Steampunk Sea

Steampunk Sea Steampunk Sea Hot Air Balloon (formerly Drifting Dolphins) This page is dedicated to our ballooning adventures. Contact us for more details.

Follow along as we fly at home and various hot air balloon festivals during the year. Starting in January 2023, we started flying our custom made balloon "Steampunk Sea". You'll need to see it glow to really see all of it's steampunk themed animals. Starting in July 2023, we can now offer paid flights. Our $800 flights are for two people and usually last 45 to 60 minutes. Commercial Pilot Kevin Heinzmann, Co-Owner and Crew Chief Emily Heinzmann, Co-Owner.

We normally buy 2000 balloon cards at a time. They usually last us at least two years. We only had four different design...
06/14/2024

We normally buy 2000 balloon cards at a time. They usually last us at least two years. We only had four different designed cards for Drifting Dolphins over about 10 years.

Last year alone we handed out almost 2000 Steampunk Sea cards. That means new cards for this year! Here is a sneak peek of the front. You’ll have to stop by the balloon and get one to see the back. 🐢🐬

Received our official acceptance to The Great Balloon Race, Galesburg, IL. for 2024. This will be our first time at this...
06/12/2024

Received our official acceptance to The Great Balloon Race, Galesburg, IL. for 2024. This will be our first time at this event. Looking forward to being there already! 🐢🐬

It's time to announce our special shape for this year's Great Balloon Race which will be held at the Lake Storey Soccer Fields in Galesburg, IL on July 26-28th, 2024!

Meet Smiley the Scarecrow. Smiley Scarecrow is a 160,000 cubic feet balloon standing 120 feet tall and will be piloted by Jack Semler and his crew chief, Lynn Semler of Indy Hor Air Balloons. We are thrilled to have Jack and Lynn back again this year with another one of their special shapes.

Feel free to follow Smiley Scarecrow Hot Air Balloon on Facebook for his journeys worldwide and stay tuned to our page for more updates as we get closer to this year's event!

We don’t normally pay attention to all the extra “special days” that show up, but we can’t ignore this one! 😎 Just wish ...
06/05/2024

We don’t normally pay attention to all the extra “special days” that show up, but we can’t ignore this one! 😎 Just wish the weather was better so we could celebrate with a flight! 🐢🐬🎉

Celebrate the oldest form of aviation on Hot Air Balloon Day and if you’re feeling adventurous, book a flight.

FYI - just in case you haven’t heard. 😉😂🐢🐬
06/01/2024

FYI - just in case you haven’t heard. 😉😂🐢🐬

🎉 YOUR'RE INVITED to Centralia Balloon Fest on August 16-17-18!! 35+ hot air balloons set up in the middle of Foundation Park, allowing you to walk right up to the baskets, take unique photos, and meet the pilots! There is also a tethered hot air balloon at the park starting at 6pm both Friday(8/16) and Saturday(8/17).

Wristbands to get into the park are just $5/person!!!!! This wristband includes the Main Stage entertainment!!

For main stage entertainment, Taylor Made - A Tribute to Taylor Swift is shutting the park down on Friday(8/16) starting around 8:30pm. Kaylee Rose is opening the park up on Saturday(8/17) around 3:00pm. Josh Gracin is set to be hitting the stage Saturday(8/17) around 8:30, after the balloon glow!

We also have over 100 food and craft vendors in the park all weekend! Sunday(8/18) will feature a car show, cardboard boat races, and kids games!

ALL BALLOON EVENTS are weather permitting! Follow this page for the latest updates! To purchase wristbands, visit: https://centraliachamber.square.site/product/Admission/207

One month until our first event of the year! Looking forward to returning to Sikeston Hot Air Balloon Festival for year ...
05/21/2024

One month until our first event of the year! Looking forward to returning to Sikeston Hot Air Balloon Festival for year #2. 🐢🐬

SIKESTON HOT AIR BALLOON FESTIVAL 2024

PLEASE BE SURE TO VISIT OUR "FAQ AND OTHER INFORMATION" PHOTO ALBUM AS WE CONTINUE TO UPDATE WITH MORE INFORMATION REGULARLY LEADING UP TO THE EVENT!

