man pilots lawnchair + balloons across Oregon

[octavius]

I hope he posts a video of his trip on youtube.

 

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2003781771_weblawnchair09.html

 

 

[lancegranite]

Best thread all hour!

[RogerJ]

Th elittle local pizza place had a party the other day and sent a manaquin up outfitted like Walters.

 

I watched it rise maybe to 9 or 10K, then hang and move towards the airport. I lost interest shortly thereafter.

 

I wondered what would happen if the wind knocked something loose and it fell from that height.

 

-r

[TREETOAD]

It would definitely fall,,, definitely.

[ScaredSilly]

Unfortunately, when he landed he did not tie off the chair so it went back up along with his video camera. It is probably in Montana.

[EWolfe]

WHEN ARE YOU GOING TO PICK UP YOUR TRASH, KEN? WHEN?

[catbirdseat]

I wonder how it was he used up so much ballast? It may be those balloons leak a lot of helium. I'd want to have more than 8 lbs of ballast in reserve for the landing. I assume he used the GPS as an "altimeter". That would be the most important gadget to have. You need to know the rate at which you are rising or falling, which could be difficult to discern other than a small sensation of wind.

[archenemy]

There is something fascinating about science. One gets such wholesale returns of conjecture out of such a trifling investment of fact.

[ketch]

In real CBS fashion here's your answer CBS .

 

Helium transits the membrane of the balloon by osmosis. Two significant factors are that helium is highly active the higher he got along with the increased UV the faster the helium transits. Also the surface area Gives more membrane available which speeds up the process.

 

In the "balloneering" sculptures I have worked on the way we control it is to use 5' and 8' balloons so as to get more gas with less surface area. Of course a "Real Ballooneer" just wears a chute harness and doesn't have a chair to kick back on. I'm told it's a little uncomfortable to have a few hundred pounds of ballast hanging from your harness while you have the balloons lifting from the other side.

[archenemy]

and people say coding is boring...

[TREETOAD]

Did you know that Oregon was bombed during the second world war by balloons floated over the Pacific from Japan.

Edited July 12, 2007 by TREETOAD

[olyclimber]

as well as an attack by a plane launched from a sub that dropped a couple of bombs to start forest fires

[kevbone]

Did you know that Oregon was bombed during the second world war by balloons floated over the Pacific from Japan.

 

Is that true? Wow!

[archenemy]

as well as an attack by a plane launched from a sub that dropped a couple of bombs to start forest fires

And survived a terrorist food attack by the bogwan whateverhisnameis

[RogerJ]

as well as an attack by a plane launched from a sub that dropped a couple of bombs to start forest fires

 

We deployed several undercover eco-terrorists to disarm the sub after that.

 

-r

[sk]

as well as an attack by a plane launched from a sub that dropped a couple of bombs to start forest fires

And survived a terrorist food attack by the bogwan whateverhisnameis

 

the bagwan shie rashniesh?

[cj001f]

as well as an attack by a plane launched from a sub that dropped a couple of bombs to start forest fires

And survived a terrorist food attack by the bogwan whateverhisnameis

 

the bagwan shie rashniesh?

 

I want a rainbow rolls-royce!

[RogerJ]

Here you go...well sort of