what is the smallest ballon or blimp ( with reasonable safty) that you can fly?
2006-08-03 14:36:40 · 3 answers · asked by Anonymous in Cars & Transportation ➔ Aircraft
Balloons vary in size depending on the number of people they carry the height they are expected to fly at and the air temperature they are designed to fly in. The smallest man carrying balloons called Cloudhoppers, are as small as 10,000cu ft or 300m3 but can only lift a light person for a short period at low altitude in cool conditions.
A Cloudhopper is a single-person hot-air balloon. There is no basket: the pilot wears a harness that is attached to the balloon, with a fuel tank and burner situated behind him or her. Compared to conventional hot-air balloons, cloudhoppers are very maneuverable and can land in relatively small areas; they are also very easy to store and transport between flights. In addition to enjoying the perfect, totally unobstructed view from thousands of feet up, the cloudhopper pilot can also kick his or her feet in the tree-tops, or go "moon-walking" through open fields in huge, forty-foot jumps. Cloudhoppers have been around for several decades, but are still fairly rare in the United States.
An average 3-4 person sport balloon is 77,000 cu ft or 2,100 m3 about 20-25m tall and 15-20m diameter. That is about the size of a house standing on its end. It takes about 600 m3 of 70-100oc hot air to lift an average 80kg person, plus fuel for a 1-2hr average flight.
2006-08-03 17:26:35 · answer #1 · answered by cherokeeflyer 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You could investigate paragliding. This is when you have a parachute that is connected to a little cart that you sit in. The cart has an engine and propeller on the back of it. You can fly them without a license and with minimal training. There are also models that have the engine and propeller that strap onto your back like a backpack. They are supposedly lots of fun and very safe, much safer than regular ultra-lights. I was pricing them back in 1993 and they went anywhere from $4,000 to $7,500 then. They would be a little more expensive now, but still quite a bit less than the price of a new car.
2006-08-04 10:20:53 · answer #2 · answered by Kelley S 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Hot air ballon!!??
2006-08-03 17:06:06 · answer #3 · answered by LNZ 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