Balloon Blogging Experiment #2... Oh, the humanity! (Pics and Video)

[Ian David]

My first experiments in Balloon Blogging met with mixed results.

Well, actually, what they met with was a tree.

Yesterday, my daughter and I flew our first anti-Bush balloon in the back yard.

The rig I designed to carry the sign was too heavy, and it was only stable up to about 25-30 feet.

Any higher than that, and it was dipping and diving all over the place.

But 25 feet gives extraordinary visibility from pretty far away. The photo below was from yesterday's experiment:



Today's experiment (also in my back yard) was much more successful. I used a much lighter rig, which allowed me to use even larger letters. The balloon was stable to well over fifty feet, despite the fact that there must have been some helium leakage overnight.

The two problems with today's experiment were:

1) Too many trees nearby proved to be my undoing.
2) The rig wasn't rigid enough for the wind conditions. The sign kept folding in on itself, especially after the frame was creased by a couple tree collisions.

Here is a photo of the finished product from today's experiment:


Procedures:

1) Purchase 36" Party Balloon from iParty for about $10.00. Be sure to ask them to use the extra chemical that makes the balloon last longer.

2) Purchase 80lb Test Mono-filament fishing line for about $3.00. Yes, I know that 80lb Test is probably overkill for tethering a balloon. But I purchased it with the "Nightmare Scenario" in my mind: my balloon caught in a tree with a cop yelling at me to "get that damn thing out of here OR ELSE!" I wanted something that would be strong enough to yank my rig out of a tree.

3) Cut a 22" long by about 1" long strip of poster board. Fold it like a long table-tent.

4) Poke a hole in the middle.

5) Thread some balloon ribbon through the hole. Tie a knot. Tape the ribbon in place inside the "tent".



6) Hang the frame from a doorknob to test for balance. If one side is too heavy, trim some material off the bottom with a pair of scissors, until it hangs evenly like this:



7) I made this sign with a Sharpie Magnum magic marker and a giant roll of white paper from Office Depot. The paper costs about $7.00 for a roll that's 50 feet long and two feet wide. The letters on this sign are about 8" tall.



8) Fold the sign in half. Trim top edge as necessary.

9) Insert the sign into the "table tent" frame. Tape the frame onto the sign on both sides. You may want to add additional stiffening material at this stage-- for example, a length of wire coat hanger or balsa wood or plastic.

10) Hang rig from doorknob and test for balance. Trim excess material until rig balances.



11) Tie rig to large helium balloon.



12) Watch it FLY! Once you stop paying out line, it tends to stabilize more and doesn't sway around s much. See this short Video Clip:
http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v653/ian02302/Balloon%20Blogging/?action=view¤t=0921061201.flv

Too much wind and too many trees are bad.

Now that I know I have a working rig, I'm going to take this out someplace with more people and less trees.

By the way, they sell much larger balloons than this one. They also sell shiny Mylar balloons. Plain white balloons you can write stuff on. All kinds of stuff. The balloons can last for several days if you get the sealant chemical added to the inside when they inflate it.

I opted for the 36" inch balloon because anything bigger wouldn't have fit in my car.

Anyone care to join me to do this alongside a highway during rush hour?

[bigbrother05]

1. Great idea

[unhappycamper]

2. That is most excellent work.

Two suggestions:

1. Make sure you send a pic & the video to the freewayblogger. I haven't seen any balloon blogging yet - you may have started a trend!!!

2. If you've got a bit of a breeze, how about changing the payload to a sheet & fly it like a flag under the balloon?

k&r


on edit to add: k&r

[Ian David]

6. I already contacted FreewayBlogger for advice beforehand

He's the one who suggested stabilizing the rig with wire.

I updated him and sent him a link to the blog.

There are places where you can blog by balloon to get your sign seen where you would otherwise be forced to remain invisible.

I suggested, during the Republican National Convention, using this method to blog along the highway in Long Island that goes past the park that's always full of kites.

Speaking of kites...

I think this would make a good kite...



I'm thinking of just hanging one of these under a balloon, or turning it into a kite.

[Realityhack]

14. Turn it into a kite and then...

hang a Bush Lied banner from the kite string.

[Realityhack]

15. FYI.

I think you are talking about Pope John Paul Park. Even on saturday or sunday a good kite can cause the traffic to come to a standstill to watch. You don't have to stick to only rush-hour.

[maddezmom]

3. nice work

K&R

[intaglio]

4. Check a surplus store for weather balloons

they're a lot larger so your payload is better

http://www.hoobly.com/0/0/279830.html

http://www.balloonlovers.com/home.cfm?dir_cat=29891

edited to add links

[Ian David]

7. I'm thinking it would be cheaper to maybe add more smaller balloons

Also, unless I want to invest in a Helium tank, I'll never fit anything larger than 36" into my car.

I was thinking of maybe two 36" balloons, or a 36" and a couple "party sized" balloons.

If I used two 36" balloons, I could fly a banner between them.

Next week, I'll have time to experiment more.

[Realityhack]

13. You may be able to rent a small helium tank...

Propane tank sized. I have no idea of the cost though.

A Rokkaku (single line kite) would work on a windy day.

[Ian David]

8. A 3' balloon can lift 9.5 oz. and fly for 5-7 days.

Although it looks like they also make heavy-duty reusable latex balloons, which I'd never heard of:

<snip>

Many people are familar with weather balloons, used to lift meteorologic instruments into the atmosphere. Such balloons are designed to expand and burst upon reaching a specified altitude (air pressure); the instrument package then parachutes down to the ground. This type of balloon is risky for aerial photography, as premature breaks may occur. In balloon aerial photography, the balloon is normally tethered to the ground, and recovery is a simple matter of pulling the tether line down. Heavy-duty latex balloons are better suited in this application, as they are more durable (reuseable) and less likely to burst.

It is common practice to inflate latex balloons to a size somewhat less than the stated full diameter. While this reduces the balloon's lifting capacity, it also reduces the likelihood of balloon failure. For example, a 4-foot diameter latex balloon filled to 3½ feet diameter can lift one pound (0.45 kg) under nominal conditions--see table below. Rather than using one large balloon to lift a camera rig, several smaller balloons can be utilized to minimize the risk of balloon failure.

Helium requirements for large latex balloons (in English units).
Data obtained from Qualatex Balloons.

http://academic.emporia.edu/aberjame/airphoto/platform/balloon.htm

[pinto]

5. Creative idea.

:thumbsup:

[Ian David]

9. Here's a video clip from yesterday's Experiment #1

http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v653/ian02302/Balloon%20Blogging/?action=view¤t=0920061654.flv

[-..__...]

10. For night missions...

Get some luminescent paint; the type that reacts to light and write your message. Bombard it with a high wattage light for several hours and the message should be visible for at least an hour or two (maybe even longer).

Or...

Get some Cyalume sticks (IParty should have them), activate the chemicals, break the stick open and use that to print your message.

[winchou]

11. possible fixes for folding-flapping ...

How about hanging the sign from two lines from the balloon -- like you would hang a picture on a wall over a nail. Also, a tail like a kite -- or possible two (one from each corner?). I would think" less flapping, sign stays level and visible -- at the possible risk of further tree-entaglement. And you might be able to better adjust the lift (balloon) vs dead-load (tails) to "neutralize" the bouyancy, and keep the sign floating at a fairly consistent level. Just some thoughts.

[Realityhack]

12. PJP park would be perfect for this.

But I am thinking Deval signs might be nice.

You might consider picking up some kite spars to keep the sign from folding.