Welcome to the Plano Balloon Festival’s Volunteer Crew information site. Most of you are here because you have chosen to assist visiting pilots and crews in handling their balloons during the Festival. Others may be here simply because you want to learn more about the art of hot air ballooning. To all of you, welcome and thank you. We hope you enjoy this site and learn something from it.

A hot air balloon takes but one person to keep it in the air: the pilot. But it takes many more people to get it there. Collectively, these people are known as the chase crew. On the most common balloons (usually referred to as “sport” balloons), there are three or more people on the crew. Special Shape balloons can have upwards of twenty people on the crew, depending on the size and complexity of the design.

Anyone can be on a chase crew as long as they are mobile and can handle a reasonable amount of weight and physical exertion. Knowledge of flying, ballooning or any other phase of aviation is not a necessity.