Forty years flown by

For decades visitors and locals alike have taken to the skies with Black Hills Balloons for unparalleled and unique views of the scenic Black Hills. This year, owners Damien and Keely Mahony celebrate 40 years of Black Hills Balloons in the Custer and Black Hills area.
The couple purchased the business in the spring of 2015 from longtime owner Steve Bauer but both were already experienced balloon pilots before then.
For Keely, her journey to the skies began at a young age when her mother began piloting balloons  and Keely would join her on flights. When she turned 17 years old, she  got a pilot license of her own and has been ballooning ever since.
Damien grew up in Ireland and discovered hot air ballooning while in the states. He was staying in Orlando for a summer  while straight out of college and rented a room from Don Edwards—someone Keely already knew from the hot air balloon world. Soon he started crewing for Edwards in mornings and was hooked. In 2006, he too earned his pilots license.
Before moving to the Black Hills to pursue the balloon business together, Damien was the general manager of a large balloon operation in Orlando and Keely was working in a corporate marketing position. Bauer was looking to sell some equipment to Keely’s mother, as she was still a pilot and instructor. Instead, Keely’s mother put them in touch and soon they  bought the business.
As Bauer wasn’t necessarily looking to sell the business as he retired, “it probably would have gone away” said Keely, had they not had asked about purchasing the business.
“We were looking for a slower-paced way of living. As much as we loved it there, with a great group of friends and family, we just love this town,” said Keely.
Starting in each spring, people in the area have come to appreciate and  even seek out the glimpses of their balloons floating just above the pines and along the horizon of an early morning sky.
“We’ve been here so long that there are people who don’t know Custer without the balloons, so that’s kind of special to have a business that’s so iconic,” said Keely.
Now, all the balloons are new but with the same design and pattern Bauer used.
“We could have ordered anything—any color, design or style we wanted, but we kept his,” said Keely.
The ability to continue the legacy of the Black Hills Balloons business as well as the rich history of  ballooning in South Dakota are both things that the Mahonys enjoy about the business.
“The balloon history in this state is insane,” said Keely.
The Stratobowl is in the Black Hills near Rapid City—a place where people have reached altitudes of the stratosphere never before seen from a balloon. The world balloon flight altitude record was broken twice from the Strandwolf, once in 1935 and again in 1956. In the latter flight, an altitude of 76,000 feet was achieved, breaking the 21-year old record. Today the record sits at 135,906 feet.
The hot air balloon was invented in 1783 in France, but the U.S Navy  commissioned Raven Industries in Sioux Falls to develop the mechanisms commonly used in today’s balloons. Raven was among the first manufacturers of Hot Air Balloons, literally launching the resurgence of ballooning the 1960s.
Of course, the scenery is hard to beat as well. In fact, after ballooning all across the planet, the Mahonys say that the Black Hills is just about the best ballooning country in the world.
“It’s probably one of the best hot air balloon experiences anywhere in the world. It’s the only place you can kind of do a balloon safari in the united states,” said Damien.  Just recently, he said he flew over three herds of resting elk. Compared with flying over matching houses with pools and an occasional view of Disney World in Orlando, the choice is clear for the Mahonys.
Damien said the Black Hills are also great for what he called “true mountain flying” as a lot of mountainous areas with balloon rides just ride through a valley.
“If they’re crossing ridge lines, there are really dangerous wind sheers potentially and they’ll have to go really high,” said Damien. Here, the topography is mountainous but less extreme.
“Here, you can navigate them. You can cross over the ridges and go over to the next valley,” said Damien.
Better than carrying forward the legacies of the iconic business and ballooning in South Dakota, however, is the people, they said.
“Obviously, the flying is phenomenal, but being able to share it with people is number one,” said Damien. “Every time I fly, I see my first flight through their eyes”
You’re sharing a moment,” added Keely.
Just this Mother’s Day, they said they had a flight with a family who had just lost their mother earlier this year. As they crossed over into the national forest, they scattered some flower petals in her memory. And just the day before, they flew with a couple who got engaged while on the flight.
“There’s lots of fun memories,” said Damien.
They have also enjoyed getting to take others under their wing—or maybe wicker baskets is more appropriate. In the past 10 years, they have taken many in the areas and tought them the ropes of flying.
In the next 40 years, the Mahonys don’t plan on going anywhere and look forward to maybe someday passing along the business to the next generation of ballooners in the Hills.
“We’ve turned a lot of people into lifelong ballooners. Whether or not they thought that would be the case, sometimes ballooning finds you,” said Keely.