|
"Justin" |
Archangel |
| Justin Ray Hodge |
|
"Justin" |
Archangel |
| Justin was born in Capitan, New Mexico on September 7, 1982. He spent the first five years of his life in Smokey Bear's hometown. He then moved to Los Lunas, New Mexico where he currently resides. He attended Capitan Consolidated School, Los Lunas Elementary, Ann Parrish Elementary, Monzano Vista Middle School and Los Lunas High school. He has received an outstanding citizen award, which recognized his helping with charities in Los Lunas. He also was given the "Best Offensive Player" for the Los Lunas Tigers football team. He also has received other academic awards. |
| Justin was first introduced to ballooning at the 1988 Jingle Bells Balloon Rally when Jimmy Reeves invited his Dad Ray and his brother Jacob out to crew for Sam Baxter. He has been crewing ever since. In November 1997, his dad bought him an Adams paravent top balloon. He has named the balloon archangel. Jeff Stocker has been Justin's instructor. Justin obtained his Private Pilot license on October 17, 1998 and begins what promises to be a rewarding ballooning career. He currently has 30 hours of instructional and competitive flight time. |
| Justin showed what he is made of, by winning the 1999 Mesilla Valley Balloon Rally championship. He beat out over 200 pilots in pocketing the $500 first place check. He continues to impress with his flying skills by coming in 5th at the inaugural 1999 Rio Grande Balloon Classic in Albuquerque. A top five finish out of over 100 pilots continues to showcase Justin's flying ability. |
| Justin's crew include: |
| Nick Colangelo, Crew Chief | James Krook | Jessica Dayton |
| Lila Dayton | Nicki Dimmitt | � |
| Justin's personal data include: |
| Aeronautical Licenses: Private Pilot License. |
| Day Job: Full time student at Los Lunas High School. |
| Hobbies: Hot Air Ballooning, Football, Fishing and weight lifting. |
| Motto: Take life day by day. |
| Best ballooning experience: Justin won the championship of the 1999 Mesilla Valley Balloon Rally in Las Cruces, New Mexico. It was worth the $500.00 top prize. Not only did Justin drop his baggie the closest to the "X", he was the only pilot, out of 79 entered, to reach the target area. Pretty impressive for this young man, who reportedly got his pilot's license before his driver's license. |
| You may contact Justin with any ballooning question at: |
 e-mail address: RuberDuch@aol.com |
Click on a pilot's picture to go to that page
Copyright� 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002. Except for educational entities, no reproduction without written permission of The Adams Family Hot Air Balloon Teams is allowed.
