New type of Launch Method? Video

There is aero, auto, winch, bungie and slope/cliff launch methods.

Now we can add ... being dropped from a BALLOON? Would *YOU* do
this?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FeJ0UFOj_WQ

- John

It would be kinda hard to recover from a premature termination of the
tow! I want to see the release!

Boggs

On Nov 22, 9:30*am, JohnDeRosa wrote:
There is aero, auto, winch, bungie and slope/cliff launch methods.

Now we can add ... being dropped from a BALLOON? *Would *YOU* do
this?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FeJ0UFOj_WQ

- John

Ralph Barnaby dropped from an Airship in 1931.

Would not want a low altitude rope break on the balloon launch!

http://www.patriotspoint.org/news_ev...rs-in-america/

On Nov 22, 8:30*am, JohnDeRosa wrote:
There is aero, auto, winch, bungie and slope/cliff launch methods.

Now we can add ... being dropped from a BALLOON? *Would *YOU* do
this?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FeJ0UFOj_WQ

- John

Back in a previous life, hang gliding, I did 6 of these with my hang
glider. Common sense, and self preservation got the best of me, and I
stopped at 6. The big fear was tow termination in the first several
hundred feet, as immediately upon release the glider pivoted straight
down, and it took several hundred feet to end the dive, which turned
into a fast pull-up, and stall if you didn't do a wingover at the
top. Hang gliders at the time had "luff lines" attached from the
kingpost to the rear of the sails, which, in a dive, or any time the
glider was going very fast, created an "automatic up elevator" effect,
forcing the nose up with speed. Even though we thought we had
everything figured out to be safe, that first few hundred feet from
leaving the ground was always a very nervous time for me. On the
positive side, I never did hear of anyone ever getting killed in a
balloon hang glider drop.

Bob

Balloon drops can be safely conducted and have been fort many years
(going back to pilot Maloney on the early Montgomery primaries).

However, as both a balloon and sailplane pilot, I can tell you that
this video does not display much safety consciousness. In light wind
conditions (ballooning regime), it is not uncommon to have several
shearing events at low levels. Note how, after launch, the glider
moves forward following the ballon's movement. But then how the
balloon encounters a shear resulting in the glider starting to move
backward. If another shear were not encountered, changing the
balloon's direction, the glider would have been pulled into the cars
which were parked very near the launch site. Without enough bouyancy
to lift the glider over the cars, what do you suppose would have
happened? Immediately? If the pilot was pulled aloft and later
released after likely damage?

Regards,

Gary Osoba

On Nov 22, 9:00*am, Gary Osoba wrote:
Balloon drops can be safely conducted and have been fort many years
(going back to pilot Maloney on the early Montgomery primaries).

However, as both a balloon and sailplane pilot, I can tell you that
this video does not display much safety consciousness. In light wind
conditions (ballooning regime), it is not uncommon to have several
shearing events at low levels. Note how, after launch, the glider
moves forward following the ballon's movement. But then how the
balloon encounters a shear resulting in the glider starting to move
backward. If another shear were not encountered, changing the
balloon's direction, the glider would have been pulled into the cars
which were parked very near the launch site. Without enough bouyancy
to lift the glider over the cars, what do you suppose would have
happened? Immediately? If the pilot was pulled aloft and later
released after likely damage?

Regards,

Gary Osoba

Way back in the '60's while working with Paul MacCready's company
Meteorology Research, Inc. we cooked up an idea for a high altitude
probe using a RC sized model glider and balloon.

The idea was for the balloon to lift the glider to around 100,000
feet, release it to glide back upwind to the launch point so the
experiment package could be recovered. The glider contained a homing
receiver tuned to a beacon operated at the launch point. In the day,
this was considered tricky stuff. I think maybe the DOD was funding
the project.

Several flights resulted in the same crash scenario. The little
glider had to fly really fast to make headway into high speed winds
aloft so it would cross the beacon transmitter at high speed, discover
is was flying 180 degrees the wrong way, apply hard over controls,
roll inverted and crash scattering our experiment.

The obvious solution was to spot the incoming glider and switch from
homing to normal RC so a human pilot could land it safely.
Unfortunately, we could never see it coming until the last few seconds
so the usual termination of a sortie was a bunch of scientists diving
face down in the dirt to avoid the little kamikaze. We had developed
a self-targeting glide bomb.

On Nov 22, 3:30*pm, JohnDeRosa wrote:
There is aero, auto, winch, bungie and slope/cliff launch methods.

You missed a few
- rocket, as in my 1970s logbook. I haven't read any reports of
this
being done, except for the shuttle, of course
- horse, see http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=86rOfjhsIIM
- foot, see the same video starting at 2:00. I wonder whether this
was inspired by that Goofy cartoon, or vice versa

Now we can add ... being dropped from a BALLOON? *Would *YOU* do
this?


The only thing scary about that one was taking off so close the the
cars, which appear within the swing of the glider when initially
launching. Okay, rope break options kinda suck below 400', but that
was still really tame compared to the helicopter launches (New
Zealand) I got on vid... initial launch and first 1000' or so is
'normal' aerotow, but after that the chopper really starts climbing
and the ASW 24/27 (grainy footage...) is vertically dangling -by it's
nosehook. Pilot releases once the propwash starts spinning the
glider. O_O

-Paul

On Nov 22, 11:04*am, sisu1a wrote:
was still really tame compared to the helicopter launches (New
Zealand) I got on vid... * *initial launch and first 1000' or so is
'normal' aerotow, but after that the chopper really starts climbing

Given a choice, I think I would rather go with a helicopter. I'd say
that the "normal aerotow" part at the beginning makes it much safer.

By the way, are you planning to fly anytime soon?

Bart

On Nov 23, 8:04*am, sisu1a wrote:
Now we can add ... being dropped from a BALLOON? *Would *YOU* do
this?

The only thing scary about that one was taking off so close the the
cars, which appear within the swing of the glider when initially
launching. *Okay, rope break options kinda suck below 400', but that
was still really tame compared to the helicopter launches (New
Zealand) I got on vid... * *initial launch and first 1000' or so is
'normal' aerotow, but after that the chopper really starts climbing
and the ASW 24/27 (grainy footage...) is vertically dangling -by it's
nosehook. Pilot releases once the propwash starts spinning the
glider. *O_O

Pretty sure it was from the belly hook. I was there, but then you have
a video and I don't.

I think it was Bruce Drake in the ASW20, but I can't remember who was
flying the Hughes 500.