For more than 45 years, Ray Bair has been a fixture in New Mexico’s ballooning community — as a pilot, leader, examiner and mentor.
Now, at 85 years old, Bair is marking his final Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta at the controls. But his family’s story in the sky is far from over.
Bair plans to pass his balloon, “Kaleidoscope,” to his granddaughter Erin Bair, continuing a family tradition that spans three generations of pilots.
“Everybody thinks it ought to be a sad event. It’s not for me,” Ray Bair said. “In fact, it’s joyous in a way.”
Bair said he believes he is still flying well, but he wants to step away while the sport remains enjoyable.
“I’d rather just quit while it’s still fun,” he said.
From pulling weeds at Fiesta to piloting balloons
Bair and his wife, Carol, moved to New Mexico more than 50 years ago, he told KOAT in an interview on Friday. Ray came to Albuquerque to study at the University of New Mexico before beginning a 31-year career at Sandia National Laboratories as an engineer.
Their Balloon Fiesta story started on the ground, where the couple volunteered to pull weeds and pound fence stakes. They later joined balloon crews and opened their home to visiting pilots, forming friendships that have lasted for decades.
Bair eventually bought his first balloon with six other people. One member of the group was a commercial pilot and instructor who taught the partners to fly, including Bair.
Bair completed his first solo balloon flight in 1981. He has since logged more than 2,500 hours in the air, flying across the United States and in countries including Mexico, Canada and France.
For approximately 25 years, Bair also served as a Federal Aviation Administration pilot examiner. He conducted more than 500 check rides for aspiring pilots, helping shape generations of balloonists.
“It’s hard for me to walk across the field out at Fiesta without running into somebody who says, ‘Remember when we did that check ride 25 years ago?’” Bair said, laughing.
His leadership extended beyond the basket. Bair is a past president of the Albuquerque Aerostat Ascension Association, the Balloon Federation of America and Balloon Fiesta. He currently serves on the Fiesta board.
“Throughout my career in ballooning, I’ve tried to be a leader,” he said.
Bair hopes other pilots will remember his focus on improving the sport and making safety a priority.
A family tradition takes flight
Ballooning became a family affair for the Bairs. Both of Ray’s sons earned commercial pilot certificates, and Erin became a pilot on her 16th birthday.
“Because that’s what we do in this family,” Ray said.
Now 30, Erin said this is her 30th Balloon Fiesta with her grandfather.
“I’ve been ballooning with him all my life,” she said. “He taught me how to fly a balloon. He taught me how to drive a truck. He taught me how to get a truck stuck in the sand — and how to get it unstuck.”
Before Erin’s pilot test, she said she was confident but terrified. Ray asked her to sit with him at the kitchen table and “chair fly,” narrating every part of a flight without leaving the house.
Together, they reviewed assembling the basket, inflating the balloon, directing the crew, delivering a safety briefing, taking off and landing.
When Erin completed the test and earned her license, her grandfather was waiting.
“He was smiling from ear to ear, and it was one of the best moments of my life,” she said.
Erin said Ray taught her to remain calm under pressure and accept that not everything can be controlled.
“We can’t steer. You’ve got to go where the wind takes you,” she said. “Who knows where the wind’s going to take you, but you’ll land eventually, and you’ll land safe because you know what you’re doing.”
‘A pillar of the ballooning community’
Erin described her grandfather as a pillar of the ballooning community and said it is difficult to imagine future events without him in the sky.
She said he will be remembered as an outstanding instructor and examiner, a welcoming friend and someone who built lasting relationships throughout the sport.
“He’s a man worth being proud of,” Erin said.
Bair credits ballooning with changing his outlook on life. As an engineer, he was accustomed to precision and structure. Flying taught him flexibility.
“You go balloon a couple times and you realize you don’t really control the world,” he said. “It has helped me mellow out and probably become much more understanding and tolerant.”
Bair still plans to remain involved in the ballooning community and may fly again outside Balloon Fiesta. He is also a co-owner of the Fiesta balloon, which he is not giving away.
But on Sunday, “Kaleidoscope” will be handed to Erin, who said the family will likely mark the moment with stories and a traditional champagne toast.
Erin hopes the family’s connection to ballooning will continue for generations.
“I’ve always dreamed of the day that I got to take my kids and their kids,” she said. “That one day there would be a fourth-generation pilot and a fifth-generation pilot.”
As Bair looks back on his decades in the sky, he said he feels gratitude rather than sadness.
“How could life be better?” he said. “Maybe not everything is perfect, but I cannot imagine a better life. I’ve had a very good life.”
Bair’s launch site is H-5 on the southern end of the Balloon Fiesta field. Visitors can also locate the site through the Balloon Fiesta app.
