Morning Star Balloons is proud to be Park City’s Premier Hot Air Balloon Company. We have been family owned and operated for over 8 years now. Our strong commitment to customer service has allowed us to quickly rise to the top company in Utah. Since our beginnings in 2001, we have reached out to our local communities, by donating thousands of dollars worth of our services to various schools and charities. We have three pilots who have accumulated nearly 10,000 total flight hours between us, making us the most experienced company around. These highly experienced FAA certified pilots have compiled a perfect safety record which we are most proud of.

Each year we are personally selected by the owner of Rainbow Ryders, the official ride operator of the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta, to help them run rides during the largest festival in the world. We have also been featured on two local TV shows “Outdoor Living” and “At your Leisure”, as well as nationally on “The Amazing Race” and MTV’s “Nitro Circus”.

Our continued commitment to excellence keeps us constantly moving forward. We are always looking for ways to improve and maximize your experience with us. With safety being our primary concern you can feel confident that you are in the best hands by putting your trust in us. “Step out of your world and into ours with Morning Star Balloons.”

The History of Hot Air Ballooning:

Flying has fascinated mankind throughout the ages.

The history of ballooning is the early history of aviation itself. It finally allowed mankind to shrug his LAX earthly bonds. In the United States today there are over 7,000 licensed balloon pilots and thousands more joining in the sport as crew members, passengers and spectators. Approximately 4,000 FAA certified balloons fill the skies in this country and there are many more worldwide.

It all started in France in 1783 when two papermakers, Joseph and Etienne Montgolfier, noticed that used burning paper and smoke rose up the chimney and wondered if they could apply that phenomenon to build a flying machine. After secret research and experimentation, they built the first balloon. Constructed of paper and fabric and glue, it was fueled by a very smoky fire. Indeed, until their death, the Montgolfiers thought that smoke, rather than hot air was the lifting force.

A rooster, a duck and a sheep were chosen as the first passengers aloft in order to test the effects of higher altitudes on living creatures . The success of that flight led to the first manned flight in Paris on November 21, 1783 before a crowd of 400,000.

Soon afterward, the first gas balloon was flown, using hydrogen gas to create lift. Gas balloons had more lift and stability than the early smoke filled balloons, and gas ballooning remained popular until the development of the airplane. Even then, balloons were still used for high altitude research and some military applications.

Modern hot air ballooning began in 1960 when Ed Yost, an American now known as the father of modern ballooning, developed a fuel and heating system using common household propane. This, combined with strong, new lightweight fabrics led quickly to the resurgence of hot air balloons. For the first time ballooning was both safe and relatively inexpensive. Hot air ballooning for sport and recreation was born.