DrDawkinstein Posted October 12, 2010 Share Posted October 12, 2010 Pretty cool "project" for a young boy and his dad. Article Here Wonder if the authorities will be contacting them for any violations? Can people just do this? (I have no problem with it, but could see how the Government and even FAA, might) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erynthered Posted October 12, 2010 Share Posted October 12, 2010 That was great!! What a great Dad!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheMadCap Posted October 12, 2010 Share Posted October 12, 2010 I think they may be in trouble with the FAA for violating airspace. There is a reason that there are no fly-overs near Kennedy during launches... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peace Posted October 12, 2010 Share Posted October 12, 2010 Pretty cool "project" for a young boy and his dad. Article Here Wonder if the authorities will be contacting them for any violations? Can people just do this? (I have no problem with it, but could see how the Government and even FAA, might) People have been doing this for several years. There are a lot of websites dedicated to how to do it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExiledInIllinois Posted October 12, 2010 Share Posted October 12, 2010 Somebody by me just launched a "hot air balloon" type thingy this past weekend... Looked like a plastic bag with an open flame in it... Boy did it take off... I was wondering if it would crash and set somebody's house on fire? It took off and flew east in what it appeared to be many miles... I wonder where it ended up?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RayFinkle Posted October 12, 2010 Share Posted October 12, 2010 Awesome...nice work dad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrDawkinstein Posted October 12, 2010 Author Share Posted October 12, 2010 People have been doing this for several years. There are a lot of websites dedicated to how to do it. I'm aware that people send up balloons all the time. But this one was serious. Somebody by me just launched a "hot air balloon" type thingy this past weekend... Looked like a plastic bag with an open flame in it... Boy did it take off... I was wondering if it would crash and set somebody's house on fire? It took off and flew east in what it appeared to be many miles... I wonder where it ended up?? the old dry-cleaning bag, teak cross frame on the bottom, and candle in the middle. very easy to do, and very dangerous for exactly why you said. Candle ends up in a tree, or on someone's roof. The chances of it starting a fire before getting blown out are slim, but it's still pretty irresponsible to send an open flame up into the air with no control of where it goes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peace Posted October 12, 2010 Share Posted October 12, 2010 I'm aware that people send up balloons all the time. But this one was serious. There are youtube videos and websites dedicated to the high atmosphere amateur balloons. People do it a lot. It's cool every time and every one is serious and takes a fair amount of work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DC Tom Posted October 12, 2010 Share Posted October 12, 2010 Pretty cool "project" for a young boy and his dad. Article Here Wonder if the authorities will be contacting them for any violations? Can people just do this? (I have no problem with it, but could see how the Government and even FAA, might) You've got to get FAA clearance for a flight that high, and rocket engines that powerful are also regulated (I forget by who, maybe the FAA as well). But it's not all that difficult to get the appropriate permissions, either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pulled Hammies Posted October 12, 2010 Share Posted October 12, 2010 Cool project, but wouldn't you want to do it on a clear day? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peace Posted October 12, 2010 Share Posted October 12, 2010 (edited) You've got to get FAA clearance for a flight that high, and rocket engines that powerful are also regulated (I forget by who, maybe the FAA as well). You only need FAA permission if the balloon: (i) Carries a payload package that weighs more than four pounds and has a weight/size ratio of more than three ounces per square inch on any surface of the package, determined by dividing the total weight in ounces of the payload package by the area in square inches of its smallest surface; (ii) Carries a payload package that weighs more than six pounds; (iii) Carries a payload, of two or more packages, that weighs more than 12 pounds; or (iv) Uses a rope or other device for suspension of the payload that requires an impact force of more than 50 pounds to separate the suspended payload from the balloon. For the usual high atmosphere balloon flights, the payload weighs almost nothing: just a GPS transmitter (for retrieval), a camera (for cool photos), and batteries. Here are the guys I looked to when I considered doing this a few years ago: http://www.natrium42.com/halo/flight2/ Edited October 12, 2010 by Peace Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim in Anchorage Posted October 12, 2010 Share Posted October 12, 2010 (edited) You've got to get FAA clearance for a flight that high, and rocket engines that powerful are also regulated (I forget by who, maybe the FAA as well). But it's not all that difficult to get the appropriate permissions, either. Who said anything about rockets? It was a balloon. I do believe they violated one or more FARs though. § 101.33 Operating limitations.No person may operate an unmanned free balloon— (a) Unless otherwise authorized by ATC, below 2,000 feet above the surface within the lateral boundaries of the surface areas of Class B, Class C, Class D, or Class E airspace designated for an airport; (b) At any altitude where there are clouds or obscuring phenomena of more than five-tenths coverage; That was way under visibility minimums Edited October 12, 2010 by Jim in Anchorage Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajzepp Posted October 12, 2010 Share Posted October 12, 2010 that was one of the coolest things I've ever seen...what a great thing for a dad to involve his son in! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pebblez Posted October 13, 2010 Share Posted October 13, 2010 Wow, I loved that! This boy will forever remember this fun thing he did with his dad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boyst Posted October 13, 2010 Share Posted October 13, 2010 That is amazing! The gov'ment best stay off their case. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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