Black Sheep Squadron Ballooning

A group fly of about 1 dozen local balloonists are staging their own launches throughout the weekend about 1/4 mile north of the Warren County Airport on County Line Road. Come out and meet the local balloonists who fly in the greater Glens Falls region from spring through the fall. Call Todd at 518-796-0373 to schedule rides during the festival weekend (or for some other time).

Wednesday, September 17 6pm - 8 pm
Tribune Tether Rides $25 per person.

Thursday, September 18 5pm
Downtown Launch From Centennial Circle in Glens Falls.

Friday, September 19
Flights Launch at 6:30 am, 5:15 pm launching off County Line Road.

Saturday, September 20
Flights Launch at 6:30 am, 5:15 pm launching off County Line Road.
Tether Rides at Crandall Park at Noon

Sunday, September 21
Flights Launch at 6:30 am, 5:15 pm launching off County Line Road.

Hello Everyone,
        SunKiss Ballooning  participated in an interview with Lake Front Radio where we discussed the wonderful feeling & views a balloonist gets from flying over bodies of water. Chuck & Mary were wonderful people and a pleasure to talk with about this wonderful sport. This is a great radio show to listen in on when looking at the different aspects of lakes around the region!! Check them out!!

Check out the podcast: Click Here


Lake Front Radio



 Mary Thompson , Chuck Thompson and Lee Kantor interview Lakefront Professionals across the nation from their studio in Atlanta, Georgia every Friday afternoon at 12:00 Noon, EDT. Listen each week as we talk to high profile Lake & Waterfront professionals across the USA. Our show is all Lakefront Living, Recreation, Real Estate & Business in and around the nations largest Lakes and Water Bodies.

On July 11, 2008 at 12:00pm I, Todd Monahan (owner/pilot) will be participating in an interview with this radio station in Georgia on flying balloons over bodies of water.

A good friend Jessica who I hung out with in my past was the in between person who took an interest in helping these folks find a balloonist such as myself to interview. I would like to Thank her for taking time out of her busy schedule in helping coordinate this.

Check us out during the show and check out the radio show with Mary & Chuck Thompson!!!
www.lakefrontradio.com




 Mary Thompson , Chuck Thompson and Lee Kantor interview Lakefront Professionals across the nation from their studio in Atlanta, Georgia every Friday afternoon at 12:00 Noon, EDT. Listen each week as we talk to high profile Lake & Waterfront professionals across the USA. Our show is all Lakefront Living, Recreation, Real Estate & Business in and around the nations largest Lakes and Water Bodies.

                        SunKiss Ballooning

                                                                     "The Hidden Story"

GLENS FALLS - Todd Monahan spent nearly 25 years hoping and dreaming that one day he'd take a hot air balloon ride.

"I remember being 5 years old and going to the Warren County airport with my dad," Monahan, 27, said. "Being excited to get up at 4 a.m. to see balloons -- I wasn't a normal kid. But I remember going to the airport all the time just wishing a pilot would ask me to jump in the basket."

No pilot ever did, and Monahan's parents, he recalled, couldn't spare the money to buy him a ride.

So he waited and waited and waited, and in 2005, he finally got his first hot air balloon ride.

He's been flying ever since, both for business and pleasure.

SunKiss Ballooning is Monahan's fledgling company, and while it opened last June in Glens Falls, this is his first full flying season in business.

Getting to this point, however, took some work.

In February 2006, Monahan traveled to Albuquerque, N.M. to get his private pilot's license. That allowed him to fly for fun -- and to give rides to friends -- but he couldn't take money for the flights, he said.

"I bought my own balloon after that. And every chance I got, I'd fly."

Despite the freedom he felt floating above the Adirondacks at his leisure, Monahan wanted to take his hobby farther. That meant getting another certification.

"On June 1, 2007, I got my commercial license and started flying all kinds of festivals," Monahan said. "I flew in Burlington, New Jersey, Canada."

The commercial license, he added, was what he needed to get paid for providing balloon rides.

