One

flight in a hot air balloon and Gene Dzlinski was hooked.

“I went

home and told my wife ‘I’ve got to get one of these.’” Two years and about

$25,000 later he had one: a black and rainbow-colored Aerostar RX7 “Sport

Balloon” named “Illusion”. It holds 77,500 cubic feet of air and has a wicker

basket that carries three passengers plus the pilot.

Dzlinski

spent another two years getting his commercial training and now has the same

FAA license a plane pilot has, but is limited to flying hot air balloons.

Dzlinski

operates his Gone With The Wind Balloon Company with his younger brother

Francis, who is the crew chief. Each flight involves stretching the balloon out

along the ground and attaching it to the basket. The brothers “cold fill” it,

blowing air into the open end of the balloon with a gasoline-powered fan. As it

begins to take shape, they turn off the fan, and Dzlinski fires up the propane

burner that provides the hot air to fill the balloon. This mega-blowtorch

blasts out 21-million BTU’s of roaring heat. With the basket tethered to the

back of the van and Francis holding onto a second line, the big balloon slowly

rises above the landscape.

“Early

morning is best here in Southwest Florida,” Dzlinski says. Safety is his

biggest concern. “We need winds under 5 mph, temperatures above 40 degrees, and

no rain within 20 miles. If the weather’s not just right, we cancel the

flight.”

Dzlinski

gives the burner short blasts of super-heated air to get the balloon in just

the right position before unhooking the lines and taking off, drifting along on

the air currents at 1,000 to 3,000 feet.

Three

years ago he added “Mirage” to his fleet. Mirage holds 105,000 cubic feet of

air, has two 21-million BTU heaters, and a basket that carries four passengers

and the pilot.

Dzlinski’s

been flying for the past six or seven years and makes about 40 flights a year.

The trip costs $200 per passenger and lasts about an hour to an hour and a

half.

At the

end of each trip, Francis meets the balloon at the landing site in the chase

vehicle. They treat their passengers to a ballooning tradition that Dzlinski

says began in France, the birthplace of hot air ballooning, 200 years ago.

“Back

then, frightened farmers didn’t know what was going on when they saw a huge

balloon landing in their fields. To calm the farmers down, the early

balloonists started carrying champagne and food to share with them.” So today,

after landing, Dzlinski provides his passengers with a picnic breakfast and a

champagne toast.

His

eyes gleam as he reflects on his unique endeavor. “Being able to do this, for

me, is a real thrill, a gift ... I just wish I had started it sooner.”