Sharing the sky: Mother and son pilot duo to fly Balloon Fiesta together

While some parents and children enjoy their days at the movie theater or at dinner, Karalyn Mumm and William Vavra enjoy their days floating high in the sky inside a hot air balloon.

The Nevada natives weren’t accustomed to the balloon lifestyle until they saw the Great Reno Balloon Race in person. At that moment, they knew they wanted to get involved in the sport.

Sharing the sky: Mother and son pilot duo to fly Balloon Fiesta together

The following year, Mumm volunteered and met a balloonist who directed a balloon camp and asked her to help out. The pair fell in love with balloons, and, soon, their lives were filled with ballooning. At 18, Vavra received his commercial pilot certificate in 2022; Mumm got hers in 2018.

“We came up together, and now I’m the director of the camp and he was a head pilot this past year, and the rest is history,” Mumm said.

The pair had attended the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta as guests, and Mumm attended as a pilot for the first time in 2018. Under his mom, Vavra joined in 2021 as a pilot apprentice and made his debut as a pilot the following year. The pair were side by side on the field, inflated their balloons at the same time, and even landed together in a neighborhood.

“We literally shared the sky all day long,” Mumm said. “It’s super cool to be able to balloon together and it gave us the opportunity to travel a lot of places, see lots of things, and meet lots of people.”

“It allows us to hang out and we spend more than half the year building curriculum, so it definitely allows us to be closer and work together,” Vavra added.

This year, the two will pilot two separate balloons. Mumm will pilot Citrus in the Sky and Vavra will fly Good Morning Sunshine, named after a phrase a student at balloon camp used to say. The balloons are both owned and operated by Mumm and Vavra, and the duo even learned how to hand sew portions of the balloon themselves. Vavra will also spend time at the High Top Flier (InFamous Foot) special shape balloon on Thursday and Friday. While he will not be piloting the balloon, he will walk guests through the shape and let them see what the inside of a special shape looks like.

The pair have four balloon systems, two baskets in varying sizes, one hopper (a small, one-person hot air balloon in which a person is strapped into a harness similar to a parachute), and three envelopes (the colorful portion of the balloon that inflates with air). The pair will also need a chase crew each and a two chase vehicles during the Balloon Fiesta.

“There’s really nothing like it, especially with how crazy it is at the fiesta field,” Vavra said. “People are running around, there’s kids, crowds, vehicles are moving and then you get in the air and there’s nothing. It’s silence except for the occasional balloon burner. Being in the air and existing ... it’s like you’re standing on air.”

Though the Balloon Fiesta can get tiring, the two enjoy it and will continue to come pilot balloons as long as they are able to.

“For us, (toward the end of the fiesta), we’re a little tired, I’ll be honest,” Mumm said. “But what’s always so fun to see is that for a good portion of the people on that field, it’s their first time and we are making the most magical experience and balloons exist to make people smile and we’re the ones who get to give that joy and those smiles.”

Mumm and Vavra feel that ballooning has changed their lives in ways they would have never expected, and the Balloon Fiesta is a big part of their year.

“You have the best time; meet people you only get to see once a year,” Mumm said. “It’s also a great challenge because flying is different from where we are. You don’t generally fly with 500 other balloons in the sky, but when we come from the west and once we get to Albuquerque, it’s like coming home.”