One of the youngest pilots in the country when he gained his licence aged 19 last year, Chris has clocked up about 50 hours of flying time, spending much of it in the skies above the town and surrounding villages.

He first caught the bug back in 2002 when his mum won a balloon flight in a competition at the Northampton Balloon Festival.

“We turned up and they said I could have a flight too,” he said.

“That made it extra special as I had no idea that I would be flying. It was an excellent surprise.”

Convinced the sport was for him, Chris began crewing with various Leicestershire-based pilots as soon as he was 16, helping to rig up balloons ready for flight, then chasing across the countryside to where they landed to pack them up and take the passengers back to the launch site.

However by April 2007, aged just 18, Chris felt he was ready to make the step up to pilot and set about racking up the 16 hours of flying time required to take the exams.

He bought his balloon secondhand two years ago for about £6,000.

Next came tests in aviation law, navigation skills, meteorology, balloon systems and human performance before an examination flight with a Civil Aviation Authority examiner ahead of his first solo flight in June last year.

After qualifying as a pilot, the rest of 2008 saw Chris attend a number of ballooning events across the country, including The Bristol Balloon Fiesta, Husbands Bosworth Balloon Grand Prix, The Northampton Balloon Festival and a Grass Roots event in Sackville, Bedford.

His dream is to fly across the Alps, but in the meantime he is more than happy to take in the sights of Harborough from 7,500 feet.

“We’ve got launch sites in East Farndon, Marston Trussell and Husbands Bosworth. I love flying over the area. It’s such a large rural area so you get some fantastic views,” he said. “I love the way you can go along to the launch site, take off, and leave everything else on the ground.

“In essence, you’ve got the whole world to look at.

“Even now, after flying as long as I have, it’s still a thrill. When you’re taking people up who’ve never flown before and you see the expression on their face – it’s great to see.”

His website – www.lotsofhotair.co.uk – was originally developed to display ballooning photos but he now uses it to offer firms advertising on the side of the balloons he pilots.

Chris, from Northampton, works in the marketing department of AM Labels in Kettering but his dream is to get a commercial pilot’s licence to take people on pleasure flights.

He is also on the lookout for extra ground crew to help him out, in return for balloon flights. Visit his website or email chris.freeman@lotsofhotair.co.uk if you are interested.