I started flying balloons at age 14 back in 1973. I started by making my own tissue paper balloons and flying them. At one point I even built a small burner out of a syringe and tied it in the throat of the balloon and with 50ft of rubber hose I could maintain my balloon in sustained flight! Little did I know I was already teaching myself how to fly a balloon since the response and lag time of my models mimicked the real thing! At age 15 I signed up for lessons to fly a real hot air balloon. I did my flight training in a 1974 Raven Rally, poly bucket balloon with the brand new square shooter burner. I had my LTA rating before I had a drivers license and purchased the balloon I trained in. In 1977 I began to fly in competitions and found out that I had a great feel for flying to a target. I ended up the #7 pilot in the state of Iowa that year. In 1978 I flew in my first National Championships and ended up in 3rd place. I remember very clearly when Paul Woesner (2 time world champion) had Sid Cutter (founder of the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta) and myself in a headlock while his wife poured champagne over our heads when the results were announced. Sid had won the nationals and was 3rd. I went on that year to win the Regional Championships at the Pershing Balloon Derby and was ranked as the #5 pilot in the U.S. I spent several years flying competition all over the country.

Back in those days if you damaged your balloon you had to take it back to the factory for repairs. I lived in Iowa and Raven Industries was in Sioux Falls SD. A 6 hour drive! So you would spend a full day driving there and back to drop off your balloon and then another full day to go back and get it when they were finished repairing it. So I began to learn how to do my own repairs. I studied the manuals inside out and upside down. I learned how to do everything including sewing.

In the late 80's I was hired by Denny Floden to run his ride operation at Balloon Corporation of America in Fenton Michigan. It was there I learned how to run a balloon ride operation with 4 balloons flying around 190 flights a year and 2-3 thousand passengers. I also was active in flight instruction training new pilots. We did night flights and I also began to design and build cold air balloons. At one time I built a 68 ft tall Christmas tree for a local tourist attractions Christmas display. Since Denny Floden (AKA Capt Phogg) was also the pilot for the Tony the Tiger balloon I began to make inflatables for him. I built several Tony the Tiger head inflatables and 10-12 & 20 ft tall boxes of corn flakes and frosted flakes. I even did a tour out west with the Tony the Tiger rig so Denny could have some time off.

I moved to Florida in the mid 90's where I went to work for the Rossie-O-Gradies balloon operation. At that time is we being run by Terry Dillard and Paul Woesner. Paul knew me from my early competition days. The company closed in the late 90's and I was hired by another ride company. I worked for them for about 6 years and then opened up my own ride company called Thompson Aire. I started with one balloon and within about 3 years we had 5 balloons and 6 pilots flying between 2-3 thousand passengers a year. I even went back to doing some competition and won the Statesville NC event with pilots like Joe Zavada (current national champion). Here I was 30+ years later and would still rank as the #10 pilot in the U.S. I went on to win 6 Fla state championships in a row and finished in the top 20 at the Indianola Iowa, National Balloon Classic 4 times.
Then my world came crashing down.

In 2020 I suffered a hemorrhagic stroke. I woke up 6 days later in a hospital bed with no idea what had happened to me. I was unbelievably lucky. My wife had stopped by home before she went on with her day and found me on the floor in the bathroom. She called my mother and the two of them loaded me into the car and took me to the ER. This event ended my ability to fly balloons commercially. It took me nearly a year to be able to function even close to normal. Fortunately because of the quick care I received I have recovered nearly 100%. I have very little loss of any of my motor functions and all of my memory is still there. With the new Class C medical requirements a Stroke is an automatic "NO". But... I have my shop where I have maintained countless balloons over 30 years. So I can give back to the balloon community that I so dearly love.

This is the "BEYOND" part of Balloons-andBeyond.com

While I can no longer fly commercially I can still fly and I can help maintain equipment and produce needed products for other Balloonist. In addition to my shop I also do web work on the computer. I have built dozens of websites for balloonist and others. I have programs for online booking calendars and weather applications and even digital online waivers. but that is a whole other story and I have bored you enough already.

Just so you know, If there is anything you need or any of your other balloon friends please think of me. I am happy to serve and share my 50 years of ballooning with anyone who needs.
Fly well, Have FUN & BE SAFE