Bob Martin - Pilot/President, Dymocks Flyer
Bob Martin, 43, earned his pilot's license at 17 in Socorro, New Mexico and built most of his early flying hours as a mission search pilot for the Civil Air Patrol. Now with more than 2400 hours of piloting time in airplanes, helicopters and balloons, Bob is a flight instructor and holds a commercial pilot's license with multi-engine, instrument and rotorcraft ratings. He also has an expert parachutist license with 300 freefall parachute jumps at altitudes of up to 31,500 feet. His full-time job is science reporter, photographer and pilot for KRQE-TV in Albuquerque. He also filmed and narrated a number of documentaries distributed on the PBS network. Assignments have taken him from the South Pole, Japan and Afghanistan to Russia, El Salvador, Nicaragua and the Gulf War. He covered training and the flights of several New Mexico astronauts and applied for the Journalist in Space program. He served as a volunteer Emergency Medical Technician for seven years with a local fire department. Bob is single and lives in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
John Wallington - Pilot/Co-organizer
Australia native and professional pilot John Wallington and his wife and fellow balloonist Christie Birkett own and operate Australia's largest commercial ballooning enterprise, ÔBalloon Aloft' based in Canberra, Australia. The 43-year-old Wallington became a balloon flight instructor in 1987 and in 1988 won his first of several titles as Australian National Balloon Champion. In 1989, he was named balloonmeister of the annual Canberra Autumn Balloon Festival. In 1993, and after many other teams had failed in their attempts, John and fellow Australian Dick Smith became the first in history to fly a balloon across the Australian continent. The epic voyage carried them 4,000 kilometers in just 40 hours. In 1994, Wallington went on to set the world altitude record for Roziere balloons. He also worked as mission controller for the first solo trans-continental balloon across Australia. In 1995, John was awarded the world's most prestigious ballooning honor, the Montgolfier Diploma for his record-setting achievements in ballooning. John has been designated as a test officer and maintenance authority holder by the Civil Aviation Authority in Australia. He has also served as a member of the executive and operations committees of the Australian Ballooning Federation. In 1995, Balloon Aloft was presented with one of his country's highest business honors, the National Tourism Award recognizing Balloon Aloft as Australia's "Most Significant Local Attraction." John has also established an innovative program of using hot air balloons as an aid for team-building and management training programs. He recently expanded operations to include the use of tethered gas balloons for entertainment and sightseeing in tourist areas.