Frans van Hooft, a 66-year-old hot air balloon pilot from Schijndel, is participating in the International Balloon Fiesta in Albuquerque, New Mexico, for the sixth time, Omroep Brabant reported. The annual event features hundreds of colorful hot air balloons taking off simultaneously and draws approximately 100,000 spectators every morning.
Held in the American state of New Mexico, the festival scales up operations significantly compared to European gatherings. “It is just like everything in America: it all has to be bigger and grander,” Frans told Omroep Brabant from the United States. Weather permitting, about five hundred balloons ascend each morning, accompanied by a long street of food, drink, and souvenir stalls lining the grounds.
The PH-Mia and Family Ties in Albuquerque
Frans flies a balloon named the PH-Mia, after his granddaughter Mia. When she turned one year old, he gifted her the balloon, and he continues to pilot it as she grows. Now nine years old, Mia has previously accompanied her grandfather and could begin obtaining her pilot’s license at age sixteen. “Who knows, maybe Mia will eventually get that and claim the balloon,” Frans joked to Omroep Brabant.
His own passion for ballooning began during childhood when his father drove him behind passing balloons. Decades later, his wife gifted him a balloon flight, launching a 25-year career as a licensed pilot. Beyond the flying, Frans returns to Albuquerque primarily for the personal connections. Unlike many Dutch events, visitors walk freely among the balloons. He regularly meets people with Dutch roots and stays with a local family he met over twenty years ago, who take a week off work each year to assist with his flights.
Zebras manage launch field while PH-Mia travels
Launching five hundred balloons requires strict operational oversight from ground personnel known as “zebras.” Dressed in distinctive zebra-patterned clothing, these coordinators manage the desert launch field row by row. They inspect safety conditions and grant individual pilots permission to lift off. Transporting the PH-Mia from the Netherlands to the United States involves extensive paperwork to document the temporary export and return of the aircraft, which Frans describes as worthwhile for the experience.
How Albuquerque balloons launch and PH-Mia originates?
How many balloons launch each morning at the Albuquerque festival?
Under favorable weather conditions, approximately five hundred hot air balloons take off every morning during the event.
What is the origin of the name PH-Mia?
The balloon is named after Frans van Hooft’s granddaughter, Mia, whom he gifted the aircraft when she turned one year old.
What role do “zebras” play on the launch field?
Personnel wearing zebra-patterned clothing organize the balloons row by row, conduct safety checks, and authorize pilots for takeoff on the desert field.
How long has Frans van Hooft held his balloon pilot license?
Frans has held his own ballooning license for 25 years and is participating in the Albuquerque festival for the sixth time.
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