Woodland Native Brings Hot Air Balloon Repair Business to Dixon

Mike Veliz’s life is full of hot air – balloons.

What began as a part-time summer job when he was only 15 years old, has become his calling to repair, patch and inspect hot air balloons for clients all over the world.

Now, the newly-minted Dixon resident and Woodland native runs California Balloon Repair, Inc., the largest hot air balloon repair station in northern California.

How did you get into the hot air balloon business?

A family friend had worked at this repair station and needed help. I was 15 years-old and looking for a part-time summer job. He ended up liking me, and I stuck around. Then the person who owns Napa Valley Balloons purchased the business, but asked me to run it.

It took me a while to really enjoy what I was doing. It was more of a part-time job, and I was making money so it was nice. But it took me a while to really start appreciating what I was doing. What I really like is the community. It’s a small community. Everybody is really friendly. It’s a sport that’s really interesting because you don’t run into too many people that fly hot air balloons.

Tell me about the market for hot air balloon repair stations. Where does all your business come from?

The majority of our business comes from the ride companies in Sonoma and Napa, but we have customers all over the world. They come from New Zealand, all over the West Coast from Oregon, Washington and people from Arizona, Nevada and southern California.

Hot air balloons are aircraft just like any aircraft regulated by the Federal Aviation Administration. They have to be inspected once a year, or whenever they’re over 100 hours of flight, so they’ll bring in their balloons and we have a set of procedures to test the fabric, make sure burners are functioning properly – there’s a multitude of things that need t be accomplished before we let it out to fly safely.

Do you have a busy season?

Whenever the weather is nice. We’re restricted by visual flight regulations, so we have to be able to see the ground to fly, so the busy season is whenever the weather is really nice, which is end of March to beginning of November.

When did you fly in a hot air balloon the first time? What’s it like?

My first time in a hot air balloon was in 2004. My boss thought that I’d been up in a balloon before, and it was a kind of funny conversation when he realized I hadn’t been in a balloon. The next weekend, they took me up.

It’s a really strange feeling. A lot of people, even if they’re afraid of heights, don’t have an issue with it because it’s a really calm, slow movement. You’re moving with the wind, so people who get motion sickness in a plane or feel like their stomach drops when it takes off, don’t get that sensation in a balloon.

It’s indescribable. I think it’s something everyone should do once in their lives.

Do you fly hot air balloons as well?

I got my pilot’s license a little over a year ago, so I’m working on my commercial rating, which will allow me to fly passengers.

I built my own hot air balloon. It’s a one-seater, so I built it to resemble a Lazy Boy recliner. It’s not a typical wicker basket. I wanted t do something different.

There are a lot of different patterns out there. The typical shape is a tear drop, but they make special shaped balloons like Darth Vader’s helmet, soccer balls and all kinds of crazy stuff.

Are there a lot of hot air balloon repair businesses out there?

It’s kind of a dying breed. The majority of stations repair their own equipment. In Northern California and Central California, we’re the largest repair station.

We’re just excited to be in Dixon. My fiancée and I moved here a year ago from Woodland and bought a house here just because we really like the small town feel. Everyone is really friendly here. It’s been great, and we’re happy to be part of the community.