Mini hot air balloons

[UKbob]

Has anyone seen them? Couple of feet high, foot and a half wide, you set fire to the wick (which is more of a small bonfire) which dangles below on crosswires and when its heated up (30 seconds) it takes off up into the air :) Apparently, they can travel several hundred miles if wings are strong enough!

[Nevin]

UKbob said:

Has anyone seen them? Couple of feet high, foot and a half wide, you set fire to the wick (which is more of a small bonfire) which dangles below on crosswires and when its heated up (30 seconds) it takes off up into the air Apparently, they can travel several hundred miles if wings are strong enough!

Have a few lying in my parents garage. They were a lot more readily available early 80s than they are now though

[Tuna]

Had one of these for a birthday.

Put a little bit of fuel on - nothing.

A bit more fuel - nothing.

A bit more fuel - woosh - gone.. Hundreds of feet up in the air then it caught some wind and disappeared over the horizon. The last thing we saw was a fireball fading off into the distance.

They're great

[tvrbob]

I used to make these out of crepe paper and paper glue as a science demonstration for schools. I cheated a little by filling the balloon with a hairdryer first. Sustained heat came from a candle fitted just inside the base and I put a small hole in the top of the balloon to provide air flow so that oxygen could get to the candle. Some went up in flames but most were OK and would travel many miles.

[chim_knee]

Tuna said:

Had one of these for a birthday. Put a little bit of fuel on - nothing. A bit more fuel - nothing. A bit more fuel - woosh - gone.. Hundreds of feet up in the air then it caught some wind and disappeared over the horizon. The last thing we saw was a fireball fading off into the distance. They're great

[UKbob]

Mine have a coiled up waxy type of wick. It takes 20 seconds to develop into a fireball, you think the tissuepaper is going to catch fire with all the heat. It get lighter and lighter and after 30 seconds or so it gently lifts off up into the sky.

Let one off this morning, which sailed sideways into a tree, doubled over on itself, and just burst into fire (too windy during the day) I also ended up planting my barefooted left foot in a turd. They are definitely best let off at night

[C C]

Could these mini balloons be used to launch a slow speed fireball attack on full size balloons as they pass overhead?

[UKbob]

C C said:

Could these mini balloons be used to launch a slow speed fireball attack on full size balloons as they pass overhead?

Id imagine so. A big enough balloon would likely take a gerbil into orbit. Heres a cool pic


And another


The ones pictured are small size. Large is human size, and they get bigger too

[cinque]

where can you buy these from?

[dirkgently]

Great fun over thatched villages

[Pigeon]

I used to make these out of those really thin polythene bags you get from dry cleaners. Some of them melted on launch but most of them flew fairly well.

[UKbob]

cinque said:

where can you buy these from?

Does anyone know?

I have a mate who will be selling them just as soon as his insurance goes through, hes not selling them just yet on that account. Well worth googling for though!

[UKbob]

dirkgently said:

Great fun over thatched villages

[UKbob]

Ohhh, so much fun! Weve been lighting them and sending them off the UKbob penthouse roof tonight The wind catches them, kinda rolls them along the tiles (alarmingly!) and then whooofff they gently float up and up, sent about 10 of em towards brighton tonight. Launched from beachy head, and in town off the sea front, people cant mind their own business and just have to ask what they are, how they work, then everyone shuts up and mesmerised, gazes skywards for an eternity... most fun you'll ever have with tissue paper... well, the most fun you'll ever admit to having with tissue paper

[mybrainhurts]

*****NEWSFLASH******

Sky News reports UFO's over Brighton tonight.

Several elderly persons wet themselves quite badly according to early reports.....

The objects were last seen heading towards France, and early reports indicate the French have surrendered....

*******NEWSFLASH ENDS********

[up-the-dubs]

[quote=mybrainhurts and early reports indicate the French have surrendered.... [/quote]

Cruel, But funny.

[Pigeon]

The most fun I've ever had with tissue paper was sticking it all over the walls with blu-tack after having some magic mushrooms...

BTW you can make gas balloons just as easily as hot-air ones - you don't need hydrogen or helium, methane is about half the density of air so you can just fill bin liners with mains gas. If you haven't got mains gas you'll just have to eat lots of beans, or rig up a water gas plant.

[munky]

www.thisislocallondon.co.uk/display.var.584521.0.0.php

I was at an outdoor opera recently, and much confusion was seen afterwards just after dusk when a stream of lights came over the horizon and across the sky, gradually burning out. Must have been these thai lantern thingies, increasingly replacing boring old fireworks at weddings, apparently

[moleamol]

They have these buggers at Glastonbury. The first time we witnessed them we were in the Stone Circle after one or two 'special' mushrooms. It took us half an hour and a search of the fireld to figure it out.

[UKbob]

munky said:

www.thisislocallondon.co.uk/display.var.584521.0.0.php I was at an outdoor opera recently, and much confusion was seen afterwards just after dusk when a stream of lights came over the horizon and across the sky, gradually burning out. Must have been these thai lantern thingies, increasingly replacing boring old fireworks at weddings, apparently

I'll be setting some off at a wedding reception on Saturday night. Incidentally, the organiser of that display is my client

Fantastic things, they really created quite a stir last night