Albuquerque, NM (KKOB) — 66 year old Scott Appelman, the founder and president of Rainbow Ryders, died in Phoenix of a heart attack on this/Thursday morning. Appelman had started his hot air balloon company with just one two-passenger balloon operating out of a garage. Four decades later, that same company is now the official balloon ride operator for Albuquerque’s biggest ballooning event. He is survived by his wife, Heather Hopkins Appelman.
