Twenty-one-year-old Delia Dorey is the youngest female hot air balloon pilot in Canada, but she didn’t always see that for herself. Dorey grew up in a town famous for its annual balloon festival, and, this year, she’ll be flying in it.
Sussex’s Delia Dorey will take off in the Atlantic Balloon Fiesta for the first time
Abby Russchen · CBC News
· Posted: Sep 11, 2026 5:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 2 hours ago
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Delia Dorey would attend the festival every year, but now she’s at the centre of the celebrations. (Abby Russchen/CBC)
Delia Dorey grew up watching hot air balloons in Sussex, home to the Atlantic Balloon Fiesta, but never imagined she would be flying them — much less being the youngest female pilot in Canada at 21.
It took joining her friend on a flight two years ago to realize that watching them wasn’t enough.
“It was just so stunning that it’s hard to not want to do it,” Dorey said. “But I’d never thought about becoming a pilot until I had my first flight.”
One flight set her on a path to being fully licensed at 19,
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