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HUNTERDON:Robbins: The mystical power of hot air ballooning

By John Tredrea, Special Writer
One day in the early 1980s, Tom Robbins took a ride that changed his life forever.
"I went up in a hot air balloon," he said. "I loved it so much that I quit my job and went into business giving people rides." He’s been doing that for 30 years now, out of his Frenchtown-based business, A-Lot-A Hot Air Balloon Rides.
"I’ve always loved flying and been fascinated with it," he said. A Philadelphia native, he started building model hot air balloons when he was 12 years old. "I’d fly them over my neighborhood," he said.
His love of riding in a hot air balloon is unabated. "It’s like floating in a beautiful dream," he said. "It’s like an out-of-body experience or something. It’s hard to describe. It has a sort of mystical power. Hearing someone talk about it just can’t match the experience of actually doing it."
He’s given thousands of customers rides. He’s launched his balloon from the steps of the Philadelphia Art Museum and flown over the city of his youth, flown up the Hudson River past the Statue of Liberty and landed in Central Park in New York City.
"On Halloween-eve 2009, I flew my first after-dark flight," he said. "We flew over the town of Flemington in a giant pumpkin balloon that would light up every time we blasted the burner. The kids and spectators were cheering us on. It was great."
In August of that same year, he attended the Gu Yang balloon festival in China. "I spent two weeks flying hot air balloons over China," he said. "What an incredible experience."
Mr. Robbins also is an FAA-certified inspector, authorized to perform safety inspections and maintenance procedures on hot air balloons.
At A-Lot-A Hot Air, all rides are set up in advance. Take off times are usually around 6 a.m. or 6 p.m. "It gets too windy up there in the middle of the day," Mr. Robbins explained.
His balloon carries up to six passengers as well as himself. For large parties, he’ll call in other balloonists from around the area to work with him.
"We’ve had as many as 20 balloons up there for corporate parties and other groups," he said.
He’s a happy man. "I can’t imagine doing anything else in life," he said. "I love what I do."