Fort Collins boy in loose aircraft (6 yr old boy found hiding at home not in balloon)

Denver Post ^ | October 15, 2009 | Kieran Nicholson

[Arec Barrwin]

Rescuers are tracking and chasing a "homemade flying saucer" that is in flight with a 6-year-old, by himself, on board.

The incident started this morning in Fort Collins when the boy got into the balloon-like device, which was built by an adult, and it came loose from a tether, according to the Larimer County Sheriff's Office.

The contraption could rise as high as 10,000 feet, the sheriff's office said.

The home-made flying saucer was last seen in flight over Weld County.

The sheriff's office is working the Federal Aviation Administration to determine how to best get the boy down.

The homemade airplane was tethered in Fort Collins when the boy got onboard and it floated away. (Lisa Ecklund via 9News)

The six-year-old boy was by himself on board the hommade aircraft. (Courtesy Lisa Ecklund, via 9News)

The craft could fly as high as 10,000 feet, according to the Weld County Sheriff's Office. (Lisa Ecklund via 9News)

[the OlLine Rebel]

Scrap all that.

I just realized I was using diameter as radius. Aaarrrggh.

So I get 98 lbs only.

Sorry!

[ME-262]

These liar parents are caught by a boy too young to keep telling a consistent lie.

They use their children in lies and deception, and train them to be worthless sh1ts while they're young.

[rwfromkansas]

And your evidence it’s some hoax mastermined by the parents is....?

[potlatch]

[Glad I didn't know all the stuff that went on... ]

I doubt any of us know all the stuff our kids did, even good kids do things we wouldn't want them to do. My three daughters have told me some things they did and we all had a good laugh - now. At the time they would have been in trouble, lol.

[Brown Deer]

These liar parents are caught by a boy too young to keep telling a consistent lie.

Reminds me of our president. How many children look up to him and will follow his example?

[SwedeBoy2]

It does seem a little too far fetched, Huh.

Just tryin to put an interesting spin on the evening.

[ME-262]

Keep up!

post 1653 has the link to Falcon's confession that his parents told him that he was doing it for a show.

[rintense]

Turns out I was right! What do I win? :)

[AFPhys]

got distracted...

[deport]

Don’t know where the following came from but it indicates public school.

....The Poudre School District in Fort Collins, where the boys attend, did not have classes for elementary schools Thursday because of a teacher work day.....

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/2363257/posts?page=1660#1660

[christianhomeschoolmommaof3]

When conspiracy is involved, nothing is too far fetched. I say we mount our weather balloons and investigate! :)

[socialismislost]

Yea, the guy called FAA first? I suspect the FAA and maybe others will be having a nice talk with this guy very soon. I felt bad because he really used his kid as a prop and people got punked into thinking the kid was in danger. I have just read about the swapping wives antics, but this sounds like a “look at me” type of thing.

[Oztrich Boy]

20’ diam => 3.14*20^2 = 1257 sqft
5’ ht => 1257*5 = 6283 cu ft *28.32 L/cuft = 177940 L
(It’s a cylinder, essentially.)
2.205 lb/kg If 1 L lifts 1 gram, then
(177940 L * 1g * 1kg * 2.205 lb)/(1 L * 1000g * 1kg) = 392.36 lbs

I repeat my #1632

6m diameter, plan area c28m2 mean thickness maybe 1¼m = total volume 35 m3.
Helium lift 1Kg/m3 35Kg =c.80lb at sea level. Reduce by 25% to allow for altitude Gross lift balloon and payload=60lb (best mental estimate, but would be surprised if out by more than 10lb either way)

Amazing how much our results differ.

On One hand, you used a calculator and worked to 5 significant figures.

On The Other Hand, I did it in my head to 2.

The Gripping Hand is you made a mistake in the first line : Diameter does not equal radius

(When Admiral Tryon confused the two in 1893, he lost his flagship) oops!

[Hilda]

That’s what it looks like. These kids will probably grow up to be messes.

[glock rocks]

Get a Wright or Curtiss out there!

Yah, my first thought was a balsa and tissue model triplane I built and flew in college, a Fokker D1. Even at that, (if you could find a real one in flying condition in, oh, say Fort Collins, Colorado, LOL) the real deal's stall speed is 45mph.

I imagine a good ultralight can drop that by another 20mph. Dunno, but I watch them from work, where they play with the hang gliders, and they can do a 60 degree bank that makes them look like they are parked.

Any ultralighters out here on FR?

[socialismislost]

No prob. I also explained below that part of the balloon was flat, meaning it wasnt even fill near capacity. The video showed the saucer slowly spin and you could see a nice flat sheet of the mylar canopy flapping around and behind the rest of the balloon. This thing was designed to lift no more than 8-15 lbs total in equipment. I have no idea what he was going to use it for, but it could certainly lift a small GPS unit, digital camera, altimeter, etc. Small stuff to take measurements and stuff. Not a 40 pound payload,let alone how much the canopy and balloon weighed.

[Gondring]

Welcome to FR.

You forgot to log into your Moderator account before you posted.

[christianhomeschoolmommaof3]

You really need to give this it’s own post in breaking news.

[SwedeBoy2]

Cool, I’ll be under the Scary Clown Head.

[spunkets]

1 mole of gas =22.4l at atmospheric pressure.

The molecular weight of N₂ is 28g/mole.

For O₂ it's 32g/mole.

The atmosphere is 20% oxygen and since it's Thursday, the rest of the minor components are on vacation, so...

0.8*28+0.2*32="molecular weight" of air = 28.4g/22.4l = 1.29g/l

The balloon contains He, with an atomic weight of 4.

4g/22.4l = 0.179g/l

The An object in a fluid is bouyed up by a force equal to the weight of the fluid displaced.

The balloon has a radius of 10ft and a height of 5ft. The volume is:

3.14*10*10*5 = 1570ft³.

1"=2.54cm, so...

12"/ft=12/ft*2.54cm = 30.5cm/

1ft³=30.5³ = 28317cm³/ft³

28317cm³/ft³ / 1000cm³/l = 28.3 l/ft³

28.3 l/ft³ * 1570ft³ =44431 l

44431*l * 1.29g = 57316g/(air displaced by balloon)

57316g/ 454g/lb = 126lbs of air displaced by the balloon.

The weight of the helium is:

0.179g/l * 44431*l / 454g/l = 17.5lbs

So...

126 - 17.5 = 109lbs of lift.