A young girl tiptoed to see over the side of a basket thousands of feet in the air.

The morning was crisp and quiet, with only the balloon’s burners occasionally interrupting the stillness. Hundreds of hot air balloons floated in the sky nearby, creating a kaleidoscope of colors, and her family’s balloon was part of it. She watched her father operate the balloon and dreamed of becoming a pilot just like him.

Kaitlin Little was raised on hot air balloons.

A New Mexico native, she attended the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta every year with her family. Her dream to become a second-generation pilot grew with her.

It all started when Lee Little, Kaitlin’s father, was driving in Albuquerque, where he saw a balloon descending nearby. When he stepped out of the car to watch the landing, the pilot threw him a drop line. From the ground, he used the rope to help steer the balloon to its landing site as the pilot lowered it to the ground.

That’s how Lee was drawn into the world of ballooning.

As he became more and more a part of the ballooning community, he earned his private and then commercial pilot licenses, and ballooning became a family tradition.

Now, Kaitlin has earned her Airmen Certification in August 2026. But her course to becoming a private hot air balloon pilot wasn’t one she trod alone.

Kaitlin works for the web team in Oklahoma State University’s Department of Brand Management as a senior user experience designer.

One day in 2019, Kaitlin asked her coworker, web developer Chance Parker, to join the Littles’ unorthodox pastime as a crew member.

“I’ve always had a fascination with aviation,” Parker said. “I just never thought about hot air balloons until she thought I was crazy enough to try it.”

Eventually,  Lee Little asked, “‘Do you want to try to fly it?’”

Once again, Parker went for it.

Lee Little helped Kaitlin and Parker earn their private pilot licenses. Kaitlin Little recalled learning to fly from her dad, who would pilot the aircraft while her mother would help crew it. Kaitlin was literally surrounded — in a 4-by-5-foot space — by her family's support.

The path to certification was not without turbulence. During her first solo flight, unpredictable wind challenged her to make deft last-minute decisions while landing. The process was one of perseverance and self-discovery.

“There’s something about mastering a machine like that, which just allows you to build a certain level of confidence,” Kaitlin Little said. “You’re able to carry yourself in ways that you hadn’t prior.”

Both pilots are OSU alumni, but not in aviation. Kaitlin Little is a 2017 graduate with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Graphic Design, and Parker is a 2017 graduate with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration in Management Information Systems.

Although their day jobs and backgrounds aren’t in flying aircraft, especially something as unique as hot air balloons, the duo dreams as big as the sky.

“I enjoyed seeing what I can do, challenging myself to different things … I can rise to the challenge, literally and figuratively,” Parker said.

As current residents of Stillwater, Kaitlin Little and Parker have gained a new perspective of the state from the Gold N’ Snitch, their yellow hot air balloon. And, like Lee Little once helped a balloon complete its descent, the Gold N’ Snitch requires help on the ground from a variety of Oklahomans.

“There’s a lot of misconception with take-offs and landings when it comes to hot air balloons,” Kaitlin Little said, “We don’t normally take off and land at airports. We have to be on the look out for parks with big enough fields or parking lots away from obstructions like powerlines. Occasionally, we even get permission from local landowners to take off and land on their property.

“A lot of this sport relies heavily on landowner relations, so we work really hard to make sure we aren’t disturbing livestock or crops. Without landowners and our crew acting as our advocates, it would be impossible to do what we love.”

They’ve also flown near Boone Pickens Stadium, appreciating the landmark from a new angle. The sound of the world disappears 3,000 feet in the air. All the pilots can hear is the sound of their voices and the machine they are commandeering.

“When you're in the air … it's actually amazing how serene it is,” Parker said. “You can hear all the stuff going on around you. On colder days, you can hear the popping of the burners, just like pings and tings.”

The private pilots now look forward to taking passengers. They enjoy educating people about the unique pastime. Parker noted that he enjoys the wonder of people who see hot air ballooning as “lighting stuff on fire and doing magic.”

“People don't see the engineering behind hot air balloons,” Kaitlin Little said. “We have to operate propane, and there's burners that control your ascent and descent based on the length of the burn time and pressures of the fuel. You have to learn about weather and how to read forecasts and conditions in real time. There's just so much related to STEM.”

For Kaitlin, earning her Airmen Certification is also a matter of empowering others.

“My personal favorite interaction is when little girls come up and say, ‘I've never seen a female hot air balloon pilot before.’ Inspiring that next generation of female pilots is the best feeling in the world,” she said.

From Albuquerque to Stillwater, ballooning has become a tradition of inspiration that continues to be shared. Kaitlin Little and Parker hope to obtain their commercial pilot licenses in the coming years, which would allow them to share their love for hot air balloons on a larger scale.

The dream encouraged by the vibrant displays of Albuquerque has become a reality. Now, that little girl gets to add her yellow balloon to the kaleidoscope of colors, no longer having to tiptoe to see over the side of the basket.

Up in the Atmosphere Life on a hot air balloon crew

Story By: Adrienne Frye | adrienne.frye@okstate.edu