Twice now, the dude in LA and the priest in So America who was lost at sea after he drifted out. Aussies even have a hilarious movie, "Lawnchair Larry" or something like that, second best Aussie Movie next to "Bad Boy Bubby"
Party balloons at 4500 feet
- Thread starter MassPilot
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Twice now, the dude in LA and the priest in So America who was lost at sea after he drifted out. Aussies even have a hilarious movie, "Lawnchair Larry" or something like that, second best Aussie Movie next to "Bad Boy Bubby"
kimberlyanne546
Final Approach
I saw a presentation by a teenager (Civil Air Patrol, fancy uniform) at my airport's monthly meeting. He said they were working with the local NASA facility to create a balloon to release into outer space - complete with cameras etc. When it comes back down to earth (some sort of controls they will have to change its weight), they will treat it as a search and rescue mission / training. As if it was a crashed airplane.
To do this "launch" do they need to tell the FAA? What about the fact that they don't know where the weather will take this balloon / release it? The have the CA boys involved and are doing a trip to Hawaii.
To do this "launch" do they need to tell the FAA? What about the fact that they don't know where the weather will take this balloon / release it? The have the CA boys involved and are doing a trip to Hawaii.
jpower
Cleared for Takeoff
If any of the following apply, you do. Otherwise, you don't.
When I launched balloons, I'd put a little radar reflector on as common courtesy (really easy to make out of cardboard and aluminum foil), but you don't have to do anything.
denverpilot
Tied Down
www.eoss.org - almost two hundred launches by the locals.
Winds aloft calculations are surprisingly good these days. The above group has custom software to add things they've learned over the years.
The guy who writes it, Rick, is proud of how close it gets. It's rare that he's off by more than a mile or two.
Some groups are good, some are yahoos who lose their balloons and flight package. There's usually a card inside "If you find me, call..."
FAA isn't usually concerned with whether or not you found the thing. They want to know when it's going up, when it will go into their airspace (rate of climb), when it bursts and starts down, and rate of descent. If you never find it after that, they still can lift the NOTAM based on time estimates of the fall.
The TV commercials with the idiots launching balloons they bought "with my credit card points, because I am über-cool and have a great life!" are the ones that scare me... folks will launch heavy stuff that will come right through plexiglass with no FAA notification.
Winds aloft calculations are surprisingly good these days. The above group has custom software to add things they've learned over the years.
The guy who writes it, Rick, is proud of how close it gets. It's rare that he's off by more than a mile or two.
Some groups are good, some are yahoos who lose their balloons and flight package. There's usually a card inside "If you find me, call..."
FAA isn't usually concerned with whether or not you found the thing. They want to know when it's going up, when it will go into their airspace (rate of climb), when it bursts and starts down, and rate of descent. If you never find it after that, they still can lift the NOTAM based on time estimates of the fall.
The TV commercials with the idiots launching balloons they bought "with my credit card points, because I am über-cool and have a great life!" are the ones that scare me... folks will launch heavy stuff that will come right through plexiglass with no FAA notification.