Transcriber: Crystal Ye Reviewer: Pei Fang Ng
The reporters, they never asked me the right questions.
(Laughter)
They would always ask,
"Are you scared?" or "Are you nervous?"
Well, of course, I wasn't scared.
I was well prepared and trained for this moment.
The thing I was afraid of the most
was the reporters themselves.
(Laughter)
My first hot air balloon solo was while they were all there.
And I couldn't exactly figure out
why it was such a big deal to them.
I mean, I guess it was because
I was just nine years old.
I was born in 2002, here, in Albuquerque, New Mexico,
the ballooning capital in the world.
Annually, Albuquerque hosts the largest ballooning event of the world
with 600 balloons in the air at one time.
Both my parents were, and still are, balloon pilots,
along with my great grandfather,
and two of my grandparents.
I took my first flight at 11 months old.
As a passenger, of course.
(Laughter)
And at first, I was terrified to the propane burners.
They produced 15 million BTUs per hour,
and a lot of noise.
In comparison, your home furnaces probably produce around
100,000 BTUs per hour.
I mean, seriously, who would't be afraid?
They were loud metal things that spewed fire into the sky.
Scary, right?
Well, this didn't last too long,
because at the age of four,
my father let me use the burner
while we were on the ground.
This sparked my interest for the amazing sport.
My dad wasn't just any balloon pilot.
He had nearly 60 world records,
and over 5,000 hours in countless different balloons.
Because of this,
traveling around the world to fly
was pretty normal to us.
It was in Turkey, at the age of seven,
while we were visiting my father,
that I began to think about flying alone in the balloon.
We thought about it a lot, and not too long after,
we pondered the idea of me flying solo,
before I was at the minimum solo age,
in a standard balloon, of 14 years old.
We looked into how we could make this possible,
and we found out that if the balloon is under 155 pounds,
it is considered as an ultralight vehicle.
This means that anyone can fly it,
no matter what age or experience level they are at.
(Laughter)
With helps of a lot of friends and family,
we designed and began to build
my own ultralight hot air balloon.
We started by cutting the fabric in the panels.
Next, we had to tie-dye the balloon.
We wanted my balloon to be original and unique,
so tie-dying it was the best way to go.
Finally, we sewed the balloon.
This whole process involved a lot of people.
Eventually, the media got involved.
It started with Associated Press.
And after that, it basically went worldwide.
There were articles, news reports,
and plenty of interviews.
And I hadn't even done anything yet.
(Laughter)
Well, finally, after all that hard work,
we built a 32,000 cubic foot balloon,
about a third of the size of a normal balloon.
I had to practice for the big flight,
so with a lot of help from my dad,
we sat on my basket in the backyard,
and we worked on emergency procedures,
such as, what to do in the case of a fire,
or how to turn off the fuel
at the end of the flight.
Not only that, I also did some tethers with my balloon.
A tether is when the balloon is tied up to the ground
so you can practice landings.
Not only that, but I had about four times
the amount of instructional hours of a normal student prior to solo.
(Laughter)
"You can't do this."
"Are you insane?"
"Are you sure your parents are letting you do this?"
That's what I would always hear.
And no matter how many people tell you that you can't do it,
don't listen to them.
Finally, after all that planning, practice and persistence,
I was ready to solo.
Two and a half years, and two inches ago,
on the morning of June 4th, 2011,
I soloed my hot air balloon, in this basket.
And a few answers to commonly-asked questions:
I flew for 26 minutes, just off of Albuquerque.
I went for about a mile,
and to a maximum of 1,000 feet above ground.
From there, my dad's truck looked like a toy car.
I flew with three other balloons in the air, and plenty of chase crew.
It was a beautiful morning,
and it was extremely exciting to be in the air all on my own.
And yes, I was alone.
Though I didn't want to land just yet,
my parents had other ideas.
So, I safely piloted my balloon
back down to the earth on the road.
I was known as the youngest person
to ever solo in a hot air balloon.
After the landing, we had a large celebration
with cake, cider and silly string.
(Laughter)
There were friends and family there to see me.
And it was one of the best times of my life.
All in all, when you have an idea that seems fun,
but people tell you it's crazy,
find the people that can help you,
and do it anyway,
because you never know where it might take you.
Just this one flight has led me
to Mexico twice for balloon festivals,
California for a game show on Nickelodeon.
(Laughter)
And here, on the TEDxABQ stage.
Now, even my dad's records are in sight.
(Laughter)
So, even if those reporters or anyone
are asking you the wrong questions,
go prove them wrong.
And do what you want to do,
no matter how old you are.
Use the planning, practice and persistance
that got me where I am today,
because you never know where it might take you.
(Applause)