I helped Richard Heene plan a balloon hoax

Gawker.com ^ | 10/17/2009

[GVnana]

Thomas spent several months earlier this year working on developing a reality science TV show to pitch to networks - the "show," Thomas says, that Falcon was referring to when he told CNN "We did it for the show."

Among the ideas that Heene, Thomas and two others came up with for their reality TV proposal — and one that he says most intrigued Heene — involved a weather balloon modified to look like a UFO which they would launch in an attempt to drum up media interest in both the Heene family and the series he was desperate to get on the air.

Still, Thomas never imagined that Heene would involve his six-year-old son in what he is certain was a "global media hoax" to further Richard Heene's own celebrity. Thomas' story of his time with Heene, based on an interview with Ryan Tate, follows below. It's a fascinating account and after he publicly offered to sell his story, we paid him for it.

-snip-

And then we delved into the area of UFOs. I was reading a book on witness reports of Roswell at the time, just out of curiousity — I've never concluded whether it really took place or was an elaborate hoax. And Richard said, "how much do you want to bet we could facilitate some sort of a media stunt that would be equally profound as Roswell, and we could do so with nothing more than a weather balloon and some controversy?" (See item 16 here.)

Can we attract UFO's with a homemade flying saucer? We will modify a weather balloon, so that it resembles a UFO and will electrically charge the skin of the craft (Biefield-Brown Effect). We will capture the footage on film, and will utilize the media as a means with which to make our presence known to the masses. This will not only provide us with incredible footage, but will also generate a tremendous amount of controversy among the public, as well as publicity within the mainstream media. This will be the most significant UFO-related news event to take place since the Roswell Crash of 1947, and the result will be a dramatic increase in local and national awareness about The Heene Family, our Reality Series, as well as the UFO Phenomenon in general.

I clearly remember Richard telling me that, if we accomplish this, it would be the most controversial and widespread UFO news story since Roswell in 1947. (See audio at top of post.)

[steve86]

I take it you’re neither an engineer or a scientist. Take your crank arguments elsewhere — they’ve already been dealt with here.

[Finny]

You didn't answer any of my "crank arguments" because you don't have the answers and because they're not CRANK, they're legitimate. No, I'm not a scientist or an engineer, but I live with a guy who's engineered and built to function some amazing things that people said were impossible, and who is also above-average knowledgeable about aviation and I do have eyes that read and sense to think critically.

Are YOU an engineer or a scientist, and what kind -- any hands-on experience? Have you built flying scale models or been around people who have done so?

Finally, have you ever actually SEEN 120-lb cast members at Disney parks carting around vast mylar helium balloon bouquets, and do you seriously believe that if they handed one of those bouquets to a kid, that the kid would go flying off over Tomorrowland and out to Cape Canaveral?

"Crank," indeed!

[Oztrich Boy]

Refer to the calculations in any of the original threads ... If memory serves the balloon contained approx 1,500 cubic feet of helium when full

We all did calculations - Those of us who didn't assume a perfect cylinder came out 1000-1200. That gives about 60# at pressure altitude.

An estimate on the mylar envelope was 15#. A plywood baseplate substantial enough to carry a reasonable load adds 20#. Strapping to hold the cargo compartment to the lift section maybe 5#.

empty weight 40#. Net lift 20#.

You might get the structure weight down to 20#, only if it is designed to carry no payload.

There;s the dilemma, if it;s strong enough to carry the kid, it can't carry the kid.

[Finny]

Can you answer any of the specifics? What about the capacity -- are those calculations based on the balloon being inflated to 100 percent capacity? Yes or no?

How long would the lift last? Did the calculations factor in leakage and loss of lift because of temperature changes? And how high? Haven't you seen stuff tied to balloons that, the heaver the thing is, the lower the ballon rises? As in, floats only a few feet off the ground and higher when you lighten the load? Did your calculations take that in, and if so, how high would a 50 pound payload rise as opposed to a 25 pound on on THAT particular balloon?

Have you READ yourself, investigated on your own, anything about helium balloon dynamics? Or are you just taking as gospel the opinion of one self-proclaimed "expert"?