Turned out to be a great morning to fly. Got a little higher than normal and climbed to over 6000 feet. Completed three ...
05/18/2024

Turned out to be a great morning to fly. Got a little higher than normal and climbed to over 6000 feet. Completed three take offs and landings this morning to get current so we can take passengers. It was also the first chase with the new truck. It has some more work planned on it, but we were all happy with it this morning. Have a great day! 🐢🐬

Look to the sky, Centralia and North… 1st flight of the year!
05/18/2024

Look to the sky, Centralia and North… 1st flight of the year!

05/18/2024

Winds are looking slow this morning, but we’ll give it a go! 🐢🐬

05/18/2024

Tractors were out in some nearby fields today. That tells us there should be some dry landing spaces. We are going to plan on flying Saturday morning! Meeting at Foundation at 5:15 AM. I’ll update by 4:45 in the morning if there are any changes due to weather changes. Let us know if you plan to come out to help. 🐢🐬

We certainly love ours! 🐢🐬
05/12/2024

We certainly love ours! 🐢🐬

Happy Mother’s Day to all the balloon moms!

It’s the 5th of May today, also know as Cinco de Mayo for those of you looking for a reason to eat some Mexican food tod...
05/05/2024

It’s the 5th of May today, also know as Cinco de Mayo for those of you looking for a reason to eat some Mexican food today 😜. Hope everyone has a great day! 🐢🐬

Thanks to the Fairview Heights Parks and Recreation for inviting us to be part of their five year anniversary celebratio...
05/04/2024

Thanks to the Fairview Heights Parks and Recreation for inviting us to be part of their five year anniversary celebration! The weather turned out great, and the crowd was fantastic. Always a pleasure to be part of such a fun event. 🐢🐬

Woo hoo! 🎉🐢🐬
04/30/2024

Woo hoo! 🎉🐢🐬

Only 108 more days until the greatest weekend of the year! 😉 We have live entertainment, 100+ food/craft vendors, 35+ Hot Air Balloons, Car Show, and much more!! This family-fun event is only $5/person. The $5 wristband is good all weekend!

Buy wristbands now, they may not be available at the gate due to park capacity: https://centraliachamber.square.site/product/Admission/207

Hope you all have a great Easter! 🐢🐬
03/31/2024

Hope you all have a great Easter! 🐢🐬

03/22/2024

In today’s episode of “Wishing Doesn’t Make it Come True”, we have been reminded that we have no control over the weather. ☹️ I’m going to cancel plans to fly this evening now so those that were making plans around a flight can make alternative plans. We’ll keep looking for better weather to make our first flight of 2024. 🐢🐬

03/22/2024

Ugg! Weather forecast is getting worse instead of better. Wind speeds are now on the fast side and showing they will be increasing instead of going down. Will update again around 3:00. 🤞🐢🐬

Rumor has it we will get an invitation to participate in this event again this year. Once again it will be our first eve...
03/22/2024

Rumor has it we will get an invitation to participate in this event again this year. Once again it will be our first event of the year. Get it on your calendars now.🐢🐬

THREE MONTHS UNTIL THE 2ND SIKESTON HOT AIR BALLOON FESTIVAL, but who's counting, amiright? Keep a watch on our page for FAQ/answers and other information about the Festival as we get closer to the event!

Event Dates: June 21 and 22
Cost: $5/person (age 10 and under get in free!)
More info: Check our Facebook timeline for posts with more information!

03/21/2024

Wind speed forecast for Friday has dropped (almost too much)! Going to be watching the weather closely for a Friday evening flight (5:00 PM). Will update by noon Friday. 🤞🐢🐬

Looking forward to some much needed air therapy soon. Just needs to get the wind to come down a little more. 🤞🐢🐬
03/20/2024

Looking forward to some much needed air therapy soon. Just needs to get the wind to come down a little more. 🤞🐢🐬

Happy first day of spring!

