Retired major captains high flyin’ ship

Kevin Knapp has a fear of heights, and he’s not alone. Acrophobia is one of the top 10 fears.

Unlike most people, though, Knapp faces his fear head-on—by climbing into a rattan basket, or gondola, attached to a hot air balloon and letting it go where the wind takes him.

And for Knapp, it’s not just a hobby—it’s a real, paying job!

As pilot of Mayflower Transit’s hot air balloon, Knapp flies his “ship” at dozens of charitable and promotional events and is on the road approximately 270 days a year, traveling the country in a big van loaded with Mayflower’s uniquely shaped balloon.

On September 28-29, Knapp will do some high flying at the Pellissippi State Hot Air Balloon Festival on the Pellissippi Campus. Festival details are available by visiting www.pstcc.edu/balloons or calling 694-6528.

A full-time commercial balloon pilot, Knapp has been flying professionally for 17 years. The retired Army major spent 28 years in the military, the first half as a Green Beret.

“I probably have a higher fear factor than most,” he said.

The Mayflower balloon is made of nylon and sports a bright green, yellow, and red design with three Mayflower ship inflatable appendages that give it a special shape.

“The ship extends out two feet on three sides, so it creates a three-dimensional look,” said Knapp, a native of Kansas.

The propane heats the balloon (or envelope), and vertical movement is controlled by temperature.

“But the direction of the flight is completely dependent upon prevailing wind current,” he said.

“The weather is critical to every decision a pilot makes.”

Knapp is proud of his perfect safety record—not one injury since he got his first taste of balloon flight, back in 1989.

After 14 years in Special Forces, Knapp was reassigned to St. Louis. The day after he arrived in town, he was out running and met a balloon pilot who, handing Knapp a rope attached to the balloon, said, “Here, hold this.”

It was a serendipitous moment, and Knapp has been flying ever since. And it’s a family avocation; his wife, Jana Fields, earned her balloon pilot certificate from the Federal Aviation Administration in 1982, 17 years before the couple met.

Knapp is virtually a one-man show, with no ground crew of his own. The local Mayflower agent, Volunteer Moving and Storage of Knoxville, provides his crew and passengers.

At Pellissippi State’s balloon festival, Knapp and the other pilots rely on volunteers from the community to help out.

“A balloon pilot can choose his takeoff point,” the Kent State graduate said, “but the landing site is not as precise. “I like to find a clear spot, preferably close to a road, so the chase crew can bring the van in close.”

One of Knapp’s finest moments was winning the 2006 America’s Challenge Gas Balloon Race last October. He and flying partner Andy Cayton completed the flight in 60 hours and 45 minutes, flying from Albuquerque, New Mexico, to Citra, Florida—a distance of 1,478 miles.

The reward for his efforts: “Bragging rights and a neat trophy!”

Balloonists are always looking for new adventures, so in August, Knapp drove to Plymouth, Massachusetts, to fly the Mayflower balloon next to the Mayflower II, a recreation of the famous ship that brought the Pilgrims to America in 1620.

“It just doesn’t get any better than that,” he said.

"Inside Pellissippi" is a bi-monthly electronic publication produced by the Marketing and Communications Office for the faculty and staff of Pellissippi State Technical Community College, 10915 Hardin Valley Road, P.O. Box 22990, Knoxville, Tennessee 37933-0990. All suggestions and comments should be sent to Julia Wood (jwood@pstcc.edu).

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