Видео

The sacks inside the house are bags of sand. If the aircraft is descending, and I want to slow the descent, arrest the descent-- or if I want to initiate a climb, I pour over sand. (I don't drop the whole bag; I pour out sand, and it scatters in the wind below.) That makes the system lighter, and we fly on. You can see us handling those bags, as well as pouring over some sand (‘ballasting’) in this video: ruclips.net/video/qxYv5RfO7to/видео.html

Yeah. It was a Transatlantic attempt. I didn't make it.

Nice try. Looks exciting and scary!

Yes, it was a balloon popping. A few seconds later you see it fall below-- the yellow balloon, and the line that had been holding it go slack, down below the little boat. Right at 7:37-7:38 you can see it 'snap' at the end of the line, and a shower of water comes cascading off the balloon; it was so wet; all the balloons were so wet; it was 'raining' inside that little boat, from the condensed water dropping down from from the balloons above me, and onto my head and the little boat I was flying.

@@jtrappe1 I'm your biggest fan, I'd like to do something like that one day, a boat, loads of sandbags, and lots giant balloons, I'll need to work out some sort of steering system, I'm a cartoon balloonist living at an airfield with all my other balloonist friends 🎈🎈🎈🎈

In my country 10 years ago, for the international balloon festival, they made a house and put balloons in it.

It wasn't an emergency rescue helicopter. It was a commercial helicopter--- privately paid for. I paid for that helicopter again a couple days later, to go back in and retrieve the aircraft using a cargo net.

@@jtrappe1 ohh but i think every time this service is free for develped country no one pay for this but i was wrong thanks for reply and clear my doubt

The name of this aircraft was 'The Improbable." Double Eagle / Double Eagle II was a bit more of a grandiose name. But then again, they made it--- and I flew 466 miles across the Gulf of St. Laurence to spend the night in a Newfoundland swamp!

I popped some balloons with a knife!

That would be funny. I re-listened to it, at 48-seconds. He does say 'Take her with you!'--- and the other voice says her name "Nidia." Now, that's not to say I'm not an idiot; it's just not what was said at the launch (at least, not what was said out loud....)

Hydrogen gives mildly more lift initially, but it also expands and contracts more than helium--- which reduces the duration of the flight. (When night comes, and the lifting gas cools, and the gas contracts....the balloons become smaller....so the displacement is reduced....so lift is lost....so you have to drop sand/water ballast to stay aloft. The trick when choosing a lifting gas is that hydrogen contracts more than helium. With hydrogen, you have to drop MORE sand/water ballast at night to keep flying. Hydrogen contracts more than helium, and more lift is lost during nighttime cooling. Helium is much better for long duration manned flight.)

To come down I stab a few balloons with a knife.