Balloon Pilots in Training

Hello to you all.

I am Adam Bouse and I’ll be posting from time to time on this new Conner Prairie staff blog. I am an Experience Manager and this will be my third season at CP. I’ve had my hands in a LOT of different projects around the grounds (and still do). I want to share with you the back story on how this place works – what does a “day-in-the-life” look like, how do we train, how do we get ready for events, and what are our inspirations. I figure that the best way to start posting here is to let you in on a little bit of what I’ve been working on most recently.

Maybe you’ve heard: we’re opening a new experience in June! (check out the pictures of construction under way) “The 1859 Balloon Voyage” will take you through the story of how Indiana played host to the first air-mail delivery. You’ll get to experience the excitement of being in Lafayette in 1859 for the original balloon launch, learn about balloon technology, and play with some fun balloon-related interactives. The whole experience will culminate in a real life ballon trip – up, up, up and away to almost 400 ft (weather dependent)!

Just last week, two other staffers and I went to begin our pilot training. Lots of physics involved, but going up is a great experience for sure. Here are some photos of the balloon we trained on. While the colors are different from ours, the size and operation are just the same.

(photos by John Elder)