Galena On The Fly

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Drift above the rolling landscapes of Jo Daviess county and the historic Galena, Illinois countryside while taking in views of Iowa, Illinois and Wisconsin from your 3,000-foot-high perch!

๐–๐ž๐ฅ๐ฅโ€ฆ ๐ญ๐ก๐š๐ญ ๐ž๐ฌ๐œ๐š๐ฅ๐š๐ญ๐ž๐ ๐ช๐ฎ๐ข๐œ๐ค๐ฅ๐ฒ. Tonight was a perfect example of how fast weather can change in the Midwest. We were laid ...
06/18/2026

๐–๐ž๐ฅ๐ฅโ€ฆ ๐ญ๐ก๐š๐ญ ๐ž๐ฌ๐œ๐š๐ฅ๐š๐ญ๐ž๐ ๐ช๐ฎ๐ข๐œ๐ค๐ฅ๐ฒ.

Tonight was a perfect example of how fast weather can change in the Midwest. We were laid out, ready to inflate, and just minutes away from flying when a cell popped up on radar and the winds started building. At that point, flying was no longer an option.

Safety is, and always will be, our #1 priority. So tonight's flight became a no-go, crushing the hopes and dreams of our passengers.

As one very wise pilot once said:

"๐ผ๐‘ก'๐‘  ๐‘๐‘’๐‘ก๐‘ก๐‘’๐‘Ÿ ๐‘ก๐‘œ ๐‘๐‘Ÿ๐‘ข๐‘ โ„Ž โ„Ž๐‘œ๐‘๐‘’๐‘  ๐‘Ž๐‘›๐‘‘ ๐‘‘๐‘Ÿ๐‘’๐‘Ž๐‘š๐‘  ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘Ž๐‘› โ„Ž๐‘–๐‘๐‘  ๐‘Ž๐‘›๐‘‘ ๐‘Ž๐‘›๐‘˜๐‘™๐‘’๐‘ ."

That's the unfortunate reality of a weather-dependent adventure. If we could control the weather, we'd never have a disappointed passenger. Unfortunately, we're balloon pilots, not the producers of The Truman Show.

Trust usโ€”we wanted to fly just as badly as our passengers wanted to go. We'll be watching the forecast and hoping for better skies tomorrow.

The Galena On The Fly pilots are starting to roll into town for the Great Galena Balloon Race this weekend.For now, they...
06/18/2026

The Galena On The Fly pilots are starting to roll into town for the Great Galena Balloon Race this weekend.

For now, they're focused on the important stuff: food and drink. The ballooning can wait until Friday. ๐ŸŽˆ๐Ÿป

๐ŸŽ‚ ๐‡๐š๐ฉ๐ฉ๐ฒ ๐Ÿ‘๐Ÿ๐ฌ๐ญ ๐๐ข๐ซ๐ญ๐ก๐๐š๐ฒ ๐ญ๐จ ๐จ๐ง๐ž ๐จ๐Ÿ ๐†๐Ž๐“๐…โ€™๐ฌ ๐Ÿ๐ข๐ง๐ž๐ฌ๐ญ, ๐“๐š๐ง๐จ๐ซ! ๐ŸŽ‰Yesterday we celebrated Tanorโ€™s 31st birthday! If something needs...
06/17/2026

๐ŸŽ‚ ๐‡๐š๐ฉ๐ฉ๐ฒ ๐Ÿ‘๐Ÿ๐ฌ๐ญ ๐๐ข๐ซ๐ญ๐ก๐๐š๐ฒ ๐ญ๐จ ๐จ๐ง๐ž ๐จ๐Ÿ ๐†๐Ž๐“๐…โ€™๐ฌ ๐Ÿ๐ข๐ง๐ž๐ฌ๐ญ, ๐“๐š๐ง๐จ๐ซ! ๐ŸŽ‰

Yesterday we celebrated Tanorโ€™s 31st birthday! If something needs done, Tanor is already doing it. Need help setting up? Tanor. Packing balloons? Tanor. Chasing balloons? Tanor. Carrying cake? Also Tanor.

Weโ€™re lucky to have a crew member whoโ€™s always willing to jump in, work hard, and keep things running smoothly (while somehow putting up with the rest of us).

Help us wish Tanor a very happy 31st birthday! ๐Ÿฐ๐ŸŽˆ

This is what an evening in Galena looks like from our office.
06/16/2026

This is what an evening in Galena looks like from our office.

