Former Hippie Flying High in Hot Air Balloons
After a career as software engineer, a carpenter and a math teacher, Auburn resident finds joy in running a balloon business — he has piloted more than 2,000 flights so far
By Joe Sarnicola
Dave Longeill, of Auburn, has worked as a software engineer, a carpenter and a math teacher, as well as being the licensed pilot and owner of Fingerlakes Ballooning.
He grew up in Elmont, on Long Island, site of the Belmont Stakes horse race and the home of the New York Islanders hockey team. After graduating from high school, he attended SUNY Oswego.
“I was a hippie back then,” he said. “So I got an art degree.” Longeill gained more than an art degree at Oswego, because he met a young woman named Jody, who
became his wife.
When he was in his early 40s, he went back to school to get a degree in computer science.
“I thought I was being practical this time. I made money as a software engineer, but I didn’t like the job,” he said.
When he was studying for his computer science degree, a couple of his professors recognized his gift for math and suggested he pursue that field.
“So, in my 50s I went to grad school at Syracuse University as a math education major,” he said.
He was surprised to discover that working as a teaching assistant while attending SU paid for his education.
“I have always loved all kinds of math, but geometry is my favorite. My math degree led to a position at Cayuga Community College, where I taught from 2008 until I retired in 2016,” he said.
Longeill combined his math skills with his woodworking expertise when he built a gazebo behind his
current home.
“I had built one where we used to live in Red Creek and my wife asked me to build one here,” he said.
He put off that project until he helped a friend remodel a camp on Moon Beach in Oswego, which reminded him how much he enjoyed working with wood.
Gazebo kits can be purchased from home improvement stores, but that was not what Longeill had in mind.
After designing the gazebo, he created templates for some of the numerous parts, scale models of others and he built jigs and other custom tools to allow him to make multiple parts of exact size and he cut each of the hundreds of shingles by hand. He would plan during the winter and work once the weather permitted. He had a trench dug for the footers, but he did most of the work himself, with the occasional help of a couple carpenter friends as needed.
“The gazebo took me a long time to build because I spent a long time planning it,” he said.
People have asked him if he built the gazebo from a kit and he likes to tell them he did, but only after he built the kit himself.
In addition to working on projects firmly connected to the ground, Longeill has a love of flying.
“My wife, Jody, and I first saw hot air balloons at the Jamesville Balloon Festival in 1981. We then decided, before we even went for a ride, that I should buy one. A year later I had a pilot’s license, and I flew my own balloon at the 1982 Jamesville Balloon Festival,” he said.
His history with balloons is now older than that of the Jamesville Balloon Festival, which started in 1980, but closed in 2019.
Although Longeill makes it sound like obtaining a balloon pilot license was a simple process, the FAA requires 10 hours of flight training for prospective pilots which must include six supervised flights, one controlled flight to 2,000 feet above takeoff point, two 60-minute flights and one solo flight, plus they must pass a written FAA practical knowledge test, and pass an oral exam given by an FAA inspector or a designated flight examiner.
And that is just for a private pilot’s license. Commercial pilot’s licenses require 35 flight hours, including one to 3,000 feet above takeoff point, plus the passage of a more advanced oral exam.
Longeill trained under Jim Griswold, of Albany, a man who has a family history of ballooning. He was one of the co-founders of the Jamesville Balloon Festival and he has passed his passion for ballooning on to his sons, Peter and Scott. On the company website, aboveallballooning.com, Scott wrote a paragraph similar to that of Longeill’s first encounter with ballooning:
“The Griswold family has been in the ballooning business for 40 years. Since I was born, I have grown up around hot air balloons. Whether it is crewing, chasing, piloting or just spectating, I have witnessed many amazing aspects and the growth of the sport. My father and mother went for a balloon ride before I was born. When they landed, my father asked where he could buy one so he could learn how to fly.”
He mentioned “chasing.” The balloon chasers are the people on the ground who literally follow the flight of the balloon, so they can meet the pilot and passengers after landing.
In order for a pilot to be able to safely launch a balloon, the weather must be just right, so that winds are not too strong and there are no storms in the forecast. Flights typically start one or two hours before sunset, when the winds are calmer. Passengers are advised to wear comfortable clothing and shoes and be prepared to stand for the flight, which could last up to an hour and to bring a camera and be prepared to have fun.
Since his first flight more than 40 years ago, Longeill has piloted more than 2,000 flights and he has trained five of his previous passengers to become pilots able to fly their own balloons. He doesn’t build gazebos for anyone but himself, but information about booking a balloon flight with him can be found on Facebook at Fingerlakes Ballooning.
Longeill reflected on his life of flying, after recently buying a new balloon that had to pass rigorous testing before being allowed to fly and carry passengers.
“In my mind that commits me to 10 to 12 more years of flying. I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of it,” he said.