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John Kugler John Kugler was born in McCook, NE on December 5, 1956.
He earned an Associate of Arts from McCook Community College in 1977 and went
on to earn his BSBA from the University of Denver in 1980. John returned to his hometown to assist in the
management of the family business, Kugler Company. He is now Marketing
President with responsibilities of marketing functions in a five state area. Kugler fell in love with hot air ballooning in 1978. He
was first exposed to ballooning by a fellow worker who had a son who flew
balloons and as Kugler says "the rest is history...". Since then
his ballooning has taken him across Northern America and around the world
with Steve Fossett on numerous occasions. He was a member of the Balloon
Federation of America Gas Division from 1991 to 2006. John has trained numerous pilots (including adventurer
Steve Fossett) in the fundamentals of gas balloons utilizing ammonia as a
lifting gas. He originally taught Fossett how to fly gas balloons and served
on his core crew performing various tasks during Fossett’s solo around the world
attempts, including Fossett’s successful flight in June 2002. Kugler’s other
accomplishments include being the leading US pilot with experience in ammonia
gas balloons; a builder of hot air and gas balloons and instructing and
signing off Steve Fossett in Free Balloons. He is a key figure in the rebirth
of gas ballooning in the United States and participed in the Virgin Global
Challenger flights. He is also participating in the support and launching of
the Celestial Eagle, a proposed Trans Pacific balloon flight that is in the
development stages. In 1999 John and co-pilot Ralph "Red" Sheese
placed 2nd after launching from Front Range Airport near Denver and landing
near Boston, logging 1,710 miles in 67 non-stop hours. This qualified them in
the 2000 International Gordon Bennett Cup in Belgium. The Coupe Aeronautique
Gordon Bennett is the most prestigious event in aviation held annually around
the world. During the 1980’s, McCook, NE was host to the McCook Balloon Blast
featuring an amazing display of hot air balloons. Kugler has been the flight
director and event organizer for the event for ten years. It continues to
grow each year, becoming one of Nebraska’s most spectacular annual free
family events. John is devoted to the advancement of knowledge in ballooning
and teaching others that show interest and are willing to learn. |
