Jim Whitesell

Corporate Balloon Pilot

Jim Whitesell has been a licensed pilot since 1978. He holds both Fixed Wing and Lighter-Than-Air ratings, including Commercial Pilot for Hot Air Balloons. He is a also an active hot air balloon flight instructor.

Mr. Whitesell has flown balloons in over 35 States and Canada. He has several hundred hours logged as Pilot in Command of special shape balloons, the most difficult type to fly. He has piloted the space shuttle Nassua Bay, Famous Footwear's athletic shoe, the Rayovac Battery balloon, and the Klondike Ice Cream Polar Bear balloon. He is the primary pilot in the Dallas-Fort Worth area for RE/MAX of Texas, and flies the Jack in the Box corporate balloon, SKYJACK.

Mr. Whitesell operates a passenger ride business in the Dallas area, The Sky's the Limit. He has also flown balloons for Wilson Camera in Phoenix, The White Horse Inn in Madison, Wisconsin, SUNOCO oil, and Fonz By The Day in Plano, Texas.

He has been the Balloonmeister for the American Cancer Society's CAMP SUNRISE TAKES TO THE SKIES BALLOONFEST held in Phoenix, Arizona, and is the Balloonmeister for the Highland Village, Texas Balloon Race. He has served as a BFA (Balloon Federation of America) Accident Investigator, assisting the FAA and NTSB with the investigation of balloon accidents.

Mr. Whitesell has been a speaker at BFA approved Safety Seminars, and is a former newsletter editor for the North Texas Ballooning Association. He is also the system operator of the Texas Hot Air!, a computer bulletin board which specializes in ballooning and aviation.

Mr. Whitesell has flown thousands of passengers in hot air balloons, and has a perfect safety record with no injuries or property damage. He has been commended by the FAA for his conscientious attitude toward safety.