Flying high in hot-air balloon fulfills passion of Eastport man

How many people know that the current manager of the Eastport Municipal Airport is an adventurer who enjoys sailing over landscapes in hot-air balloons as well as airplanes? "I've lived all over the world, but I'd rather live here than anywhere else, " says balloonist Steve Trieber of his Eastport home.
The 58 year old has been piloting hot-air balloons for four decades over locations including the United States, Europe, Turkey and India. He was introduced to hot-air ballooning by a friend back in the 1970s, but before that had been piloting an airplane since age 16.
"I have an aviation bug," he points out. "And I guess you can call me a passionate balloonist. It's exciting for me."
Trieber discovered Eastport back in 2000 while on a trip to visit his father in southern Maine. "Dad wanted me to move back near him," he says, noting that he found a farm with a runway nearby. "But there are lots of tourists and bugs down there, so I started driving up the coast, and when I came to the end there was Eastport with no tourists and no bugs," he chuckles. "I put a ridiculously low offer on a house, and they accepted it."
It is probably no surprise that Trieber met his future wife Deb Nelson at an airport. Although she had been flying planes for years, she accepted when he dropped the old aviation line, "Would you like to go for a ride in my plane?"
In 2007, he was invited by Sky Waltz founder-director Samit Garg to help launch what was to be India's biggest commercial hot-air balloon tourism company. "I was going to go for two seasons and discovered I enjoyed flying in that country and go back every year. You could say I'm a passionate balloonist who's in love with India."
His most recent dream job in that country was participating in the first edition of the Taj Balloon Festival in Agra, India, last month. "They've been trying to organize that festival for many years, so it was a dream come true for many people."
Trieber calculates that he has carried "tens of thousands" of hot-air balloon passenger during his 6,000 hours of flying. "I know I'm very lucky to be able to earn a living doing what I love."
In addition to flying hot-air balloons and planes, Trieber repairs airplanes, seaplanes, gliders and helicopters. He is also a flight instructor, an aircraft inspector and the Eastport Municipal Airport manager.
Trieber and Nelson have a small two-person hot-air balloon on Moose Island, but too much wind in Washington County has limited the times they could take it up.