Join the Mile High Club...

[lukewiens]

I thought this was so outrageous I had to share it. Sometimes when I get to the winery in the morning this things are hovering right above the building.

From PE.com

Things can get hot and heavy in Dominic Chemello's hot-air balloon, even without a burner.

Chemello's company is one of at least two giving couples the chance to join the "Mile High Club" while soaring over Temecula Valley Wine Country.

The term isn't a reference to how high the balloon flies -- club members are people who have had sex while airborne. Usually, lovers join the club in airplanes, the lavatory being a popular spot.

In 19 years, Chemello estimates, he has hosted about 40 Mile High balloon flights. Technically, people who join the club are supposed to be at least 5,280 feet up, but Chemello acknowledged that because of wind patterns, most of his flights don't really go a mile high. Still, after each flight, he gives new club members Mile High lapel pins and certificates with balloons and bunnies on them.

Chemello, a 32-year balloon pilot, said he started offering the flights, for either married or unmarried couples, as a novelty.
Mile High flights are just a fraction of Chemello's business at D&D Ballooning in wine country. The former Federal Aviation Administration safety inspector said he has done more than 1,600 flights.

He charges $1,000 for Mile High flights. For more conventional rides, D&D's rates begin at $150 per person. Other special flights include marriage proposals and weddings.

In the Air
Like many balloon rides, Mile High flights typically launch in the early morning, when calm winds make ballooning easier. Before the flight, Chemello assembles a dome tent and puts it in the balloon basket.

Couples are responsible for bringing their own tent bedding. Chemello provides a radio/CD player. Couples often bring their own CDs -- "usually romantic or jazzy, peppy songs" -- for the flight, he said.

After liftoff, Chemello said, the couples enjoy the view for about 10 minutes. Then, he said, they enter the tent and "do what they came there to do ... There's always a lot of giggling."

Chemello is standing right next to the tent the whole time but does not wear earplugs.

"For me, it doesn't bother me at all," said Chemello, an ordained minister. "I'm just their pilot."

Most couples are between 30 and 50 years old -- and it is always the women who call to schedule flights, Chemello said.

He added that often "the guy has no idea what's going on until he gets out there."

Other Balloon Operators
Magical Adventures, of Temecula, has conducted Mile High flights since 2004. Owner Denni Barrett said he does one every four to six weeks.

Barrett's company also uses a privacy tent. Between the radio, the balloon burner and his earplugs, Barrett said he does not hear his clients.

"It's not even in our mind," he said. "We're so focused on flying the aircraft."

Like D&D, Magical Adventures charges $1,000 for Mile High flights. The flights last 60 to 75 minutes and include a champagne toast, flight certificate and breakfast at a winery, according to Magical Adventures' Web site.

At The Press-Enterprise's request, Chemello and Barrett asked former Mile High clients if they were willing to talk about the flights. None wanted to, they said.

Not every Temecula balloon company seeks Mile High clientele.

"We just don't think it's proper," said Thomas Brundage, owner of SoCal Hot Air Balloon Tours. "We're a family sport. We like to keep it toned down some."

92-Year History
According to a Mile High Club Web site, the club's "founding member" was aeronautical inventor Lawrence Sperry.

In November 1916, Sperry and a New York socialite were enjoying each other's company in a flying boat over Babylon, N.Y., when, "Suddenly something went wrong, and the plane plunged 500 feet into great South Bay," reads a passage on the site.

"Two duck hunters paddled to the wreck and rescued, much to their amazement, the naked couple. Apparently Sperry stated the crash 'divested' them of their clothing."

The site sells Mile High Club apparel and has links to companies offering special Mile High flights nationwide. It also has explicit stories and pictures detailing how people joined the club.

Chemello and Barrett said they plan to continue offering Mile High flights, along with more conventional balloon rides.

"I like the adventure of ballooning," Chemello said. "If you don't like change, if you don't like adventure, you don't want to balloon."

Video: (Safe) http://www.pe.com/video/index.html?nvid=261111

[DirtymikeTDB]

Sooooo he is charging people to Voyuer them!!!!! Only in America I say..... What freedom, Usually you have to pay to listen to someone pound there lady right next to you

[Wrecker]

I envy the person who states, "sometimes when I get to the winery in the morning..."

I need to get back out to Temecula and finish my wine glass collection, at the very least

[davidB]

asked the girlfriend.



she said no.

[Blue Rat]

Originally Posted by lukewiens

I thought this was so outrageous I had to share it. Sometimes when I get to the winery in the morning this things are hovering right above the building.

Maybe you should consider carrying an umbrella or at least wearing a raincoat.