๐ƒ๐š๐ฒ ๐Ÿ๐Ÿ•๐Ÿ‘: ๐ƒ๐ฒ๐ฅ๐š๐ง ๐œ๐จ๐ง๐ญ๐ข๐ง๐ฎ๐ž๐ฌ ๐ก๐ข๐ฌ ๐ญ๐ซ๐ž๐ค ๐Ÿ๐ซ๐จ๐ฆ ๐‚๐š๐ฅ๐ข๐Ÿ๐จ๐ซ๐ง๐ข๐š ๐ญ๐จ ๐ˆ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ข๐ง๐จ๐ข๐ฌ. ๐’๐ฎ๐ฉ๐ฉ๐ฅ๐ข๐ž๐ฌ ๐š๐ซ๐ž ๐ซ๐ฎ๐ง๐ง๐ข๐ง๐  ๐ฅ๐จ๐ฐ, ๐›๐ฎ๐ญ ๐ฌ๐ฉ๐ข๐ซ๐ข๐ญ๐ฌ ๐ซ๐ž๐ฆ๐š๐ข๐ง ๐ก๐ข๐ ๐ก.Back in...
06/14/2026

๐ƒ๐š๐ฒ ๐Ÿ๐Ÿ•๐Ÿ‘: ๐ƒ๐ฒ๐ฅ๐š๐ง ๐œ๐จ๐ง๐ญ๐ข๐ง๐ฎ๐ž๐ฌ ๐ก๐ข๐ฌ ๐ญ๐ซ๐ž๐ค ๐Ÿ๐ซ๐จ๐ฆ ๐‚๐š๐ฅ๐ข๐Ÿ๐จ๐ซ๐ง๐ข๐š ๐ญ๐จ ๐ˆ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ข๐ง๐จ๐ข๐ฌ. ๐’๐ฎ๐ฉ๐ฉ๐ฅ๐ข๐ž๐ฌ ๐š๐ซ๐ž ๐ซ๐ฎ๐ง๐ง๐ข๐ง๐  ๐ฅ๐จ๐ฐ, ๐›๐ฎ๐ญ ๐ฌ๐ฉ๐ข๐ซ๐ข๐ญ๐ฌ ๐ซ๐ž๐ฆ๐š๐ข๐ง ๐ก๐ข๐ ๐ก.

Back in December, our friend and pilot Dylan was involved in a very serious paragliding accident. The road to recovery has been long, but his progress has been nothing short of incredible. Seeing him back on a balloon field and making his way toward flying at the Great Galena Balloon Race again is something we're all grateful for.

Many of you have flown with Dylan over the years, and you know firsthand what a great pilot, friend, and person he is. We couldn't be more proud of how far he's come.

Welcome back, Dylan. It's good to see you where you belong. ๐Ÿ’™๐ŸŽˆ

๐Ž๐ง๐ž ๐–๐ž๐ž๐ค ๐€๐ฐ๐š๐ฒ!In just 7 days, this sky will be filled with color once again at the 2026 Great Galena Balloon Race! Thous...
06/12/2026

๐Ž๐ง๐ž ๐–๐ž๐ž๐ค ๐€๐ฐ๐š๐ฒ!
In just 7 days, this sky will be filled with color once again at the 2026 Great Galena Balloon Race!

Thousands of spectators, colorful balloons, live music, great food, and one incredible weekendโ€”all while raising money for Breakthrough T1D and Camp Hertko Hollow.

Whether you're joining us for the first time or it's become your annual tradition, we can't wait to see you on the field next weekend.

๐Ÿ“… June 19โ€“21, 2026
๐Ÿ“ Galena, Illinois
๐ŸŽˆ One week to go!

Who's counting down with us? ๐Ÿ‘‡

06/11/2026

Forget the white noise machine.

The other night we landed next to a bubbling brook that sounded like Mother Nature herself was trying to tuck us in for the night.

If you have trouble falling asleep tonight, feel free to play our video on a loop. If you're still awake after 10 minutes, we can't help you.

You're welcome.

Some kids grow up playing with toy airplanes.Around here, they grow up helping inflate 317,000 cubic feet of hot air.GOT...
06/09/2026

Some kids grow up playing with toy airplanes.

Around here, they grow up helping inflate 317,000 cubic feet of hot air.

GOTF Pilot Class of 2046 is officially underway. ๐ŸŽˆ๐Ÿ˜Ž

The kind of morning that reminds us why we get up before the sun. Watching the first rays of sunlight paint the sky, and...
06/08/2026

The kind of morning that reminds us why we get up before the sun.

Watching the first rays of sunlight paint the sky, and enjoying a view that only a hot air balloon can provide. Some mornings are simply unforgettable.

Ready to see a sunrise from a different perspective?

It takes 317,000 cubic feet of hot air to get Ropin' The Wind off the ground... and tonight, Cooper was in charge of sup...
06/06/2026

It takes 317,000 cubic feet of hot air to get Ropin' The Wind off the ground... and tonight, Cooper was in charge of supplying it. ๐Ÿ”ฅ๐ŸŽˆ

Another beautiful evening in the skies over Galena.

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444 Eagle Ridge Drive
Galena, IL
61036

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