Monahan opened SunKiss Ballooning right after he got this license, and since then, he estimates he's given about 50 rides.

While the money he's made from those excursions is nice, getting rich from SunKiss Ballooning isn't in Monahan's plans.

His day job is with the Council for Prevention of Alcohol and Substance Abuse in Hudson Falls where he works as an adventure program counselor.

Aside from already having a rewarding career, SunKiss Ballooning's earnings are secondary to Monahan because of his passion for flight itself.

"The average ride is about an hour, and it really is a lot of fun," he said. "You meet these people who, before, you had no idea about. It's just you and four people, at most.

"You're standing in this small basket, and you really get to know each other."

And getting to know other people has lead to learning more about the needs of nearby communities and organizations, Monahan said.

Each year, he does his best to donate rides for local events, or to donate money to area charities.

"I donate 1 percent of all my profits to a local, state-recognized charity," he said. "This year, the charity benefits multiple sclerosis."

Monahan also does his best to make sure his paying customers get as much out of their hot air balloon experiences as they can.

Joel and Jennifer Holden of Fort Edward, who got married on Saturday, attested to this.

"We felt very comfortable the whole time," Jennifer Holden said. "We were able to pick out our house during the ride."

"And although we are sunset people, not sunrise, he did make getting up in the morning worth it," her husband added.

The ride itself wasn't the only thing that justified meeting Monahan at 6:30 a.m. on Friday, however.

"After the ride, we had donuts and coffee with the farmer whose field we landed in," Joel Holden said.

"It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience," his wife, added. "I would suggest everyone should do it."

                          SPRING FEVER!!!!!!
 

I woke up this morning to the sun peaking through my window, the first thing I did was look out my window to see how beautiful it looked. The first thought that came into my head was “what a great morning to fly!!” I find myself looking at all the flags on my way into work to see if I could have taken a flight!!!

            The Snow is melting day-by-day allowing the ground to soak up the water and breathe! That is just what us balloonist do this time of year; start getting out our trailers, looking over our system, and start reminiscing about the previous years of fun around ballooning.

 

CAN’T WAIT TO SEE YOU GUYS FOR THE 2008 SEASON!!!

                       SAY "NO" TO TOBACCO!!!!

SunKiss Ballooning has officially gone Tobacco Free; we have agreed with Reality Check to not accept nor solicit any financial contributions, sponsorships, or gifts from any tobacco company, executive, or activity that promotes tobacco use. We are proud to say that we are not helping the tobacco companies market to our young teens in America!

 

· Tobacco is still one of the leading preventable causes of death and disease in the world, causing over 25,000 deaths in New York each year.

 

· Tobacco companies spend more than $11.22 billion in marketing their products each year.

 

· Research has shown that many tobacco advertisements and tobacco industry tactics have a profound influence on children and may entice them to use theses harmful products.

 

Hey Everyone,
        It is coming to the end of a wonderful season for SunKiss Ballooning and I want to thank everyone that has had a part in helping me chase my dream!! There are so many exciting things that happened this year and anyone that has been around me will tell you that all I talk about is ballooning! There isn't a felling that I can identify to explain the way I feel when I get to Pilot the balloon! There are so many more things in store for SunKiss Ballooning! Keep updated with the blog to find out what will be going on in the near future.  I can only hope that other people will be able to chase their dream and feel the way I do everytime I get to accomplish another piece of my dream. Lets raise our glasses and toast to a great year of chasing dreams!!!

Todd J. Monahan
Commercial Pilot

This weekend coming up on May 12, 2007; local pilots are getting together to have our official 1st group fly. Our take off spot has not yet been determined and won't be until we know what wind direction there is! You can email me when it gets closer and I will let you know! Please stay tuned to upcoming events; you can find these events on my myspace page as well: www.myspace.com/sunkissballooning
Thanks everyone for visiting the website

Todd
Sunkiss Pilot

Welcome to SunKiss Ballooning Blog.  This blog will be used to send updated information and give event dates such as flying dates and upcoming festivals.  Feel free to ask questions and comment on your experiences.