I helped Richard Heene plan a balloon hoax

Gawker.com ^ | 10/17/2009

[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"?