I think you have to actually ramp it. Like drive it up a cliff and fly through the air and land without crashing. I have ATV airtime 2 so I don't think it's bugged. I never used balloons or anything weird like that either.
You're right! I drove the ATV off the back of the wind turbine with a decent ammount of balloons and managed to get Airtime IV.
Thanks, I was going insane for a while.