Avid sports fans like myself know we’re in the middle of a very special week: the 2026 Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta, taking place in, where else, Albuquerque’s Balloon Fiesta Park. Would I personally ever hop into an open basket to soar thousands of feet in the air powered by flame directed at fabric? Not willingly! But there’s no denying the sense of youthful joy you get at the sight of a blue sky dotted with colorful balloons. And speaking of youthful joy, one participant this year is drawing extra attention. Jonathan Trappe has made a unique career of staging cluster balloon flights. Whereas hot-air balloons consist of a single large balloon holding the base aloft, cluster flights are powered by, yes, a cluster of smaller balloons that are pre-filled with gas (usually helium) before take-off. If you’re thinking, “Oh, like Carl Fredicksen in Pixar’s ‘Up,’” that’s exactly right! Trappe has flown cluster balloons all over the world — including trips with David Blaine and MrBeast — but it was the first time the cluster was set to hit Balloon Fiesta. Here is Trappe talking shop before the festivities began:
“Now, it’s kind of a fantasy form of flight, very colorful, all these different balloons. It’s also very serious,” said Trappe. He will be flying a cluster comprised of 94 balloons, or “cells,” filled with helium, which he has named “The Fiesta Cluster.”
Attached to the bottom of the balloon cluster will be Trappe and his girlfriend, either riding in a seated harness system or in a more common ballooning apparatus: a basket. To control the cluster once inflated with helium on the ground, Trappe will rely on sandbags to stay tethered. When in flight and it’s time to descend, comes a more risky maneuver performed by Trappe.
“Take a knife like this, one of the balloons, and you stab the balloon, which is a bit much the first time you do it,” explained Trappe, who has been flying for 20 years. “The balloon fails catastrophically; it pops, it vents a metered amount of gas… And while you’re doing that, you’re at 10,000 feet above the ground looking down.”
This is the first time this type of balloon cluster will be flown at the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta. Trappe will fly for one day only, hoping to set a new flight record.
“This gas cluster has the capability for real expedition flight, flights of distance, duration, and altitude. We’ve flown this system as long as 13 hours. That’s the world record, said Trappe. “In certain places, we’ve flown at quite high altitude. Here, we could fly at as high as 18,000 feet. We could fly it all day long.”
The man knows his balloons! So, how did it go? Without a hitch! Trappe took flight during the opening day mass ascension last Saturday, lifting off from Balloon Fiesta Park in New Mexico and landing in… Arizona!
The skies over northern Arizona got a surprise visitor this weekend, and it floated in all the way from New Mexico.
Pilot Jonathan Trappe lifted off Saturday on the opening day of the 2026 Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta in a gas cluster balloon, the first of its kind ever to take flight at the iconic event.
Instead of a traditional balloon envelope, Trappe soared beneath 94 giant helium-filled balloons, a sight reminiscent of the Pixar movie “Up.”
The number was no accident. It was a tribute to Dr. Jean Piccard and his legendary 1937 flight with 95 balloons, the first gas-cluster flight on record.
After drifting across the wide open skies of New Mexico, Trappe touched down near State Route 260 and Woolford Road in Show Low about 5 p.m. Saturday, according to his website’s live tracker.
Ok, maybe I ought to work myself up to a balloon ride, cause gosh darn it does look like fun! If in that highly terrifying sort of way. I once deliberately signed myself up for paragliding during a vacation as a way to face my fears; I think it just ended up reinforcing them, lol. I just remember trying to keep VERY STILL as I gazed down at the ocean that looked VERY FAR down. And the thunderous pounding of my heart when I was strapped in and the contraption was about to leave the boat and I realized there was no escaping the excursion anymore, I remember that part. Vividly. So maybe I can find a patient balloon guide who’d be willing to start with flights at a low altitude — say 10 feet off the ground?
Congratulations to Trappe and all the brave balloonists partaking in Fiesta this year!
No bueno. I can’t do heights.
We saw him go up on Saturday! Was my 1st time at the balloon fiesta – what an amazing sight.
The Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta is amazing! If you’ve never been, put it on your bucket list. The mass ascension, the twilight glow, special shapes, and just generally lthe unbelievable scene of hundreds of hot air balloons against the backdrop of bright blue sky and mountains.
It’s been on my list for years and I really need to get serious about making it happen! The photos are always amazing.
I love that CB posts lighthearted stories like this; it’s all I can take these days.