REMOTELY CONTROLLING A NOT-SO-MINIATURE hot AIR BALLOON

Calling [Matt Barr]’s remote managed hot air balloon a miniature is a bit misleading. Sure, it’s little compared with the balloons that ply cold morning skies with paying passengers as well as a bottle of champagne for the landing. having been in on a few of those landings, we can attest to the size of the genuine thing. They’re impressively huge when you’re up close to them.

While [Matt]’s balloon is definitely smaller, it’s not something you’d just whip together in an afternoon. many of [Matt]’s develop log concentrates primarily on the gondola as well as its goodies — the twin one-pound camp stove-style propane tanks, their associated plumbing, as well as the burner, a re-tasked propane weed torch from Harbor Freight. Remote manage is minimal; just as in a full-size balloon, all the pilot can truly do is turn the burner on or off. [Matt]’s method is a high-torque RC servo to manage the burner valve, which is driven by an Arduino speaking to the ground over a 2.4-GHz RF link. The balloon is huge sufficient to lift 30 pounds as well as appears to be at least 12 feet tall; we’d believe such a craft would run afoul of some civil aviation rules, so possibly it’s finest that the test flight below was a tethered one.

Sadly, no directions are included for making the envelope, which would be a excellent reason for anybody to discover a bit about sewing. as well as understanding exactly how to roll your own hot air balloon may are available in useful someday.