Hydrogen balloon flight

With the famous pilots Wilhelm Eimers, winner of several Gordon Bennett trophies and Stefan Reyckaert, his student. The flight was over the German Ruhr area around Essen, starting in Gladbeck. The wind was weak and the weather only sunny above the clouds, as you can see in the film.

[@kevinstephenson3880]

As a pilot of hot air balloons, I've always wanted to fly a gas balloon. Extremely expensive in the United States, it's out of reach for most of us. Wilhelm Eimers is in my opinion the greatest gas balloon pilot in the world. Cheers Willie!

[@elosogonzalez8739]

It would make sense to me to take a European vacation complete with Gas balloon license.

[@jukio02]

How are these people not scared. Damn, I'd get so dizzy and then pass out.

[@Ihaveausernametoo]

I'm interested and curious in using hydrogen for lift. How is altitude stabilised? The traditional way by venting it? How is static electricity addressed in a situation like this? Thanks!

[@jaxonmattox9267]

Altitude is stabilized with the ballast, which is sand in this case, they scoop it and throw it overboard as needed to make the balloon lighter. The balloon is neutrally buoyant, so it doesn't really go up or down, then when they want to ascend, they throw sand over and reduce weight which makes it go up. Lift is lost with altitude, so eventually a balloon will stop rising, or pop, depending on design. This balloon is left open at the bottom as are most gas balloons, that way if they go too high up the expanding hydrogen comes out of the bottom (not the top because it would obviously go flat rapidly), to descend they relate hydrogen out of a vent on the top of the balloon, it works like a hot air balloon in that regard. So basically they make it lighter to go up, and they let out hydrogen which reduces total displacement mass of air by the balloon making it come down. Static electricity is addressed by using a conductive fabric, which is a fabric material that has conductivity from materials built into it, that prevents static build up like you get on a non conductive latex balloon. They are cautious about electronics and clothing that could buildup too much static, so no fur coats or certain types of electrical equipment

[@Ihaveausernametoo]

@@jaxonmattox9267 Oh wow. Thx mate, really appreciate that. I can't stop daydreaming about gliding about in a balloon. But seems mighty expensive to get a license here. Perhaps because it requires such extensive knowledge?

[@MaskedVengeanceTV]

@@Ihaveausernametoo it doesn't. It's actually an incredibly popular and relatively affordable sport and tons of regular people do it. I live in New Mexico and every year we have something called the Albuquerque balloon festival, with thousands of balloonist showing up to participate. Of course there mostly hot air balloons

[@mg7335]

willamdafoetv I also live in ABQ I love the balloon fiesta!

[@MaskedVengeanceTV]

@@mg7335 yeah bro!! NM represent!

[@RobbyWorld1]

Sure don't need background music! I'd much rather just hear what's going on.

[@ramprakash2807]

Hello sir! How can u get down from there? Did u have any control system?

[@RolandContreras]

You have to release the hydrogen very slowly

[@Jacob-og9pz]

5:20 Mordor?

[@nimeislam4851]

Price .

[@productions4452]

How much does it cost to fill a whole ballon with hydrogean?

[@davideager9499]

With hydrogen 100 euros, with helium >1,000 euros

[@circleinfo]

​@@davideager9499 I know this was trolling but people where idiots enough the gave it likes. So here is simple math: 1kg Hydrogen is around 10 Euro if you buy it. A hydrogen car uses 4-5kg. So 40 Euro per Tank filling. If I compare car tank size to balloon size, they have at least 900x the volume for their balloon (I guessed the balloon is 7m diameter, could be more or less). So 900x40 Euro = 36.000 Euro with this calculation. It has a reason you don't see hydrogen balloons that often.

[@MrFujinko]

@@circleinfo In the car the hydrogen is pressurized, in the balloon it is not. Your logic makes no sense to compare two volumes at different pressures. A 7 m diameter balloon at 10 Euros a kg of hydrogen will cost 160 Euros to be filled.

[@SolarWebsite]

@@MrFujinko I see you're corrected Jan nis's wrong "calculation" several times, thank you for that.

[@sebastianbirk1024]

Where can I buy a hydrogen balloon

[@Ihaveausernametoo]

@@torp6845 The price. I'm staggering literally. Have to sit down.

