Taking Flight: The Balloon Still Delights

A little girl wanted to fly, and RE/MAX Balloon Pilot Kevin Poeppelman made it happen – on a day they’ll both remember.

Poeppelman has conducted hot-air balloon demonstrations for countless groups of kids through the years, but none of them quite like this. For a few hours on a warm Pennsylvania morning, he shared the wonder of hot air ballooning with a dozen children who are blind or visually impaired.

“Ballooning is very visual,” Poeppelman says. “You see a balloon and enjoy its colors, or you appreciate the view from up high. That wasn’t possible for these kids, so I tried to find ways for them to experience the beauty of ballooning. And it turned into a very special day.”

Nancy Altemose, director of services for the Harrisburg, Pa.-based Tri-County Association for the Blind, says the idea for the event came at the end of an annual weeklong summer camp for sight-impaired children, when she asked the kids to suggest activities for the next year’s camp.

One little girl mentioned a hot-air balloon ride. “She has no vision or light perception, so I asked, ‘What appeals to you about that?'” Altemose says.

“I’ve always wanted to fly,” the girl replied. “I just think that getting way up there like the birds would be cool.”

On the day of the program, Poeppelman and his wife, Amy, started by handing out balloons to the kids – ranging in age from 7 to 16 – and asking them to blow them up and think about how much pressure it takes to do so.

“I told them that if they could imagine 90,000 of those one-foot-diameter balloons put together, they would have a good idea of how big our balloon is – and how much pressure it takes to blow it up,” Poeppelman says. He also let them stand near the inflater fan, which has a five-horsepower gas propeller that “will blow you over if you stand too close,” he says.

Then Poeppelman led the children over to the balloon itself, and let them touch various parts of it. Next came the hard part. “It’s a very quiet ascent that doesn’t offer much of a sense of motion,” he says. “Generally, when you’re in the basket, you wouldn’t even know you’re off the ground if you weren’t looking.”

Poeppelman focused on the sensation of weightlessness and let the kids jump up and down in the basket as it ascended. He also chose one child to help him work the panel that activates the burner, and encouraged the others to feel the radiant heat from the balloon and listen to the sound of the burner as it warmed the air trapped inside.

The 9-year-old girl who originally suggested the hot-air balloon visit was the first to go up. As she returned to the ground, Poeppelman says, her first words were, “Can I go up again?”

The joy and wonder of a hot-air balloon ride is something that can last a lifetime, Altemose says.

“When the children conquer something like this, it makes them feel more like a regular kid who can accomplish anything,” she says. “RE/MAX made that feeling possible.

Balloon Power

A RE/MAX Hot Air Balloon event – at a grand opening, a school, a festival, a parade, a park or anything else you might think of – is a great way to build good will and visibility in your community. Guidelines, costs and materials vary, so contact your region for details. Kevin and Amy Poeppelman pilot balloons for two regions: RE/MAX Pennsylvania & Delaware and RE/MAX Central Atlantic. They’ve been flying for RE/MAX since 1984 and can personally attest to the power of the balloon’s marketing power. “When we first worked with RE/MAX, there were just a few offices spread out throughout the region,” says Kevin Poeppelman. “We used to specify on the skirt of the balloon that RE/MAX was a real estate company, but now everyone recognizes RE/MAX as a major real estate franchise, and everyone identifies the balloon as its logo.” It’s impossible not to pause and notice a hot air balloon flying by, and Poeppelman says he’s constantly amazed at how many people stop and snap a picture of what is essentially a flying billboard. “The balloon is a great brand marketing tool, but it’s also a way to generate lasting good will,” he says. “People always enjoy seeing it, whether it’s on the ground or in the air. That’s the beauty, and incredible power, of the RE/MAX Hot Air Balloon.”