Looking for input on the possibilities on the following.
A R/C Hot Air Balloon. ........................................ ............................ ................... ............... ......... ... Ok, not that the above has sunk it a bit here are the questions.
Anyone ever tried this??
Any thought on how to make it happen??
Any other questions that need answers that I haven't already thought of as yet.
I can think of a number of pitfalls, but before starting out on "ground zero' but was wondering if I could get some input that will get it off the ground a bit.
That would be one of the challenges. Only fly in the very early morning with zero wind. Air currents move in different directions at different altitudes. In theory with the right conditions and being extra skilled fly in a pattern around the field. However it would be a normal routine to use a chase vehicle just like the big boys.
Here is an article on blimp flying that just appeared in the Aeroguidance newsletter.
FLYING THE PECK POLYMER BLIMP by Bob Noll
If you have attended either a Binghamton Rangers or Binghamton Senators hockey game, you have probably seen the white blimp flying above the stands before the game and between periods. When the Binghamton Rangers left for Hartford, their blimp went with them. The BC Icemen could not find a sponsor for a blimp and so five years passed before another blimp appeared in the Broome County Veterans Memorial Arena. Now another blimp is flying with the Bing-hamton Senators logo and I'm back to flying indoor RC in the winter. The Oakdale Mall sponsors the blimp and a banner with their logo is fastened around the girth of the blimp. The blimp is manufactured by Peck Polymers of California and measures 13 feet long. It is made from .004" thick vinyl and filled with helium for buoyancy. Propulsion is provided by three Speed 400 electric motors with 6x3 props. Two of the motors are located on the gondola, which is attached to the underside of the envelope, and the third motor is mounted on the movable rudder. The propellers are enclosed in plastic shrouds for safety. Four fins at the rear of the blimp pro-vide horizontal and vertical stability. The radio supplied with the blimp is Airtronics and control is provided by the ability to rotate the two main motors up and down, control yaw with the rudder and speed with the motor RPM. After much testing with the original Rangers blimp it was determined that the best way to fly the blimp was to fly it as a lifting body. The manufacturer suggested ballasting the blimp for neutral buoyancy and controlling height by pointing the main motors up or down while controlling forward direction with the rudder motor. We tried this for a short time but soon learned that better control was obtained when the lifting body approach was used. Basically what this means is that we control the height by adjusting the forward speed. We ballast the blimp to weigh one ounce at launch so that if failure to the propulsion system occurs, the blimp will return to earth. The transmitter is mode II and the rudder servo is connected to the aileron channel while the front motor pitch are operated with the elevator stick and, of course, the motor speed is with the throttle stick. Attached to the bottom of the gondola is an ingenious mechanical mechanism that throws out business cards on com-mand by an auxiliary channel. Steven Bard designed this mechanism for the Rangers blimp when the unit from Peck Polymers became very unreliable. Six of these prize cards are thrown out to fans on each of the between periods flights. My regular crew consists of Steven Bard, Art Reigal and Terry Terrenoire. Bill Underkofler, Jim Quinn and Mike Harris have also helped on occasion. All but Mike have flown the blimp at games. A minimum of two people are required for a flight with one acting as ground crew and the other being the pilot. Having two for ground crew is helpful but not neces-sary. This year we encountered a new challenge. The American Hockey League (AHL), following the lead of the National Hockey League (NHL), mandated that all arenas install nets on both ends of the ice extending from the glass to the ceil-ing. This was legislated after a fan was killed when hit by a puck at an NHL game. The new challenge is to fly behind the net so we can drop prize cards to those who sit in the ends. The nets do not allow much space and it feels like threading a needle when making the pass around the back of the nets. The blimp, weighing only one ounce, is not very responsive so there is no time, or altitude, to recover from a bad move. The trick is to fly above the crowd without getting close enough that someone can reach the blimp. Over the years there have been a few jerks who thought it would be fun to bat the blimp like a beach ball. One fan even stood on his seat to reach it. I must say that it can get very hairy when someone impedes with its flight and we have had a few incidents that have resulted in major repairs.
Actually, the blimp can be very maneuverable, as far as blimps go, and it can be fun racing the zamboni, trying to back into the open goal and doing touch-and-goes. After flights, the blimp is hoisted to the rafters behind the Canadian flag. Because of the molecular size of helium and the po-rosity of the 4 mil. vinyl, it looses much of its helium while resting in its hanger. It is always a sad sight when we lower it before a game but after an injection of helium it regains its health and does its job. In fact, we have to add helium during the eve-ning because of this problem. If you are at a Senators game, visit us under the stands near the Zamboni entrance to the ice and we will show you how it works. If you would like to serve as part of our ground crew, give me a phone call and if we have a short crew, you can join us for the fun.
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