[@kareemsalessi]

Awesome flight. Thanks. This came up in youtube: ("APOLLO WAS HYDROGEN BALLOON") Question:: why did you not use a water-tank for ballast, so you could release water as needed, instead of sand-boxes which could land on someone & kill???

[@RolandContreras]

The only disadvantage I see for water is the specific weight, it is many times less heavier than water and therefore the volume to take at the start would have to be at least ten times higher (10 buckets against 1 bucket). The sand grains are so small that they could never make any damage from falling down.

[@kareemsalessi]

@@RolandContreras Oh, OK. Sand Grains? I thought I heard you were using sandbags and then you dropped them one by one!!

[@AlexApol]

@@kareemsalessi lol I thought the same.

[@МихаилВишняковский]

How much does the hydrogen cost to fill the balloon?

[@circleinfo]

1kg Hydrogen is around 10 Euro if you buy it. A hydrogen car uses 4-5kg. So 40 Euro per Tank filling. If I compare car tank size to balloon size, they have at least 900x the volume for their balloon (I guessed the balloon is 7m diameter, could be more or less). So 900x40 Euro = 36.000 Euro with this calculation.

[@MrFujinko]

@@circleinfo No. Your calculations are wrong. 1kg of hydrogen is around 11 cubic meters at sea level. So a balloon 7m diameter has a volume of 179 cubic meters, or around 16 kg of hydrogen.

[@kalebdc6330]

Is there anybody giving rides in hydrogen Balloons to tourists. If so, how much would they charge. I would love to ride in a hydrogen balloon.

[@josephjj5420]

Hi Roland, thank you for posting this, that daring (AND combustible) adventure was amazing! Two questions from me: what was the total take-off weight and if you allow this baloon to keep on ascending, how high do you think it will go? Thanks.

[@RolandContreras]

The total take off weight is unknown to me, I estimate around 500 kilogram (3x80 kg body weight, 150 basket and 150 balloon tissue), balloon itself included. When we were at 1400 meter high, almost all our sand supply was removed, so I think it would not go much higher than 2000 meter.

[@josephjj5420]

Roland Contreras Wow that was quick! It's 00:46 here in Jakarta & I had forgotten we're on a different time zone :) Thank you for the reply Sir, keep up the exciting adventures!

[@RolandContreras]

Joseph J J I estimate a take-off weight of around 500 kg.

[@FroggyFrog9000]

Very good.

[@LambareNg]

wie wurde die Wasserstoff produziert?

[@RolandContreras]

Don't know from where the hydrogen comes. Possibly from electrolysis of water?

[@LambareNg]

Roland Contreras Yes, but i just wondered whether the source shown on the video is where the electrolysis take place or it is merely a storage

[@LambareNg]

Roland Contreras In other words, is this source a hydrogen generator or it is a tank where the hydrogen produced in other place is stored?

[@RolandContreras]

I don't know the details about the hydrogen supply. Sorry

[@RolandContreras]

LambareNg.

[@bielaggs]

What language is this? So beautiful

[@RolandContreras]

It is Dutch as spoken in Flanders

[@Roel922]

Waterstof is gemakkelijk zelf in grote hoeveelheden te maken op verscheidene manieren zoals electrolyse van water of de reactie van aluminium met natronloog. Ik zou zelf wel zo'n grote ballon willen maken en vullen met waterstofgas. Je zou zelfs bioplastic kunnen gebruiken hiervoor wat ook zelf in grote hoeveelheden is te maken. Ook kun je een camera vastbinden aan een H2-balon en deze in de buurt van de rand van de ruimte brengen want ze kunnen we 60km hoog in de atmosfeer komen. Dat zou ik natuurlijk niet zelf in gaan want vanaf 4km hoogte wordt de luchtdruk gevaarlijk laag. Lijkt me wel super gaaf om zo de Aarde te verkennen vanuit een ballon want je ziet dus veeeeel meer dan in het vliegtuig😎😀

[@RolandContreras]

