Latest News Headlines

March 28-29, 2025 Dayton, Ohio BFA National Convention and Trade Show   Join your fellow aeronauts at the BFA National Convention & Trade Show. The Convention is held every three years in diff...

  BFA Balloon Event Symposium   This one of a kind conference is designed to educate event organizers, communities interested in hosting a balloon event and evet officials alike on the various aspects...

We would like to thank all of our members that took the time to vote in our election. Our boards do much of the work of our Federation and our success on your behalf rides on their dedication to these elected posi...

As previously reported in our publications, the BFA has been told that a “Balloon only” Class II Medical is available, but we are hearing that some of you are being told this is not the case when applying for ...

ELECTION 2024         Candidates have been selected by their respective nominating committees and we are please to announce the candidates for the 2024 election.  All seats are for ...

The 2024 BFA On-Line Seminar registration and viewing is OPEN!   Logged-in BFA members can view the segments at no charge. If you need insurance credit, please register HERE (fee involved).   Th...

Effective May 31,2024 The FAA has published new Practical Test Standards/PTS to be used for both Private and Commercial LTA Checkrides. The old Private and Commercial PTS with effective dates of 1996 and 1997 wil...

      Balloonists around the country have been attending in-person safety seminars all spring and the BFA has been working on its on-line seminar for 2024.  The on-line seminar is a team effort that...

This morning’s fire in the National Balloon Museum as caused internal damage to the museum and its contents, the extend of which is still being determined. There were no injuries as the building was empty at the t...

  I am writing to you to let you know of the plans for the BFA Youth Program Camps that are happening this year. We have three camps planned for 2024: Southeastern Balloon Camp, in Cordele, GA - June 18-...

The Balloon Federation of America would like to thank all the pilots that took the time to complete the “Pilot Survey.” The goal of this survey was to provide us with a better understanding of LTA activity aroun...

The bfa.net website has been a major asset to our members for the past 10 years. Centralizing management of subscriptions and automating formerly manual tasks has saved countless hours and significantly reduced offi...

Good day to all pilots, We’re at a vital crossroads in our sport. In the wake of a few serious accidents over the past few years, ballooning is increasingly portrayed as reckless, dangerous, and out of control by...

January 31, 2024   With the recent accident in Eloy, Arizona and the tragic loss of 4 lives and severe injuries to another passenger, it is becoming apparent that we, as pilots, are still making the same old ...

Many of you have a growing concern about the increase in drone activities in your area. The growth of the number of companies that have obtained an operations certificate, better known as an FAR 135 Certificate is s...

ELECTION 2023         Candidates have been selected by their respective nominating committees and we are please to announce the candidates for the 2023 election.  All seats are for ...

   UAS Beyond Visual Line-Of-Sight Operations On the evening of June 13, 2023, the BFA made its final comments (see attached) in response to the recommendation made to FAA by the UAS community in their...

Most of you will remember that we brought to your attention a few months ago, an attempt by some commercial drone operations to change the right of way rules to allow drones operating BVLOS, or beyond visual line of...

MUST-SEE Safety! Ballooning’s biggest buzzkill – literally and figuratively - is a power line strike. The just-released 20-minute video “Crossing the Line” offers pilots and crew dozens of practical strateg...