Luck of the Irish to you today! Were hoping to get lucky with some better weather soon. Enjoy the green today! 🍀 🐢🐬
03/17/2024

Luck of the Irish to you today! Were hoping to get lucky with some better weather soon. Enjoy the green today! 🍀 🐢🐬

For year number two of the Sikeston Hot Air Balloon Festival they are giving people the opportunity to have a vote on th...
02/23/2024

For year number two of the Sikeston Hot Air Balloon Festival they are giving people the opportunity to have a vote on the t-shirt design. Go to the original post and like or love the design you think is best to have your vote count! 🐢🐬

We got included in some love from Lindstrand Balloons USA yesterday. Thanks to our friends at Circle City Balloon Team f...
02/15/2024

We got included in some love from Lindstrand Balloons USA yesterday. Thanks to our friends at Circle City Balloon Team for bringing it to our attention! 💕🐢🐬

We ❤️ ballooning! Wishing you a "hot" Valentine's Day!

Caution! It’s Valentine’s Day. Watch out for a lot of love in the air. 💕 🐢🐬
02/14/2024

Caution! It’s Valentine’s Day. Watch out for a lot of love in the air. 💕 🐢🐬

Both trucks have been home the last week. We finally had time this afternoon to work on getting stuff in the cab transfe...
02/11/2024

Both trucks have been home the last week. We finally had time this afternoon to work on getting stuff in the cab transferred from the red truck to the black truck. We also moved the base radio we use during balloon flights over. We’ll get the rack moved over eventually, but that probably won’t happen until March. Since we have a lift gate on the black truck and the radio installed, it is now ready for its first balloon chase! Hopefully the ground will dry up and we’ll get some flyable winds soon. 🤞🐢🐬

Great event! Proud to be a part of of it EVERY year! 🐢🐬
02/06/2024

Great event! Proud to be a part of of it EVERY year! 🐢🐬

Our daughter is spending her spring college semester studying in Paris. After balloon flights, I tell my passengers the ...
01/25/2024

Our daughter is spending her spring college semester studying in Paris. After balloon flights, I tell my passengers the story of how the first hot air balloon carrying passengers took off from the Palace of Versailles in Paris. Jillian was of course thrilled to get to visit on a tour recently. She was however very disappointed when that historical first flight wasn’t even mentioned. I guess when a building has been around that long it’s hard to mention every historic event that happened there. Still a great experience for her. 🐢🐬

https://www.historyoasis.com/post/first-hot-air-balloon-passengers

Today is the anniversary of Steampunk Sea’s first flight. 🎉 We had planned on celebrating by flying today. While it was ...
01/14/2024

Today is the anniversary of Steampunk Sea’s first flight. 🎉 We had planned on celebrating by flying today. While it was cold for that first flight, it wasn’t single digit cold with wind chills in the negatives. We’ve decided to stay warmer today by basking in the pleasant memories of that first flight than by freezing trying to make new ones. Enjoy your day. 🥂🐢🐬

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Sandoval, IL
62882

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+16183221578

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Videos

Candlestick glow tonight at Lake Shelbyville Balloon Fest. ⚡️

Another great morning in Natchez. Quentin picked our take off site this morning, and I was able to work the winds to the target. One of my passengers caught one of my throws on this video. Flew on to the other side of the road where the crew caught us for a beautiful landing. Looked like I scored second on this task. Not sure about the others. We’ll have to wait and see what the check says. 😎

Natchetz, MS October 17, 2021
Natchetz, MS October 17, 2021

Looking forward to returning to Natchez, MS this week. Here is a video from last year of my first flight over the mighty Mississippi River.

The glow at Shelby County Airport last night.

Had a great glow tonight at Hot Air Balloons Over Marine. We are always impressed at the size of the crowds that come out for this event. We love being able to interact with the crowd and answer questions. It was a little too gusty to fly, but it calmed down enough to be perfect for the glow. Thanks to the committee and the volunteers that make it all possible every year!

I can’t find where we shared Quentin’s first inflation. He did great too!

Jillian did her first inflation last night. She did a great job and with a large audience watching at the Castle!

Saturday evening flicker glow at CHS!

Indiana State Fair Balloon Race 08/03/19
Indiana State Fair Balloon Race 08/03/19

Here is another high speed flight. This one from the Indiana State Fair grounds to just on the other side of the Indianapolis Colts Training facility. Even in an unfamiliar location, my amazing crew was there to catch us before we landed. The video slows down right before the target to let you take in details. Enjoy! 🐬

Marine!

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