Waterstof is inderdaad het primair probleem niet maar wel de veiligheid om er mee te werken. Daardoor is varen met waterstof ballonnen in belgie nog steeds verboden. In Duitsland en een aantal andere landen is het toegelaten onder strikt gecontroleerde voorwaarden. Zelf uw waterstof aanmaken en zelfs uw eigen ballon maken lijkt me een stap te ver. U lijkt me wel een echte durver wat ik natuurlijk apprecieer. Indien u ook eens in een dergelijke ballon zou willen meevaren kan u best contact opnemen met Stefan Reyckaert die ondertussen wel al een brevet heeft, vermoed ik. Hij heeft goede contacten met Eimers en samen is het misschien mogelijk om iets te organiseren. Mij heeft die vaart, de enige voor voor H2, wel aangenaam verrast en het was zeker een mooie ervaring. Gasballon vliegen is ook aangenaam maar toch met meer beperkingen. De stilte boven de wolken in een open mand is een unicum.

[@Roel922]

@@RolandContreras dat lijkt mij ook wel een bijzondere ervaring. Heeft hij een website? Misschien wel iets voor mij zo'n ballon vaart

[@meagain2222]

Yes this is dangerous static generation causing a spark can cause a huge explosion. Best to be filling from a remote location until filled.Wonder where they got all that h2 gas.

[@MaskedVengeanceTV]

pouring sulfuric acid on iron shavings was the common way they made gas for balloons back in the day. so probably it's made the same way. I'm guessing that's the machine they do it with behind the fence and the jugs of the acid or whatever catalyst they use to make it stacked up around. Course I don't know for sure.

[@m0ther_bra1ned12]

As much as I admire this, how was this allowed? Are their laws forbidding maned lighter then air craft filled with hydrogen or is it just up to the pilots?

[@RolandContreras]

/M0ther_bra1ned/ In Germany this is allowed under special conditions: controlled filling station under supervision of a certified pilot. The hydrogen is contained all the time and the weather is stable. In Belgium, there is no filling station and flying is not allowed. As mentioned in the film, the pilot has 1011 flights carried out safely.

[@ChristmasEve777]

@@RolandContreras 1011+ flights with hydrogen and he talks with a squeaky voice, I presume :)

[@SolarWebsite]

@@RolandContreras That is fascinating, I had no idea.

[@_hallowed_]

wow

[@atagosaviation]

I like they use hydrogen for hot air balloon and yes hydrogen is flamable

[@DJRonnieG]

I honestly think that we should bring back hydrogen for blimps, dirigibles, and airships as well as gas balloons. Hydrogen airships could be the answer to a lot of our efficiency and environmental concerns when it comes to transporting goods. Helium works too, but with the price of helium is so high that it's no surprise that those have become increasingly uncommon. The challenges to overcome are not insurmountable. Last time I brought this up in a YT comment, some of the objections I was given involved the fact that hydrogen is hard to contain (very small molecule) and thus constantly leaks. The other objection was in regard to how much energy is required to produce hydrogen through electrolysis. There are other methods, but I figure we could cover a blimp in solar cells and use that to top-off the gas bags. Heck, maybe it could even use the hydrogen to run the engines or charge batteries. Maybe we use hydrogen on unmanned craft, and when people are aboard, and we use conductive fabrics to prevent static charge along with other precautions (just like what was done by the guys in this video). I think it sucks that the Hindenburg has convinced people that this is not worth pursuing further.

[@h7opolo]

this is the way to fly

[@diamondassassin2995]

Are they crazy

[@RolandContreras]

It is much safer up there than in our streets. The pilots have a certfied diploma for flying hydogen balloons. There is no fire in kilometers from the balloon. The weather is stable.

[@MisterBones223]

They seem to know what they're doing, besides, nobody died ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[@DJRonnieG]

Frankly, I think we should bring back hydrogen for use as a lifting gas. Is it really an insummountable engineering challenge?

[@gabrielrousseau_NM]

@@DJRonnieG I know. Imagine talking about static electric sparking every time someone mentions flying a commercial airline. hydrogen gas doesn't splash and burn on and on like liquid fuels. It's one and done if it hits flame otherwise not more dangerous from puncture than helium. Might want to have backup parachutes in a gas flying machine as back up for leakage or explosion accident.

[@Wolfmaster-fu7si]

KZbin algorithym has broughr me here today

[@godelievematthijs267]

Roel ge zijt een durver....