For Kerry Speicher of Longview, Texas, hot air ballooning began not in the basket, but on the ground with his family.

Years before he became a commercial balloon pilot, Speicher and his wife, Stephanie, began taking their two young daughters to the Great Texas Balloon Race. Starting around 2003, Stephanie would sometimes load the girls into the car while they were still in their pajamas to go searching for balloons.

The girls loved chasing balloons, collecting pilot trading cards and helping crews on the field. What started as a family outing eventually became a family passion.

This September, Speicher will bring that passion, and his bright yellow-and-green racing balloon HiLight, to the H-E-B | Central Market Plano Balloon Festival.

From Balloon Crew to Commercial Pilot

Speicher’s fascination with flight began long before ballooning. In high school, he started working toward an airplane pilot’s license, although life eventually took him in another direction.

His family began volunteering as balloon crew around 2011 and later became regular crew members for a local Longview pilot. Then his youngest daughter, Lillian, decided she wanted to learn to fly.

That decision led the family to purchase its first balloon.

Lillian completed her first solo flight in August 2020. Her dad wasn’t far behind. Speicher soloed on October 31, 2020, earned his private pilot certificate on March 4, 2021, and became a commercial balloon pilot on November 2, 2025.

Along the way, he credits experienced balloonists in the Longview area with helping him develop as a pilot.

“I continue trying to learn something from every flight,” Speicher said.

Meet HiLight

Festival guests should have little trouble spotting Speicher’s balloon on the field.

HiLight is an UltraMagic 56,000-cubic-foot racer with a bright yellow envelope and several shades of green creating a checkerboard pattern around its lower portion.

How big is 56,000 cubic feet?

Speicher offers a wonderfully Texas-sized way to visualize it: one cubic foot is approximately the space occupied by a basketball, meaning HiLight’s envelope could hold roughly 56,000 basketballs.

HiLight also has a noticeably different silhouette than many traditional hot air balloons. As a racer, it has a shorter, wider profile that resembles a football rather than the familiar teardrop shape. It is also smaller than many standard passenger balloons.

The balloon has an additional personal connection for Speicher. He purchased HiLight from a very good friend.

The Flights You Never Forget

Ballooning has taken Speicher to memorable places, but one of his favorite flights happened in Natchez, Mississippi, in 2024.

He was flying another balloon, NorthWind, during a competition. When it became apparent they weren’t doing particularly well competitively, Speicher and his crew made a decision: forget the targets and enjoy the flight.

With plenty of crew available that day, Stephanie was able to join him.

They moved the inflated balloon to the edge of a bluff overlooking the Mississippi River and launched out over the water. The couple enjoyed a slow, peaceful crossing before landing at an RV park.

Then the flight became even more memorable.

Children from the park came out to see the balloon, so Speicher invited them to help pack it away. Each child grabbed a section of the envelope, forming a conga line as they carried the enormous fabric toward its bag.

At one point, a little girl briefly disappeared into the folds of the balloon before emerging laughing.

For Speicher, the combination of crossing the Mississippi River with his wife and sharing the joy of ballooning with those children turned a beautiful flight into one he will always remember.

That connection with spectators is also what he loves about events like the Plano Balloon Festival.

“My favorite part of ballooning is making children smile, and quite often, it isn’t only the children who are smiling,” he said.

Speicher enjoys meeting festival guests and working alongside fellow pilots, crews, volunteers and organizers.

“Seeing everyone come together and enjoy the experience is what makes an event like the Plano Balloon Festival so special to me.”

No, That Balloon Probably Didn’t “Crash”

There’s one ballooning misconception Speicher would particularly like to clear up.

A balloon landing somewhere unexpected does not automatically mean it crash-landed.

“I can make a controlled landing right in the center of a cul-de-sac, exactly where I intended to land, and someone recording it will say, ‘A hot-air balloon crashed into my neighborhood this morning!'” Speicher said.

Unlike airplanes, balloons routinely land away from airports, and their landings can look different depending on wind and terrain. What appears unusual to someone watching from the ground may be exactly what the pilot intended.

It’s one of many reasons pilots carefully study weather, wind and landing options throughout a flight.

A Simple Tradition Before Every Flight

For all the spectacle surrounding ballooning, Speicher’s pre-flight tradition is remarkably simple.

Before every flight, he kisses Stephanie and tells her, “I love you.”

Ballooning, like other forms of aviation and outdoor sport, carries inherent risks, and Speicher never wants to take either those words or the people who support him for granted.

It’s a small ritual with a great deal of meaning behind it.

Want to Become a Balloon Pilot? Start on the Ground.

For anyone watching the balloons at the H-E-B | Central Market Plano Balloon Festival and wondering what it would take to become a pilot, Speicher’s advice is straightforward: volunteer for a balloon crew.

“Be dependable, show up consistently, and take the time to learn the ropes,” he said.

Crew members gain hands-on experience while building relationships with pilots and others in the ballooning community. For some, that first volunteer experience may eventually lead to earning a pilot certificate of their own.

Speicher’s own journey from a dad chasing balloons with his daughters to becoming a commercial pilot proves just how far that first step can lead.

And if all of that isn’t memorable enough, there’s one final thing to know about the pilot of HiLight.

When Speicher was young, he had a pet alligator.

Its name was Wolfgang.

Some stories simply don’t require further explanation.

Look for Kerry Speicher and HiLight at the 2026 H-E-B | Central Market Plano Balloon Festival, September 17-20, and experience a Shared Horizon filled with colorful balloons, pilots, crews and the stories that bring them all together.

🎟️ Tickets and Festival Information: www.planoballoonfest.org