Business Spotlight: Ballonist's dream takes flight with business

The decision to take a hot air balloon ride on July 4, 1988, turned into a life-altering experience for Shane Robinson. It took just one trip for Robinson to realize that ballooning was in his blood.

Today, Robinson is both a professional balloonist and owner of Balloon Sport USA. On any given day, Spring-fieldians might see him flying over the city in one of three multicolored hot-air balloons he owns.

In 1992, he traveled to Albuquer-que, N.M., home to one of the world's largest annual balloon festivals. While in Albuquerque, he attended a three-week course and earned a commercial lighter-than-air pilot's license, which allows him to fly balloons and train other pilots.

Robinson, who charges $185 per passenger per flight, said it's tough to make a living as a professional balloonist because overhead is high. According to Robinson, a new lighter-than-air-balloon cost between $35,000 and $55,000, and the balloon or "envelope" will only last 300 to 400 hours before it must be replaced.

"Balloons depreciate much faster than fixed-wing aircraft," he said. "People look at how much I charge for passenger rides, and they figure I must be getting rich. They don't understand how much it costs just to fly. I tell people all the time, the best way to end up with $1 million as a balloon pilot is to start out with $2 million."

Unlike fixed-wing aircraft, which can fly in al-most any weather, lighter-than-air balloons only can be flown in certain conditions. Robinson said he conducts passenger flights around sunrise and sunset when conditions are optimal. In addition, he only flies when the wind speed is 10 mph or less.

"Every flight is different because we go with the wind," he said. "I like to fly over the city, so I'll start on one side of town and fly to the other side. Where I land depends on the wind. People don't understand that, and sometimes when they see me landing in a parking lot, they think I'm crash landing. Other people will look up and see the flame, which heats the air that fills up the inside of the balloon. They'll think we're on fire, call the fire department, and some fire trucks will come out and meet us when we land."

Robinson said he tries to find the humor in these situations, but it's hard because perceptions about safety affect business.

"I'm very picky about my equipment, and I almost always take up passengers myself," he said. "If the truth be known, ballooning is probably one of the safest methods of air travel out there."

Robinson said he must travel a great deal because the weather conditions for passenger flights are inconsistent in Springfield. In fact, he spent last winter giving passenger flights in Guanajuato, Mexico.

In addition to passenger flights, Robinson buys and sells used balloons and uses his balloons to advertise products and services for area businesses. Bass Pro Shops, for example, has a hot-air balloon that bears the company's name. In the past, Robinson has flown Bass Pro's balloon over NASCAR races to gain the attention of the crowd and media, which often ran footage of the balloon on national television.

Recently, Robinson began offering banner advertising to businesses.

For a fee, Robinson will fly one of his balloons, which bears the company's banner, at a special event.

"People are just saturated with newspaper and TV ads," said Robinson. "Advertising on a balloon is different. People pay attention to balloons, and they remember what they saw.

"In terms of exposure, it's one of the cheapest ways to advertise that's out there."

When Robinson isn't giving passenger rides or using one of his balloons as a mobile billboard, he competes in national and international balloon competitions. He said he owns one of only 20 gas balloons in the United States.

Unlike a hot-air balloon, which only can stay airborne for about two hours, a gas balloon can travel great distances. To win a competition, Robinson must fly his gas balloon farther than any of his competitors. Robinson said his longest flight to date, which was made with the help of a copilot, covered 1,657 miles between Denver and central Vermont and lasted approximately 65 hours.

Robinson plans to compete in several events in the coming months. This June, he will be in a balloon competition in Puerto Rico. In August, Robinson will be one of three American teams competing in the Coupe Aronautique Gordon Bennett, which is one of the most prestigious ballooning events in world.

"This certainly isn't the easiest way in the world to make money," he said, "but I wouldn't change a thing. I plan to keep on doing this until I'm too old to do it anymore."