Hotair.ie Equipment

Hotair Balloon Team

Ballooning and Amateur Radio Club of Ireland

Storage

Pulling Puffin Out

Puffin is stored in a tightly wrapped state within a heavy quality custom sewn canvas bag.

Photo © Dee White 2004

Equipment

Testing

Burner test

Before the basket is tilted over to attach to the envelope, a burner test MUST be performed as part of the pre-flight checks.

This is necessary as we need to check that all fuel lines inside the basket are securely connected and that there is enough pressure in the lines to produce an efficient flame. A fuel check is also done at this time.

Photo © Dee White 2004

The Balloon

The envelope

The actual balloon is referred to as "The Envelope", which is constructed from long nylon sections called gores. The gores extend from the base of the envelope to the crown and are made up of many smaller panels. The main part of the envelope (the bottom two thirds) is normally made from a combination of nylon or polyester, the same type of material that parachutes are made of.

It is very tightly woven and is coated with a material that makes it extremely air tight and durable. Nylon works very well in balloons because it is lightweight, but it is also fairly sturdy and has a high melting temperature.

Inflation Fan

How we inflate the balloons

We use an inflation fan powered by a 5.5hp Honda engine to blow the cold air into our balloons.

We Huff and We Puff and we cold inflate them.

With the envelope laid out on it's side, the fan is placed in position and we commence the 'cold inflating' of the envelope.

We also have the entire rig secured by a special release system attached to the front of the jeep (with handbrake engaged and keys left in ignition).

The basket is tilted over and laid on it's side to allow us attach the envelope flying wires to it. It is in this position that we inflate Puffin with cold air.

The bottom part of the envelope, referred to as the scoop or skirt (nearest to the burner) is made from a material called Nomex. Nomex is an industry standard flame resistant material used in other industries such as Formula 1 Racing and also in the suits of Firefighters. It is used near the mouth (base) of the envelope as this area is prone to the most heat from the burner.

The material used nearer the top of the envelope is known as Hyperlast. It has been around for many years and is used just in this top 3rd of the envelope. What makes Hyperlast desirable to use is that the nylon base fabric is woven from a heavier yarn, which increases the strength a great deal. Also Hyperlast has a silicone coating added to both sides of the fabric which helps to protect the envelope from the growth of mould or fungi.

Photo © Murray Davidson 2003

The Burner System

This is used to heat the air in the envelope (Balloon).

The Sirocco ® Burner.

The Burner is like the engine of the hot air balloon. It is what propels the hot air up into the envelope to make the balloon move upwards into the air.

This is what we use to heat the air inside the envelope and so create the lift required to enable Puffin to get airborne.

Note the customised height adjustable pneumatic frame holding the burner. Modern hot air balloons use propane in the burner to heat the air. The propane is stored in cylinders which are kept in the balloon basket, along with the passengers and the pilot.

The propane is highly compressed in canisters and flows to the burner in liquid form. When the pilot starts the burner up, the propane flows to it and is ignited by a pilot light. Puffin burns approximately 30 gallons of propane an hour.

As the flame burns, its heats up the metal in the surrounding tubing and when the tubing becomes hot it heats the propane flowing through it. This process changes the propane from a liquid to a gas before it is ignited. The gas makes for a more powerful flame and an overall more efficient fuel consumption.

Photo © Aidan Murphy 2003

Heating the air inside the envelope

Puff it up!

With the envelope packed with lots of cold air, we then crack open Puffin's powerful burners and heat the air inside

Puffin contains over 2 tonnes of cold air while on the ground. Heat applied to the air in the balloon envelope expands all the air molecules, until sufficient weight of air has been expelled to make the system lighter and buoyant, so that it wants to float.

The Basket with Burner

The Basket

The basket is the bottom part of the balloon which carries the passengers, pilot and propane flight cylinders.

These days most baskets are woven from Kooboo and Palambang cane as these materials are extremely sturdy, flexible and relatively lightweight. The cane has proven to be the most hard wearing and durable material, even more so than aluminum or some composite plastics.

The basket needs to be extremely strong as it is constantly on the move, being shifted from place to place and also when the balloon actually lands there is a large amount of force exerted on it as it hits the floor and comes grinding to a halt. The flexibility of the cane helps with the balloon landing as wicker material flexes a little, absorbing some of the energy.

Our Fuel Supply for the Adventure

Flight cylinders

Balloons use Propane gas. Puffin carries 3 flight cylinders, 2 x 40 litre stainless steel and 1 x 60 litre titanium flight cylinders.

This photo shows one stainless steel (40 litre) and our 60 litre titanium flight cylinder.

All the weight of the balloon basket, fuel, envelope, and passengers must be got rid of by expelling air from the balloon, by heating the air, and reducing the air weight inside the envelope. The same principle enables a ship and its cargo to float on water or a bubble to rise in a tank of water: because it is lighter than the water surrounding it.

For Example: the ship and its cargo are lighter than the water they displace.

As you can see, the top or 'crown' part of the envelope is being held down by a crew member.

It is at this stage, the entire Balloon is given a walk-around inspection by the pilot.