Mary Mitchell, lived just 1/2 mile south of the W.K. Kellogg Airport. While in high school he crewed with his brother and loved it so much, they decided to get a family balloon called "Summer Glo", which has been involved in previous Field of Flight events.

Steve has been a licensed balloon pilot for 5 years and has 115 hours as pilot-in-command of a balloon. He is a packaging engineer for Nestle. The name of his balloon is "Green Lantern", which came from the movie and also because of the green and yellow colors of the balloon. This is Steve's 2nd year participating in the hot-air balloon competition.

Dave Mohr is from Three Rivers, Michigan. Dave crewed in 1987 for one year and was hooked. He has been a licensed balloon pilot for 26 years with 993 hours as pilot-in-command of a balloon.

Dave is a tool and die maker. He is married to his wife Cindy. Dave flies the highly recognizable "Rainbow Twist" balloon. This will be his 27th year participating in the event.

Michael "Mike" Moore is from Augusta, Michigan. He has been a licensed balloon pilot for 11 years with 104 hours as pilot-in-command of a balloon. He is the assistant maintenance supervisor for Kalamazoo County. He is married to his wife Linda and has a daughter named Lisa and a son named Scott.

Mike crewed for Dale Wilson for about 9 years. His balloons name is "Shenanigans". Dale Wilson's wife named the balloon when she said, "Lord knows the shenanigans you'll pull..."This will be his 12th year participating in the event. Family and friends will be crewing Mike's balloon.

Join the Hot Air Balloon Floaters Association group on Facebook.

Jim Neill is from Riverwood, Illinois and has flown in most of the Battle Creek events since 1981, returning this year for another round in the Field of Flight Hot-Air Balloon Competition in his Stellar Balloon. He has been flying since 1975 and has logged over 900 pilot-in-command hours. 

His most memorable flights in the World Championships in Montreal, a major event in Saga, Japan, and a second place finish at the 2002 National Hot-Air Balloon Team Championships. Through the years, he has flown in Canada and won many events in the U.S., including winning the 1988 Kodak 3 City Tour Championship, which, at the time, paid the highest cash prize for ballooning.

Jim's most satisfying achievement is his training of son, Kelly and daughter, Kim, both who are now balloon pilots. His biggest supporter is Eileen, his wife, who has faithfully and more than competently followed his every flight...except those in which she was a passenger. He and son Kelly helped build their current aerostats, PengWind and Jim's balloon Stellar.

Kelly Neill is from Naperville, Illinois and will be flying the PengWind balloon for the first time in this year's Battle Creek Field of Flight Hot-Air Balloon Competition. He has been a hot-air balloon pilot for 14 years and has logged 200 pilot-in-command hours. When he's not flying his balloon, he is employed as a Graphic Designer. Kelly and his wife Tammy have 2 kids, Sofia 8 and Kieran 6.

Making his balloon debut this year in Battle Creek, AJ Nels, from Atlanta, Georgia will be flying his Big Red Balloon in the Field of Flight Balloon Competition. He has been a licensed hot-air balloon pilot for 5 years, logging 121.8 pilot-in-command hours. When AJ is not flying his balloon, he is employed at an Engineer at Delta Airlines.

Mike "Fire Marshall Mike" Nelson is from Fortville, Indiana. He grew up in Albuquerque, New Mexico near another large hot-air ballooning event. He has been a licensed balloon pilot for 9 years and has 540 hours as pilot-in-command of a balloon. He is a Heavy Equipment Diesel Mechanic.

His balloon naming was a family effort. They all wrote possible balloon names on the refrigerator and eventually picked "Midnight Racer". He will be bringing two envelopes this year and will be flying both Midnight Racer & Tickled Pink.

This will be his 9th year participating in the event. He is married to his awesome wife Keely and has four children; Brittany, Olivia, Lita and Mikey. His website, Ballooning 4 Education, was created to promote the science of ballooning and flying in general to get the younger generation involved in flying.

Richard Parr is retired and lives in Pittsboro, North Carolina with his wife Lindy. He will be flying Mystic Venture in his first Field of Flight Hot-Air Balloon Competition this year in Battle Creek. He has been a licensed balloon pilot for 6 years and has logged 365 pilot-in-command hours.

Stephen Peck is from Battle Creek, Michigan. He has been a licensed balloon pilot for 21 years and has over 330 hours as pilot-in-command of a balloon. He is a retired counselor with the Red Cross and has a wife named Sandy. 

This will be his 20th year participating in the event. His balloon was named "Gypsy Wind" because Stephen likes the song Gypsy Wind! When he was first learning, Tom Roush required him to land the balloon at a nearby nudist colony...a day he will never forget.

Jeff Pestun is from Zeeland, Michigan and grew up in the Battle Creek area watching hot-air balloons and then crewing his first balloon when he was only 8 years old. He has been a licensed balloon pilot for 14 years with over 400 hours as pilot-in-command of a balloon. He presently works in Technology Management for Hope College. Jeff is married to his wife Robyn and has two children, Andrew (10) and Allison (8).

The name of his balloon is "Special Purpose" which is a reference to the movie "The Jerk". This will be his 13th year participating in the event. Jeff's parents, Nick & Marilyn will be crewing along with his son Andrew. Jeff placed #11 in 2012 and #9 in 2011 in the hot-air balloon competitions.

Paul Petrehn is from Howell, Michigan. Paul's brother, John Petrehn (Racer X), started hot-air ballooning in the early 70s so Paul grew up around it. He has been a licensed balloon pilot since 1993 and has 1550 hours as pilot-in-command of a balloon.

He presently works in sales for Cameron Balloons. This will be his 15th year participating in the event, flying his King Me balloon. His girlfriend Erica is his crew chief.

