Head Full of Air » balloons

1st Transcontinental & 1st Trans-Atlantic Balloon Overflight- California Near Space

Mathew — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 04:18:21 +0000

I’m not up on my balloon news! posted here for the purpose of completeness. California Near Space was already slashdotted four days ago.

Amazing, they beat the White Star team and Robert Rochte, who threwdown on transatlantic ballooning earlier in the year with his SDG-10, which appears to still be grounded.

White Star’s not working with off the shelf balloons though– they’ve got a bigger goal: DIY tropospheric superpressure balloons. these will be capable of multi-week flights, if successfully built. Dan Bowen’s talk– Jump to 3:30 into this talk, and see the superpressure tetroon discussion. 5:40, discussion of Rochte’s designs.

Amateur Radio Throwdown: Planetary Circumnavigation by Balloon

Mathew — Sat, 02 Apr 2011 22:54:34 +0000

Mark the date, March 24, 2011- Robert Rochte throws in his hat for circumnavigation of the globe by an autonomous balloon on the Balloon_Sked mailing list. I’ve covered Rochte’s superpressure balloons here before. In this message, he’s referring to the White Star Balloon’s ongoing attempt at crossing the atlantic, a feat which Rochte has been pursuing as well.

Well, I was going to sneak-launch a competing superpressure balloon

this morning, but alas, the universe had other plans for me today.

If WSB make it across – which I expect they will – then our next great

challenge should be circumnavigation of the planet. I’m officially

throwing my hat in for that one right now!

Best of luck with the flight, guys!

73,

Robert

KC8UCH

Reed Arts Week

Mathew — Mon, 07 Mar 2011 04:24:06 +0000

The talk and workshop went great. I was too busy to photograph the flights, but will get photos soon. Su Liu came up with a great double-layer heat seaming strategy for her tetrahedron balloon- it was fast and quick:

Reed Arts Week, RAW: Geographies

Mathew — Mon, 28 Feb 2011 04:05:41 +0000

I’m proud to be participating in Reed’s Art Week. I’ll be giving a lecture and demonstration of aerospace in the arts and Grassroots Mapping tools on Saturday, March 5 @ Noon. ~~Location is still TBA~~. At the Gray Campus Center room C. There will be complementary supplies and instructions for building your own solar hot air balloon.

Essentially this kit, minus the expensive stuff (wind speed meter, infrared thermometer).

Come for balloons, stay for Francis Alÿs

At 4pm Saturday there will be a showing of Francis Alÿs’s When Faith Moves Mountains, and other works. Of course, you could watch his work on your computer, but get out and enjoy the cinema!
Francis Alÿs, “When Faith Moves Mountains” (2002). from Daily Serving on Vimeo.

Kite Balloon Development @ PLOTS

Mathew — Mon, 28 Feb 2011 03:55:56 +0000

Follow the kite balloon working page over at the Public Laboratory for Open Technology and Science. There’s a lot of research in there that I’ve only now gotten on the web.

Cesar Harada’s GRM balloon kit instructions

Mathew — Wed, 20 Oct 2010 10:06:08 +0000

These are the best basic balloon kit instructions, beautiful. Check out the awesome maps he got with Bonny and other grassroots mapping folks.

kite balloon futures and histories

Mathew — Wed, 20 Oct 2010 09:51:39 +0000

To follow on my love of kite balloons, and the kite balloon action at the grassroots mapping list. here are a few awesome kite balloon histories.

No-tech magazine, Airships Past and Present, 1908. Look especially for details on Parseval and Sigsfeld, drachenballoon developers. There is an inflatable airship designed for logging. then in Belgium, horse-borne air war. In america, an early aircraft carrier with a balloon dome. Glamor shots reveal a counterweight in the rigging. The priapism of war.

October 25, Natalie Jeremijenko in Portland, OR

Mathew — Fri, 01 Oct 2010 06:38:20 +0000

IT’S FREE

http://www.pdx.edu/art/mfa-lecture-series

Grand Detour and Research Club on Kickstarter

Mathew — Thu, 30 Sep 2010 17:02:52 +0000

Two organizations in Portland that I love! WOah, and I’m in the video. one thing- it says my balloons are in the gulf taking pictures. My balloons aren’t in the gulf, just my folding guides and plastics research. The balloons are collaborative. Most of the gulf folks are using Southern Balloon Works balloons, but we have good diy kits too.

Research Club || Grand Detour

kite balloon construction ideas with boston folks

Mathew — Sat, 25 Sep 2010 03:08:32 +0000

Sketch of an elliptical kite balloon like the Allsopp Helikite constructed with a rolling heat sealer (on left).

Jeffrey Warren and I discussed these kite balloon designs when I was at his studio. Southern Balloon Works, where a lot of spherical Grassroots Mapping balloons come from, makes a similar kite balloon with a drag rather than lift structure for stability. John Borden of Peace River Sudios loaned me the roller sealer. I showed Jeffrey, he found one for sale at retail, and Dan Beavers found an online store that sells roller sealers.