Our Pilots
We pride ourselves on having highly-experienced, full-time
professional staff to take care of you. All Orlando Balloon
Rides pilots are fully FAA certified, have more than 100
years combined ballooning experience and a perfect safety
record.
Mark Roberson – Chief Pilot
Mark started his career in the US Marine Corps in 1977,
flying fixed-wing aircraft. He obtained his balloon ratings
in the 1980s and became involved with the FAA. He is a designated
pilot examiner, aviation safety counsellor, chaired the
FAA Balloon Safety Seminar in Lakeland, Florida, for seven
years, and has amassed more than 3,500 hours. He has flown
all over the US, Central and South America in corporate
balloons for The Hard Rock Café, The Ball Park Frank,
Bryan, Ford, Mossy Oak, Virgin Atlantic Airlines, Miller
Genuine Draft, and was chief pilot for Orlando’s world-renowned
Rosie O’Grady’s Flying Circus for several years.
He speaks fluent Spanish.
Ian Swift – Pilot
Ian has flown balloons since the 1980s and has amassed
more than 2,000 hours. He started his career flying passengers
in England and has worked extensively in Europe, Central
America, the US and The Middle East. He has also flown corporate
balloons for Emirates Airlines, Guinness, Rover and Virgin.
He comes from York, England.
Dean Mabe – Pilot
Dean has been flying balloons for 13 years. He started
with Sport Balloons Tampa, Florida, where he also became
a repairman. In 1997 he became the commercial pilot for
Celebration Aviation and general manager of their Repair
Station. He also piloted many special-shape balloons in
the US including Sunny Boy and Miss Daisy of the Seasons
Balloon Team. He has been flying with Orlando Balloon Rides
since February 2005.
David Weston – Pilot
David has been flying balloons since 1975. He has completed
more than 2,700 flights and has flown worldwide including
over the US, Europe and Africa. He was chief pilot for Trans
World Safaris, Kenya, flying over the Masi Mara for 17 years
and flew the world-renowned Eastman Kodak Centennial balloon
all over the US and Canada for many years. He lives in Orlando,
Florida.
Don Edwards – Pilot
Don took his first flight in 1986 in his hometown of Burlington,
North Carolina. He has flown commercial balloons including
Blockbuster Video, Ziploc Bag and several Anheuser-Busch
balloons including Budweiser. He is among a select group
of pilots to have flown America’s biggest special-shape
balloon, The Energizer Bunny! Others include Miss Daisy,
the Popcorn Bag and Shamu the Whale. He has also flown in
France, New Zealand, Canada and Ireland and has logged more
than 2,000 hours.
Damien Mahoney – Pilot
Irishman Damien has been involved in commercial balloon
rides in Orlando since 1999. He was crew chief with Blue
Water Balloons for several years before graduating to commercial
pilot. He has travelled extensively in the US flying balloons
in Georgia, New Mexico and Arizona.
Mike Comerford – Pilot
Mike took his first flight with Orange Blossom Balloons,
trained in the UK and US and became a commercial pilot.
He has flown extensively for Orange Blossom Balloons and
Blue Water Balloons and has also flown in Europe and Central
America.
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