Paul placed #2 in 2012 and #7 in 2011 in the hot-air balloon competitions.

Shawn Raya is from Oxford, Michigan. Shawn grew up with his dad flying the Father & Son Construction balloon. He has been a licensed balloon pilot for 26 years and has 1740 hours as pilot-in-command of a balloon. Shawn is a purchasing manager at RHK Technology. He has a wife named Sandra and 4 kids; Joshua, Audrianna, Ashley & Victoria.

Shawn will be flying the "Fast & Furious" balloon with the "Sullair" banner. This will be his 9th year participating in the event. Shawn's family helps him crew the balloon.

Shawn placed #8 in 2012 and #3 in 2011 in the hot-air balloon competitions.

Daniel Reusch is from Peoria, Illinois and will be participating in his first Battle Creek Field of Flight Hot-Air Balloon Competition. He has been a licensed hot-air balloon pilot for 8 years and has logged 250 pilot-in-command hours.

When Daniel is not flying his balloon he is employed as a Technician. His balloon name is Why Knot.

Tom Ricke is from Clive, Iowa. When Tom married his wife, Julie, he married into a ballooning family. His father-in-law flew for 25 years. He has been a licensed balloon pilot for 14 years and has 425 hours as pilot-in-command of a balloon. Tom is a banker by trade.

The name of his original balloon was "Pastime", which is the name of his wife's favorite authentic Mexican restaurant in Mason City, Iowa. In 2013, Tom will be flying his new balloon called "Another Pastime".

This will be Tom's 15th year participating in the Field of Flight Hot-Air Competition. His crew consists of his wife Julie, son Jacob, daughters Morgan Smith and Courtney Schulte and nephew Phillip Johnson. 

Pat Rolfe is from Battle Creek, Michigan. He has been a licensed balloon pilot for 7 years and has 279 hours as pilot-in-command of a balloon. He is a retired maintenance engineer for the Kellogg Company. He has a wife named Cindy and 4 children; Patrick, Jennifer, Michael & Russell. He also has three grandchildren named Trevor, Madison and Natalie.

The name of his balloon is "Firewalker". There's a long story behind the balloon name...a bunch of guys around a campfire late at night being crazy...walking across a log on fire... This is Pat's 29th year participating in the Field of Flight Hot-Air Competition in any way, shape or form. Pat crewed for Dave Emmeret for 25 years and now the tables have turned and Dave, who is now a retired balloon pilot after 30 years of flying, is Pat's crew chief.

Tom "Old Fart" Roush is from Tallassee, Tennessee. He has been a licensed pilot for 56 years and a licensed balloon pilot for 33 years and has roughly 1200 hours as pilot-in-command of a balloon. He worked for Post Cereals for a number of years and retired in 1995.

The name of his balloon is "Git-R-Done". He has participated in EVERY SINGLE EVENT here since the Pre-World's in 1980.

"I'm 73 & if I'm going to do it, I'd better "Git-R-Done"" (this is his reasoning for the name of the balloon) His wife's name is Pat and they have 2 kids Laura & Patrick. His regular crew for 13 years couldn't be here this year... Liz Roxbery. Crewing this year are JC Smith, "Butters" Shelton, & Johnny Flathau. Tom restores antique airplanes and flies them.

Tom placed #4 in the 2011 hot-air balloon competition.

Chris Smart, also know as CCD (Chris Can Do), is from Huntington, Indiana. 2013 will be Chris' 2nd year flying his Dream Racer Balloon with the Blu Fish banner in the Battle Creek Field of Flight Hot-Air Balloon Competition.

He started out in crewing and has been a licensed balloon pilot for 21 years and has logged over 1200 pilot-in-command hours. He also has a passenger ride balloon called "Dream Achiever" and is a hired pilot for the RE/MAX of Indiana balloon. When he's not flying his balloon, he is a Heavy Equipment Manager at a Limestone Quarry. His Best Friend Cindy is his crew chief and has 4 children; Janee’, Mike, Amy and Candice.

Chris placed #6 in the 2012 Balloon Competition.

Roy Smith is from Knoxville, Tennessee. He has been a licensed balloon pilot for 15 years and has 650 hours as pilot-in-command of a balloon. He works for his own Geothermal Company. The name of his balloon is "Little 'G'". This will be his 14th year participating in the event.

Roy placed #10 in the 2011 Battle Creek Field of Flight Hot-Air Balloon Competition.

Susan Stamats is from Cedar Rapids, Iowa. She saw a hot-air balloon and then she was hooked. She now has been a licensed balloon pilot for 28 years with over 2100 hours as pilot-in-command of a balloon.

Susan flies the "Alley Cat" balloon. She has participated in every event at the Battle Creek Field of Flight Hot-Air Competitions except one. She says her balloon crew is the Best in the World!

D.J. Stukas is from Central, South Carolina and has been a licensed hot-air balloon pilot for 6 years, logging 150 pilot-in-command hour. When he's not flying, he is a student at Clemson University.

D.J. is making the Field of Flight Air Show & Balloon Festival a family event this year by bringing his parents, sisters, nieces and nephews to Battle Creek with him. This will be his first year flying in the hot-air balloon competition. The balloon he will be flying was just recently constructed and is named HotHead.

Joe Zvada is from McAllen, Texas. He has been a licensed balloon pilot for 12 years and has 650 hours as pilot-in-command of a balloon. He presently works as an Aircraft Scheduler/Dispatch for Charter Company.

The name of his balloon is "Super Chicken", formerly known as "Free Bird". This will be his 9th year participating in the event. 

Joe placed #9 in 2012 and #11 in 2011 in the hot-air balloon competitions.

Check out the Balloon Pong website.