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DES MOINES, IOWA — Female pilots are taking hot air ballooning to new heights in Indianola this week.

This year, The National Balloon Classic brought in over a hundred pilots from across the country; twelve of which are women.

“Aviation overall, not just hot ballooning, is mostly male dominated. I think the last statistic I remember seeing was 7 percent females in commercial aviation,” said 2023 Women’s National Champion, Amanda Brodbeck.

“I would say that the only variable a guy might have over us is that they might throw their baggie further than I do because they’ve got a better arm,” said Holly Pfeifer.

Holly Pfeifer has called central Iowa home her entire life and fell in love with the sport before she was even old enough to be allowed on the field.

“So we started crewing at a really young age when they used to not let kids our age go onto the field so we would hide in his basket with blankets and after the task was over or the competition part was over he’d be like alright let’s work on some level flying so I didn’t realize that’s what he was doing…was starting to train me to get my license,” said Pfeifer.

Holly’s parents crewed for Indianola pilot Owen Keown, the 1983 Classic champion who went on to be one of Holly’s mentors, so when she decided to begin competing, selecting her crew members was an easy decision.

“I lost my dad in 2015 and he was my crew chief and it’s like I can’t not do it because I know he would be totally upset if I just stopped flying because he had passed but it just wasn’t the same and it took several years of those friends and people to make it happy again,” said Pfeifer.

Flying is still a family affair. Holly’s sister serves as her crew chief and she’s recently recruited her husband and daughters to join the team as well. With her new crew, Holly has won Nationals twice and, last year, represented the United States in the Women’s World Championships in Australia, an inspiration to all female pilots.

“In ballooning, I felt very welcomed and very encouraged by the community so it’s the one thing that breaks the rule so it’s nice to see something where nobody’s holding you back because you’re a female,” said Brodbeck.

Since the first flight in 1773, the principles of ballooning have stayed consistent, but for the pilots, it’s quite the opposite; as more women rise to occasion and take to the skies.