BRAND NEW Homemade hot air balloon (Cloud hopper)

[@TheBigBalloonFestival]

Want to know more about these small single person balloons, here at the big balloon festival we love 'em so here is a whole playlist on the subject kzbin.info/aero/PL-FtZ8D04WMMps9iFOTCBufAS1VCSay8a This is also the second homebuilt balloon of this design IN THE WORLD - the other is the resident balloon here on the big balloon festival - want to know how we made them check out our playlist on how it's made kzbin.info/aero/PL-FtZ8D04WMNwAIsVEUVmS7UKhuMqmoab

[@ginnielacy170]

What a cool hot-air balloon that is! That's awesome! I love hot-air balloons! Hot-air balloons are my favorite aircraft! They are so beautiful and colorful!

[@stevenstolfi544]

That's sick man. I personally fly on a gas powered paraglider :) can't wait to see a balloon up there

[@TheBigBalloonFestival]

Awesome - Fabric Flyers flock together :-) I'm also looking forward to a close pass from a paraglider / paramotor see you in the sky one day maybe

[@benedictcumberbatch4275]

Don’t run into one 😆

[@bryandijkstrayt]

i love hot air balloons

[@elosogonzalez8739]

Calm day. Question: Why not use one long blast of the burner to inflate the envelope upright? I could understand short blasts if conditions were less than perfect. As long as it gets up without burning it is all that matters. Curious. Cheers! From 🇺🇸

[@TheBigBalloonFestival]

Its all down to personal taste, for me I try to double the length of each burn as the balloon stands up, (but it doesn't always work out that way) others just open the valve and blast away :-) It does affect how hard the person on the crown line has to work, trying to hold the top of the balloon down / stable, pile in lots of heat and you can find your crown guy being dragged across wet grass on their bum #waystomakefriends LOL

[@CS-tj3nf]

@@TheBigBalloonFestival 😂

[@objectnico2971]

I olways want a cloud hopper

[@GabeKing-u4i]

could you connect your basket to his balloon and it would still fly

[@TheBigBalloonFestival]

@@GabeKing-u4i yes they are interchangeable

[@GabeKing-u4i]

@@TheBigBalloonFestival have you ever done that it would be cool and funny

[@Rammstein45]

That's Fantastic!

[@ThomasGrillo]

That is fantastic! Thanks. :)

[@claudenicoli9601]

Very nice 👍🏻

[@TheBigBalloonFestival]

Thanks, great to see this project come to completion.

[@nickolasmathieu157]

i dont know if i could get your input on this but ive always wondered if an electric heater of some sort could replace propane burners.

[@TheBigBalloonFestival]

Hmm is a good discussion and I think one the future will hold for balloons, what full do we see in the future. If hydrogen becomes a readily available resource (at fuel ⛽️ stations for example) as for electricity I think the speed of operation - how quickly you can raise the internal temperature and how much a battery weighs are the key issue. But I (and the community) are open to 💡 ideas. Question to you?. Does a battery contain enough energy to produce enough heat to lift its own weight? I don't know?

[@nickolasmathieu157]

@@TheBigBalloonFestival batteries are getting smaller and more powerful, im not too worried about the power required. but im not too sure if electric heaters would be able to lift a hopper off the ground

[@nickolasmathieu157]

but if this worked, we could have fully electric and eco friendly (wallet friendly too) balloons. solar panels could be used for charging the batteries as the heater heats up the air in the envelope, increasing the total range significantly.

[@TheBigBalloonFestival]

@@nickolasmathieu157 have a look for solar balloons on the Internet there have been some good experiments with using dark fabric to soak up solar rays and fly longer / more efficiently. You have got me thinking about using one of my model balloon envelopes and some kind of electric heater, probably bring the envelope up to flying temp the usual way then see if the electric heater can lift its self and a battery pack?

[@nickolasmathieu157]

@@TheBigBalloonFestivali havent seen much online about electric balloons so if you managed that, i think it would be a first! (this is getting me excited about eventually getting a cloud hopper haha!) but i think you're right, solar balloons could be our first fully electric manned balloons!

[@CS-tj3nf]

Brilliant! Any balloony type events going on?

[@TheBigBalloonFestival]

Yes been to a few over the summer (videos to come) and there are a couple more before the autumn makes it more difficult to find good weather. Hoping for a good gathering at the homebuilders meet followed by an inflation day for some old retired envelope.

