Our Pilots

Captain and owner Bob Barbarick is one of the original pioneers of hot air ballooning in the United States !   To date, he’s flown over 80,000 passengers and logged more than 7,000 flight hours and continues to provide hot air balloon rides in Napa Valley to our passengers today.

He began ballooning in the early 1970s right here in Napa Valley, flying with his fellow balloon enthusiasts and eventually flying the growing numbers of people who would gather around upon their landing and call out: “We want to go up !” The rest is history.

Bob formed Balloons Above the Valley in 1977 and some 40 years later, being up in a hot air balloon and sharing the experience with visitors is still what gets him up each morning at 5 a.m.

It is his vision and passion for the aeronautical adventure of ballooning that has made hot air ballooning one of the top 3 things to experience in Napa Valley. 

So, Bob extends to you his welcoming invite “Come Fly with Us!”

Chad grew up in Pennsylvania and was raised in a ballooning family so his flying began when he was a young boy. His career as a commercial hot air balloon pilot has taken him to many parts of the country including his hometown of Chester Springs, PA, as well as Driggs, ID and Phoenix, AZ before joining our team here in Napa.

Chad is a hot air balloon instructor and also volunteers with the Balloon Federation of America Youth Camp committee.

Interested in things that fly from an early age, Russ learned to fly balloons for the recreational aspect. Raised in the rural central valley of California, this self-proclaimed “hick-from-the-sticks” has been flying for over 25 plus years with over 20 years in Napa Valley.

Russ is aalso a longtime flight instructor and often shares his passion for safety at pilot safety seminars. Russ can guarantee that his hot air balloon rides in Napa Valley will leave you in awe. Russ’ family includes more than a dozen other balloon pilots scattered from coast to coast, insuring there is never “nothing” to talk about at family gatherings. When not flying Russ keeps up the family farm, raising rice and cattle.