Posted on 06/04/2006 2:25:48 PM PDT by buccaneer81
Sometime later - Friday night or Saturday morning - after parking the Lexus ES300 Ackerman was driving near the complex's clubhouse, the two apparently pulled the balloon out of the sky and squeezed themselves inside, where they died.
Carter said a fan is used to fill the balloon, and the opening in the bottom is large enough to allow the pair to crawl inside.
At first, this doesn't make sense. If it was "high into the air", it was probably a helium balloon. If "a fan is used to fill the balloon", it was not a helium balloon. Unless the fan somehow forces hot air into the thing through a long tube. Maybe that's the deal. It could have had a lot of CO2 or CO in it if the air was heated by a flame and then blown into the balloon. Has anyone ever seen a balloon like this?
You wouldn't use a hot air ballon to advertise anything since it would need a heat source to stay hot, something not easy to do with an unmanned balloon.
However, I don't know how you'd crawl inside a helium balloon, either.
If you had a heater on the ground, a fan forcing the hot air up a wide tube leading to the balloon, and controlled leakage in the balloon, it should work. I don't know if such a thing exists. Otherwise, the story as told at the other website in my post #81 does not make sense.
Which one do you want me to answer?
And now for today's "Lutz Nutz" item:::::<<<<<
In my experience, there is more information needed here. We fly hot air balloons, but have sold helium systems for advertising. The opening would NOT fit one person let alone two for a helium system. The fan type systems are for normal air only. We had a helium system that got taken out by a BB once... By morning it was on the ground. This story doesn't really make sense because of the helium thing. I have seen many helium systems and they all have very small openings. The Helium systems are usually one to 3 inches maximum openings on a weather balloon type of thing or a blimp thing. Never anything bigger than that. ... There may be something out there that I am unaware of, but that is my experience. The fan systems are different and we never worked with one of them, but my understanding is that they didn't involve helium as the cost would have been too great.
Then it certainly was NOT a helium balloon.
It could have had a lot of CO2 or CO in it if the air was heated by a flame and then blown into the balloon. Has anyone ever seen a balloon like this?
Never. Can't imagine it would be very practical, when a simple a blower with a balloon sitting on the ground would be more than adequate. You'd have to duct the hot air to the floating balloon, use gas (Not really a practical option to have a propane tank sitting there, or tapping into the apartment gas line? I don't think so.) or electric heat? If electric, then there'd be no combustion products to worry about, just warm air.
Plus the fact that they got IN it, leads me to believe it was on the ground. Sure they could have pulled a floating one down, but I just don't think that's the case.
I think "High into the Air" may mean the top? Maybe?
I agree... If they could fit into it and it was inflated by a fan, it was a 'cold air inflatable'... Not a helium system...
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Whatever happened, this is one strange piece or reporting. But that's nothing new. For a reporter to understand something mechanical or scientific (or to know what questions to ask) is quite an event.
I don't know. I know when we have rented those things for the kids parties they just have a big fan that pumps air into it. No helium for sure. This is a strange one.
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