FOLEY, Ala. - Ellis Calvert is an active hot air balloon pilot and has been a fanatic of the activity for 20 years. The Orange Beach resident calls it a hobby, one that he started because he was "looking for something different to do."

"I went one time and got hooked ever since," Calvert said.

The 63-year-old is one of 45 pilots participating this weekend in the seventh annual Gulf Coast Hot Air Balloon Festival, an event he thinks shows the strengths of the South Baldwin Chamber of Commerce.

"I'm excited for the festival," Calvert said. "Let me tell you, the chamber does such a great job. It seems like we get more and more people out here each time."

The Foley native has participated in the festival each of the six previous years, flying his own hot air balloon called "Let's Get High!" There is no reason for the name, except Calvert liked the way it sounded.

Calvert has experience flying balloons, as he gave a detailed explanation of the process in getting a balloon off the ground and into the air to experience the unique feeling.

"It's a weather-oriented sport," Calvert said. "We look up the weather. If there is a high pressure sitting over us, it is a good time to fly."

Flights only occur early in the morning or late in the afternoon, Calvert said, due to the thermal activity in the day. The direction of the flight depends on the direction of the wind.

"Let's say the wind is coming out of the south, we go south and fly back north," he said, noting a separate "pilot information balloon" — which is a helium balloon — will be sent off and give insight to the track the balloon will take.

The next step, once the flight path is planned, is to hook up the balloon beginning with the uprights. The burner is hooked up next, and the cables from the balloon itself — which Calvert calls the envelope — hook to the upright. From there, the balloon is inflated with a big fan until it is "cold pack," where there are no wrinkles in the rip-stop nylon substance which the balloon itself is made of. The burners then turn on and the heat makes the balloon rise.

"Every pilot has their own way of doing things, but everything is basically the same," Calvert said.

A safety talk precedes the flight, Calvert said, and once the balloon is in the air, the passengers experience a completely unique feeling.

"I wouldn't do it by myself. It's all about the (expressions) of the passengers on board."

Balloons fly on propane, and "Let's Get High" has two propane tanks. Once it gets low on fuel, Calvert looks for places to land using the steerage. The wind will change the path of the balloon mid-flight, and sometimes it is hard to tell where the landing spot will be.

"We land in front yards, back yards, junk yards," he said, noting there will be a chase crew to follow the balloon so they can pack it up once it lands, and the crew is tasked with asking permission of the home owners to land the balloon on their property.

"I'd say 99 percent of the people don't care; 99 percent of the people love it. There's always that one percent of the population."

Calvert grins when he talks about first-time flyers and the special "ceremony" once the flight ends.

"I can't tell you," he said when asked what the ceremony entails, noting that most pilots do some sort of ceremony.

"You can put on there that champagne is involved."

Calvert works as an Allstate Insurance Agent in Foley, but he gives hint to his hot air balloon passion with a photo in his office of his balloon flying over Perdido Pass. He said he is scared of heights and struggles to get on the roof of buildings.

But flying in a balloon? That is "a different feeling," Calvert said.

"It's a whole different world."