Renegade Ballooning

Renegade Ballooning Contact information, map and directions, contact form, opening hours, services, ratings, photos, videos and announcements from Renegade Ballooning, Sport & recreation, Walla Walla, WA.

09/20/2026

Everyday is a new adventure! Book your next adventure now! 509 540 3169

09/20/2026

Everyday is a new adventure! Book your next adventure now! 509 540 3169

09/01/2026

We had quite the time in Albany for Northwest Art & Air Festival! Now the adventures are back to being local! Come in or
509 540 3169

08/28/2026

Such a great start to Northwest Art & Air Festival! See you all at the glow tonight!!

We see you Jack! We take the next adventure to join Jack with Emerald and many other friends starting tomorrow in Albany...
08/27/2026

We see you Jack! We take the next adventure to join Jack with Emerald and many other friends starting tomorrow in Albany, Or for Northwest Art & Air Festival! Will we see you there? Will you be using the ABC spectator app to watch live tracks of the flights? Find it in both the App store and Google Play!

08/27/2026

Have a special event you want to add a special touch to? Try adding a balloon!

08/17/2026

Meet the Pilots and the Balloons of the 2026 Northwest Art & Air Festival!

Meet Raphy Hayes — Pilot of Daybreak
Recognize the name Chris Hancock from our last post? Well, Chris introduced Raphy to ballooning in 2017 — and things escalated quickly from there!
Raphy started on the ground as crew, but it wasn’t long before those crew days turned into flight lessons. He earned his commercial pilot license in 2021, and every year since has brought more flights and even bigger balloons. Today, Raphy primarily flies the massive 250,000-cubic-foot Daybreak, carrying 8–12 passengers at a time. He logs around 100–120 flights a year and already has approximately 600 hours in balloons! From ground crew to commanding one seriously BIG balloon — we’d say 2017 worked out pretty well.

Meet Jonathan Lee — Pilot of Sky
Jon’s ballooning adventure also began in 2017, when an Ultimate Frisbee teammate took him up for his very first hot air balloon flight. At the time, Jon was a mechanical engineer working in downtown Portland. But when life brought some changes in 2020, he saw the perfect opportunity to trade a little office time for sky time and join a balloon crew. Just like Raphy, crewing soon turned into flying lessons, and Jon went on to earn his commercial pilot license. Now you’ll find him giving balloon tours over the beautiful Willamette Valley aboard Sky — and as for returning to the office? He has no intentions of doing that.

From ground crew to commercial pilots, Raphy and Jon both discovered that once ballooning gets ahold of you, it can be pretty hard to stay on the ground! Look for Daybreak and Sky flying with their fellow Portland Rose Balloons teammates at the 25th Northwest Art & Air Festival!

08/17/2026

Meet the Pilots and the Balloons of the 2026 Northwest Art & Air Festival!

Meet Derek Hancock — Pilot of Evergreen
Believe it or not, Derek’s ballooning career started with computer programming and a layoff package! Derek began crewing for a coworker and, after finally getting his first balloon flight, he was hooked. When his company later relocated to Phoenix, Derek decided sunshine and computers weren’t calling his name — so he took his layoff package and bought a balloon instead! That decision changed everything. Since 1996, Derek has logged more than 3,500 hours of flight time and flown balloons in over 16 countries around the world. Not a bad career change, Derek!

Meet Chris Hancock — Pilot of Harvest
When your dad buys a hot air balloon when you’re 10 years old, there’s a pretty good chance ballooning will become part of your life! Chris grew up alongside Derek at balloon festivals throughout the Northwest — including right here in Albany — and today he runs Portland Rose Balloons, helping passengers check a hot air balloon ride off their bucket lists each morning in Aurora. He’s also taken the family tradition worldwide, flying in 14 different countries and competing in international balloon competitions each year. And now Chris is raising the next generation of balloonists! His three kids took their first flights at just 9 months, 6 months…and 9 DAYS old! We think it’s safe to say the ballooning gene is strong in this family!

From Derek taking a chance on his first balloon to Chris growing up at festivals like ours — and now introducing his own kids to the skies — we LOVE getting to welcome this father-and-son duo back to Albany! Keep an eye out for Derek aboard the 180,000-cubic-foot Evergreen and Chris aboard the HUGE 275,000-cubic-foot Harvest at the 25th Northwest Art & Air Festival!

08/17/2026

An amazing morning flight with friends and a first time passenger with us! Come join us for the next adventure!

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