Day in the Life: Hot air balloon pilot Roger Clark

Commercial pilot and elite balloon instructor Roger Clark of Palmetto Sun Balloons, a hot air balloon flying company based in Greer, has spent more than 43 years taking to the skies. As part of his job, Clark has participated in 3,700 flights and has 4,100 hours in balloons. Over the past five years, he has also served as safety official at the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta.

Throughout Labor Day weekend, Sept. 1-4, Clark will fly a balloon named Pirate’s Booty above Anderson County as part of the Celebrate Anderson festivities at the Anderson Sports and Entertainment Center.

How to do you train to be a hot air balloon pilot?

You must have at least 10 hours of flight time to get a private license and 35 hours to get a commercial license. Most students have more hours due to the nature of ballooning being a very weather-dependent sport. It is hard to get consistent flights in due to weather so there is some re-learning along the way.

What is a typical day for a hot air balloon pilot?

We fly at sunrise, so we start very early in the morning. As soon as we get up, we start checking the weather.

Then, we start making sure all of our gear is ready. We have a flight bag with all of our gloves, strikers for the burner, briefing cards and checklists. We also make sure all of our radios, GPS and balloon instruments are charged and working.

Once we arrive at the field, we start the inflation process of unloading the balloon, basket and inflator fan. The crew starts by pulling the balloon out of its storage bag while we attach it to the basket and check the connections. Once we are ready, we start the inflator fan and fill the envelope with cold air while everything is laying on its side.

Once the balloon is mostly packed with cold air, we light the burner and heat the air, so the balloon stands upright. Then we load passengers, perform all our preflight checks and take off.

Flights generally last an hour, and we go about 5 to 7 miles. We start scouting out landing spots after about 30-45 minutes and try to get the ground crew ahead of us to ask permission to land.

After landing we have to deflate the balloon, pack it up and transport it back to the launch site.

For festivals we do this process twice a day for three to nine days, depending on the event. We jokingly say that ballooning is fly, eat, sleep (and) repeat. If we have first-time passengers, we also perform a first-flight ritual where we tell them about the history of ballooning and how champagne fits in, and then we say the Balloonists Prayer and toast their entrance to the ballooning family.

How many people are part of a hot air balloon crew?

You can inflate a balloon in good conditions with only one to two people, although it is difficult. The ideal crew is a pilot plus four to five. Packing up is the hardest part and it is best to have that extra crew to help load equipment back into the truck or trailer.

What sort of safety protocols are in place for the hot air balloon pilot and passengers?

Hot air balloons have to have at least an annual inspection. If they are used for instruction or commercial operations, they have to have a 100-hour inspection if the balloon is flown for 100 hours before its next annual inspection is due.

During the inspection, every piece of the balloon is examined, including every seam on every panel in the 1,500 yards of fabric, the basket, burner, tanks and fuel hoses.

To stay current with our licenses, pilots have to have flown within the previous 90 days. This is to make sure we don’t get rusty on our skills. Every two years we are required to fly with another instructor and have at least a one-hour flight and one hour of ground instruction to make sure we are maintaining our skills.

Most pilots attend at least one safety seminar each year, which qualifies us for an insurance discount and covers many different safety topics. I generally attend multiple since I teach for at least two each year and run one for the Carolinas Balloon Association. I also teach students as an elite flight instructor and run an annual ground school for students to prepare to take their written test.

We also use passenger briefing cards to make sure passengers are aware of the safety procedures while flying and landing. The biggest thing pilots do to ensure a safe flight is to fly in good weather with wind less than 10 miles per hour with good visibility and cloud height.

What is the biggest misconception about your job?

Ballooning is not a sport for the rich. I recently bought a complete balloon system in airworthy condition for $4,500. A new system can be purchased for about $25,000-$35,000 from multiple manufacturers around the world. Insurance is about $1,200 per year. Annual inspections cost about $400 per year. Fuel per flight is about $100 for the propane. You also need a truck or vehicle with a trailer to transport and chase the balloon and you must always feed the crew. There are balloonists from all walks of life and all socioeconomic groups. I know of retired military, teachers and truck drivers who all come together and fly as one group.