How much does it cost to learn to fly a balloon?
The cost of learning to fly balloons varies considerably depending on what you can or can’t provide. Ballooning is a group activity, in so far as you need to have a crew of at least one person on the ground. The ground crew also needs a vehicle in which they can chase you during flight. If the training school needs to provide the ground crew and chase vehicle there is an associated cost. A 16 hour Private Pilot Certificate course will cost around $15,000 if the school provides the balloon, instructor, ground crew and retrieve vehicle. The price would be around half that amount if the school was only providing the flight instructor and ground training.
