Mayflower Pilot:   KEVIN NIELS KNAPP

The day after Kevin Niels Knapp moved to St. Louis in 1989, he met a hot-air balloon pilot who said, “Here, hold this,” and has been flying ever since! With 15 years of experience as a professional balloon pilot, Knapp is taking the reigns of Mayflower Transit’s first hot-air balloon in 2005.

Knapp, a retired Major of the U.S. Army, is a full-time commercial balloon pilot and owner of Airborne AD-Ventures, a full-service, hot-air balloon company.

Knapp has owned and operated the "ARMY” hot-air balloon since 1994. His most memorable flight was at the Trans Michigan Balloon Race in 1996, when he received the “Distance Award” by flying 178 miles in three and a half hours. At 12,000 feet he could see both sides of the state, as well as Lakes Michigan to the west and Huron to the east

Balloon Facts

2005 marked the inaugural year of flight for the Mayflower Transit balloon. The balloon is made of ripstop nylon and sports a bright, green, yellow and red design with three Mayflower ship inflatable appendages that give the balloon a special shape. The balloon is fueled by propane, which heats the envelope. Variation in the envelope temperature provides vertical movement, but the direction of the flight is completely dependent upon prevailing wind currents.

Mayflower Hot Air Balloon Facts