[@AlpineWarren]

What is the little skirt off the bottom of the balloon for?

[@TheBigBalloonFestival]

This is known as the scoop and is designed to catch any passing breeze when the balloon is on the ground and force it up into the envelope helping it pressurise. It also prevents the wind blowing heat from the burner away down wind and not up into the balloon (when on the ground) when flying it serves no purpose. Hope that helps

[@AlpineWarren]

@@TheBigBalloonFestival thanks!

[@wompstopm123]

nobody ever burns the strings with the flame thrower part right?

[@TheBigBalloonFestival]

Great question the section between the burner and the mouth of the balloon 'the flying wires' are mostly steal cables (exclusively so here in the uk) or (and more common in the u.s.) kevlar rope which is non flammable so a lick of flame does no harm. It's still not advisable to blast away at them as that does cause damage and will need wires to be replaced.

[@mrshmister173]

what are the regulations on diy balloons where you're from

[@TheBigBalloonFestival]

The rules have been very simple to date. You register your balloon pay the caa fee and build what you like. However more regulation is coming as the homebuild community grows. Soon there will be a size and occupancy limit around 4 people and 100kft limits on size. When you build and fly your own you carry the risk so logic says make it super safe :-)

[@sengwesetogile6054]

@@TheBigBalloonFestival what mat3 and how much did it cost

[@TheBigBalloonFestival]

@@sengwesetogile6054 this is polyurethane (pu) coated ripstop nylon. That was sold off as 'second grade quality' at £3.25 per 1.5m×1m of length. Hope that helps

[@MrMysterious31]

Hi, where can we get it? is it available in online? please share the link if yes..

[@TheBigBalloonFestival]

Hi, no plans available on the internet for this balloon at the moment, this is the second of 3 prototypes, the third currently part built, more news on that once it's completed - good to hear that people might be interested in building a copy

[@markifi]

ever tried slowly towing it above/behind a motorcycle?

[@TheBigBalloonFestival]

Not a motorcycle nope, but very slowly by a car going backwards, its quite tricky if you get the momentum going and the car stops you can end up on the bonnet / hood (said the voice of experience 😀)

[@gormauslander]

I wonder why they don't make these black to generate heat from the sun

[@TheBigBalloonFestival]

Very valid question, and something which has been experimented with on and off over the last 50 or so years of modern hot air balloons (my own balloon has a dark side in the hope of getting some solar gain) I have flown in black topped balloons and it can make landing a little interesting if the sun pops out just as you trying to touch down, so it suggest a little advantage maybe gained in normal flight, but it's hard to pin down just how much - I think we might see more of it in the future

[@gormauslander]

@@TheBigBalloonFestival I would think a little more precision in controlling the vents would make it easier to counter any excess buoyancy generated. But you are in England, no? Hard to get solid sunlight there.

[@wompstopm123]

you need a gas powered fan to get it started? might as well mount the gas powered fan on your back and turn it into a paramotor.

[@TheBigBalloonFestival]

He he that sounds like great fun, I'd probably find myself going round and round in circles trying to figure out how to switch it off 😆

[@crashbandicootmsa999]

Homemade ?

[@TheBigBalloonFestival]

Yes isnt it impressive. We cut the fabric for this one in the pilots front room (on the floor) and then he has been practicing sewing and learning to build it in his office space in his spare time. Quite a challenge.

[@sengwesetogile6054]

@@TheBigBalloonFestival what material did you use?and how much did it cost?

[@sengwesetogile6054]

Impressive...if i was a north korea, this is how i would escape lol

[@RustyShakleford1]

@@sengwesetogile6054 good question!

[@Saq3ah]

very nice, hey from Saudi arabia 🇸🇦🔥🫶🏾

[@Grimmtee]

what if the propane exploded

[@TheBigBalloonFestival]

Oof straight in there with the difficult question, we work very hard to keep a good safety record, managing and maintaining our equipment to prevent such a scenario, this is however one of the risk of the sport, thankfully fuel explosions are rare but can be catastrophic.

[@ValCronin]

He didn't make the main part--the balloon--correct? He made everything else just about?

[@TheBigBalloonFestival]

The burner and the tank are the only bits you can buy off the shelf in this balloon, everything else is amateur built, the fabric bit he sewed in his house / spare room / office, quite a squeeze