Columbus Aeronauts - Hot Air Balloon Rides & Aerial Advertising Agency — Local services in South Bloomfield Township

UPDATE: changing from a 2-star to 4-star, because Russ reached out to me and let me know that Jim was contracted and not part of his company. I don’t think it’s right to have it affect it so strongly. Russ was so understanding and trying to get us in the air before end of season. Therefore company is great, maybe don’t use Jim again.

It’s a debate between a 2 or 3 star, should be 2.5. Everything leading up to the day was great. We had originally scheduled in October for our anniversary, but due to Mother Nature it wouldn't work. Russ was very communicative and gave us updates and dates to reschedule quickly. It was great working with him. 5/5 for Russ. Our date did move 3 or 4 times, which again I don’t fault the company because of Mother Nature.

The day arrived and we were told to arrive at the airport, the meeting point, at 3:15pm. Husband comes from a military background so we were there at 2:55pm, because we must be everywhere at minimum 15 minutes early. There were 3 balloons going up that evening, and the one pilot, Trent, was early/on-time. He was great to talk with, super funny…if only he was our pilot this review may be different. Russ showed up a few minutes later…again, this review may be different if he was our pilot. He told us our pilot, Jim, was running late and should be there shortly. There was also another group who was running late. You would think that the pilot who was running late and the group running late should be matched together… why would the ones who were there early, on time, have to wait around for the pilot running late.

On the website it was stated that there would be a 20 minute before and after, which no problem, waivers to be signed, etc. However, it was not stated that we would have to wait 45 minutes (from scheduled arrival time) before being able to get into the basket of the balloon. You would think that out of professionalism you would have the balloon out and ready, the only thing needed would be to inflate it. There were so many things unprofessional about it. We finally got into the basket, which for someone who is on the shorter side and a bit disabled they would have a step stool to get in. When the average height in the US for women is 5’4” and men 5’9” and the basket being at least 4’ tall stepping into it is not easy and can be difficult for the not so flexible/nimble. There should be a step ladder to get in and out. There is room in the basket to keep it.

Finally at 4pm, 45 mins after meet up, we took off. Rising up and then seeing the Earth below us was great. However, our pilot, Jim, was more intrigued with the deer in the trees than seeing the Earth from the sky. Has he never seen a deer before?! We didn’t go higher than about 3150 ft above sea level (we started at 1000ft). We asked several times how high can he go and says he has gone up to around 12500 ft. But yet he wouldn’t go above 3150ft. We told him we wanted to go higher but again he was more interested in the deer in the trees and seeing them run. The other pilots that evening, Russ and Trent went higher than we did, so why couldn’t we?

Then after about 55 mins of ride, with most of the time being around 1500 ft (500ft above the ground) we landed. With this being an evening flight and advertised as sunset, you would think we could see the sunset while in the sky. Nope. We then waited additional 45-50 mins for them to put the balloon away…which we had to help with. That was not mentioned. If we are going to land several miles away from where we took off, then there should be a vehicle to take us back and not have to wait almost an hour for them to put the balloon away.

With Jim being unprofessionally late, more concerned about the deer, and not really listening to us when we wanted to go higher, then having to help put the balloon away, I would not go again. It was great to cross off the bucket list. I would find another company to go through if and when we go again. This review may have been different if Trent or Russ was our pilot, as reading the other reviews...

My review had absolutely nothing to do about the the flights being cancled due to the weather and the need to be safe. I rated the exprience i had dealing with your company. A 3 star rating is good. The rating was due to a multitude of reasons. For one Russ, you changed the time to meet you 3 different times. Your site says meet an hour before flight time. The final time change was less than 15 min from sunrise. I expressed to you i was driving a long distance and you assured me.you would tell me the flight was cancled in advanced. You cancled after i told you i already left and was halfway there. My time was wasted. Further more after i rated your company as good you bombarded me with text messages and phone calls while i was driving and you knew that fact hiw safe was that. You begged literally begged me to remove my reveiw because i was messing with your livelihood. Upon reading all your reviews i was curious as to how many other people you did the same to how many people did you want to talk to man to man as you stated in your voicemails. How many of those 5 star reviews are actually real. They praise you and only you no one else. Safety is always highlighted which is fine and noble but i was rating my personal exprience in dealing with you and you wanted to silence that. There was no misunderstanding at all. I rated you fairly and now i wish i would have rated you based on how you actually handled the situation and tried to intimate me just to boost your rating. I have changed my rating from 3 stars to 1 because you outright lied on my friends review making it all about safety and it wasnt. My review was about my poor service and time wasted.You still think this is about the weather and the canceling of the flight it is not. You did message at 4am but failed to mention you did not cancel until 422am please refer to pics. Also refer to the message of the time change to meet at 545 instead of 530. This is well later than the hour before your website stated to be there to exprience the sunrise. Please be completely honest when stating the facts as they are. This has nothing to do with safety. You are a dishonest and unprofessional business man. Calling and begging for me to change my rating is tactless on your part not to mention the numerous other calls. You dishonest and noy professional at all. Its sad trying guilt someone to change a good rating....

Taking a hot air balloon ride was something I always wanted to do. As I got older, it became a bucket list item that I honestly figured I would never achieve. It was a maybe someday bullet on the list that I really put no effort into making a reality perhaps because I am afraid of heights or better stated, I am afraid of gravity and the theory that what goes up will come back down but then I met Russ and I started looking at the pictures on his website and reading the stories of the folks that had made their maybe someday bullets a reality.

Booking a flight was incredibly easy. Russ very patiently answered all of my questions and explained everything that goes into a safe and successful flight. He also calmed my nerves by talking about his family history of flying balloons and the pride he has in his business. Russ puts forth that extra effort to make his clients feel special and to create a very special and memorable experience for them during their flight.

Our flight was not only a bucket list item for me, it was a 17th birthday present for my son. My son loved Russ which says a great deal about Russ’ personality because a 17 year old boy is hard to impress. Russ took the time to show us the basket and the balloon before we went up. He also explained the clouds and the weather as well as the pre-flight preparations to ensure a safe and enjoyable flight before we left the ground.

Meeting Russ and discovering Columbus Aeronauts has been one of the greatest experiences of my life. Russ not only helped me make a bucket list item come true, he helped me make my son’s birthday a very memorable event and I have some of the most incredible pictures and video of our trip so I will always remember what a great day flying over our beautiful state in a was balloon like. I don’t know any other hot air balloon pilots but I am fine with that because I know Russ and he made my dream come true.

I honestly can’t find the words to show my appreciation for Russ and Columbus Aeronauts and the memories we made on our flight. Russ is a wonderful pilot and a great person. Our flight with Columbus Aeronauts was better than I could have dreamed possible. I can’t wait to go back up for...