On a frosty Thursday morning, Barnardsville Elementary students saw a unique demonstration – the earliest form of human flight.
Kevin Herschman, who lives near the school, fired up his homemade hot air balloon in an adjacent field and floated off on a light southeast wind. Before embarking on his flight, Mr. Herschman explained the history of hot air balloons and how they work. He also took questions from the kids, like how he controls his altitude.
“We’re going to use a gasoline-powered fan to get a bunch of cold air into the balloon, and then we’re going to heat it up and fly away,” he told them. “To get back down, I can let the air cool on its own or open a hole at the top of the balloon and release some of it.”
Mr. Herschman said he became obsessed with hot air balloons as a kid after seeing them flying around his hometown. He followed balloon pilots around, asking questions and offering to help until eventually one offered to teach him how to fly. He got a student license at 14 years old and completed his first solo flight at 15, before he could drive a car.
“I hope these kids get a message that seeing something and being interested can lead to doing the thing,” Mr. Herschman said. “I hope that the notion that I was able to build my own balloon has a message of inspiration and empowerment that lots of things are within reach that you might not think are.”
Barnardsville Elementary Principal Holly Houchard said the students always get excited when they see hot air balloons in the area, and she asked a local Facebook group if anyone knew the pilot. When Mr. Herschman’s name came up, she got in touch with him, and he was happy to do the demonstration.
“We’ve been studying how transportation changes over time,” Ms. Houchard said. “So this was a perfect way to show the very beginning of air travel. It was a wonderful experience for us here, both the kids and the adults. We’re very thankful to Kevin and his team for doing this.”