ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) –Ballooning takes a tremendous amount of work, dedication, and skill. And before he became the skilled pilot we know today, Tristan MacLean was putting in the work as a crew member helping other Balloon Pilots. “So I’ve been crewing for just about 14 years now, back in 2010 was when I started crewing […]
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) –Ballooning takes a tremendous amount of work, dedication, and skill. And before he became the skilled pilot we know today, Tristan MacLean was putting in the work as a crew member helping other Balloon Pilots.
“So I’ve been crewing for just about 14 years now, back in 2010 was when I started crewing full-time for Balloon Fiesta. So I’ve been piloting for seven years and I’ve been a commercial pilot for five of those seven and I started as a private pilot. This will be; I am entering into my fifth Balloon Fiesta this year,” said MacLean.
Tristan’s journey into ballooning began as a young boy, inspired by his family. Those early flights ignited a passion that transformed into a lifelong adventure — one that he now shares with his loved ones.
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“So it’s a little bit of family legacy. Some extended family of mine was flying and they invited me out back when I was in my early about 8 to 10 years old. I got to fly twice and unfortunately, that family member passed away and I was offered an opportunity to start crewing. I crewed from about 13 to just about 19 years old and I became a crew chief when I got my provisional license I was helping drive the truck. And Basically I just fell in love with it,” said MacLean.
Every flight is a family affair. With his mom chasing him on her bike and his dad as his ever-watchful support, Tristan’s family doesn’t just cheer from the sidelines; they’re an integral part of his ballooning story.
“So one of the things that I wanted to add is one of the coolest parts is my parents got really involved in it. My dad always tries to chase me if he’s available. My mom is always chasing me and one of the fun things that they love to do is my mom will try to chase me on her bike so she’ll leave from her house early in the morning and then basically when I start to fly she tries to chase me. It’s super fun to watch when I land and my mom rides up on her bicycle and she’s having a blast. Sometimes she’s done 10 miles and sometimes she’s done 25 miles. It just depends on how far she wants to bike, but you know my dad is always trying to get underneath me to make sure that I’m safe. It’s super fun to have the family involved and my brother comes down to support the team and make sure we’re all safe. It’s been really important to me to have my family heavily involved,” said MacLean.
For Tristan, each balloon launch is a celebration of togetherness. Watching his family engage in the thrill of ballooning brings him immense joy, reminding him that these shared moments are what truly elevate the experience. At Balloon Fiesta, joy knows no age. Tristan’s passion shines through as he reflects on the excitement of spectators and the smiles that fill the skies. It’s this connection that fuels his love for the sport.
“Balloon Fiesta brings out the joy and the excitement all the way from kids to adults to the elderly. It really gives you a different experience and a feeling when people get really excited to see the hot air balloons and that was the whole reason that I started hot air ballooning was because of the experience that it gave people. The joy, the prosperity that people really felt when they were flying in balloons,” said MacLean.
Yet, the future of ballooning hinges on the next generation. Tristan emphasizes the importance of getting younger enthusiasts involved, ensuring this beloved tradition continues to soar for years to come.
“One of the things that I find really near and dear to my heart is that the ballooning community is definitely of an older average age and one thing that we’re really trying to prioritize and focus on and why I really emphasize that my crew is of younger age. Because we want to continue this sport and we don’t have enough incoming pilots versus the amount of pilots that are exiting due to age or medical or whatever may have you. We really want to prioritize that there are a lot of good outlets for people to explore learning, training, and all of those different types of avenues that they can take in order to become a pilot,” said MacLean.
And let’s not forget the unsung heroes—the crew. Their hard work and dedication make every flight possible. They are the heartbeat and future of ballooning, ensuring safety and support every step of the way.
“So the crew is probably one of the most important parts of the balloon. We can go fly, we can do everything, we can get up in the sky, but truthfully from getting the balloon set up, to getting it back on the ground, and getting it put away. It’s a lot of work. The crew puts in a lot of manual labor. They’re very knowledgeable because they can help and we honestly utilize the crew as secondary sets of eyes and ears to pay attention to anything that could be wrong with the balloon. Anything that could need to be fixed. But you know really the crew is one of the most important parts of hot air ballooning. They really deserve a lot of the appreciation and a lot of the praise because they come out and do this on a volunteer basis,” said MacLean.