Rainbow Ryders offering hot air balloon rides at Balloon Rally
For 41 years, only balloon pilots and sponsors of the Red Rock Balloon Rally were allowed to go up in the air during the Red Rock Balloon Rally. But this year, thanks to a partnership with Rainbow Ryders, the general public will get a chance to be among the 125 registered pilots and their balloons during the mass ascensions in the early mornings.
Rainbow Ryders is the largest hot air balloon company in the U.S. They serve the Southwest region, flying both commercially and for corporate promotions in Albuquerque, Phoenix, Scottsdale, and Colorado Springs.
The company’s founder and president Scot Appleman fell in love with balloons when his parents took him to the first Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta 50 years ago. He got his pilot’s license in the early ‘80s and started flying recreationally, and then turned ballooning into a career.
“I never would have expected it to do what it’s done, in a good way, but I’m very blessed and very lucky to have my hobby as my career,” Appleman said.
Nowadays, the company helps about 10,000 people a year cross something off their bucket list.
“Flying in a hot air balloon is a bucket list experience, without a doubt, and we’ve really seen a lot of that after COVID where everybody just wants to get things checked off their bucket lists,” Appleman said. “Flying in the Red Rock Park is simply magnificent. It is just beautiful.”
FEES AND GUIDELINES
Rainbow Ryders’s flights during the rally will cost $395 per person. Each ride is about 45-60 minutes, but people will need to carve out about three and a half hours in the morning for the whole experience, including boarding the balloon and traveling back to their cars. The mass ascensions are at 7:30 am each morning of the rally.
A balloon ride is limited to 4-12 people each trip. People can request a private ride, which can be done with two or three people, but that will cost $500 per person. The other rides are considered “shared rides,” and multiple groups will be flying together.
Appleman said he expects his pilots will give 40-50 people a ride each day of the rally.
The hot air balloon enthusiast said his favorite part about his hobby-turned-job is exposing people to the activity of ballooning.
“They’ll come up, about 70% of people say they’re afraid of heights, and then five minutes into the flight they’re going ‘oh, well this isn’t too bad, I can do this,’” Appleman said. “I think being able to provide the experience and allow people to face personal challenges or to just enjoy the true feeling of floating in the air, that’s what ballooning is all about. Watching people’s smiles and watching how they react after their balloon ride is probably my favorite part.”
To make a reservation with Rainbow Ryders for the Red Rock Balloon Rally, visit the company’s website at rainbowryders.com.
By Molly Ann Howell
Managing Editor
