Alyssa Sullivan began her career in aviation, likely, as soon as was possible, helping her father in the family business of maintenance and repair of hot air balloons when she was just a child.
“I was about 5 when I started going out on the road with him to some different balloon events around the country,” Sullivan said. “I've grown up in the ballooning side of the aviation industry since I was born, basically.”
Sullivan and her responsibilities grew alongside Balloonacy – the family ballooning business – to include not only inspection responsibilities but serving as a crew chief/coordinator for student pilots during the time the business held a Part 141 certificate for LTA training.
In 2013, Balloonacy acquired a Parts Manufacturing Authorization for the supply and manufacture of parts and articles for Aerostar balloons, and Sullivan took over the majority of the parts supply operation.
“Right about the time I was finishing up high school, we got the Aerostar balloons parts manufacturing authority. So I kind of just slid into that side of the house as I was graduating high school,” she recounts.
A year later, Sullivan got her repairman certification for the remaining major balloon repair/inspection station in the Southeast, the youngest female repairperson in the industry at the time of issuance, and one of just a handful of women in the overall balloon repair industry.
Sullivan said her favorite parts of the job are interacting with her customers and the challenge of keeping the aircraft she works on flying for as long as possible.
“It's starting to get harder and harder to do, but it's still fun. If someone calls me, ‘Hey, I damaged a balloon,’ it's nice to be able to get that aircraft back flyable again. And to look at it after it comes in with so much damage and then to send it back out knowing you did the work on it, you did everything you could to the best of your ability, and then to see it fly again, and it looks pretty darn good. It’s always a nice thing,” she continued.
One thing Sullivan said she wishes the general public knew more about the ballooning side of aviation is just all the work that goes into it.
“A lot of people don't realize the kind of work that goes into just aircraft in general. And why you can't just go to your local hardware (store) to get this nut and bolt that you've lost,” she said. “Especially on the balloon side of things, we have several specialized tools. I don't think people realize how often they have to be recalibrated nor how expensive that can get.”
A BFA Master Crew Chief, Sullivan has crewed on most U.S. balloon brands/sizes as well as on one of the only domestic thermal airships. Eager to share her expertise with others, she’s trained entire crews for numerous student pilots and has served as a presenter at a large regional continuing education seminars, as well as working as a BFA junior balloonist camp counselor, teaching both crew resource management and maintenance.
