Own balloon- a childhood dream of many. Today it is possible not only to purchase it, but also to make it yourself. How? Read on!
Buy a balloon
Today, several stores both abroad and in Russia offer to buy balloons and balloon shells. New Russian-made thermal aerostats (heat balloons) cost about 700 thousand rubles with all the necessary components - shell, basket, burner, fan, air intake, etc. Most of the price is for the shell - 300-400 thousand rubles. The cost with a basket made in the Czech Republic starts from 30 thousand dollars, in England - from 40 thousand euros.
Used balloons can be purchased from 400-500 thousand rubles for a complete set. In addition to the cost of the device itself, the balloon owner will have to spend money on:
- gas consumption;
- registration and certification in the Federal Air Transport Agency;
- annual renewal of the certificate of airworthiness;
- remuneration for the pilot (possibly for his training);
- remuneration for ground maintenance crew, etc.
DIY balloon with basket: dome
If you decide to design your own hot air balloon, the first thing you should do is the canopy. For it you need to purchase durable nylon - polyester or polyamide. It is important that the material does not allow air to pass through - cover the reverse side of the fabric with liquid polyurethane or silicone.
The next step is to cut the nylon into segments the right size, which are sewn with especially strong threads. The hole for inflating a balloon with a basket is lined with a protective layer of material that is resistant to high temperatures.
To make the dome more durable, it is additionally sheathed vertically and horizontally with fabric strips. They are fixed at the very top of the dome, and the lower edges of the ribbons are attached to the ropes of the hanging basket.
How to make a balloon: basket
Traditionally, the walls of the basket are woven from grapevine, and the bottom is made of so-called marine plywood, which is resistant to temperature changes and other extreme conditions. The frame is steel cables made of stainless material. They secure the basket to the dome. Special cables are put on leather cases, protecting them from damage.
It is also necessary to design special hangers where luggage and aeronautics accessories will be stored.
Important element: burner
Before making a balloon, you need to carefully consider the design of the burner. Its fuel currently is liquefied propane. The average power of the device is 4.5-6.0 thousand megawatts. You should purchase special burners for balloons, which are made of durable stainless steel using a special technology that allows the device to withstand large temperature changes.
Your own balloon: instructions
It is, of course, difficult to make a passenger balloon at home, but making a test paper balloon with a basket with your own hands is quite possible. You will need:
- thick paper;
- thin paper (so-called tissue paper);
- glue;
- threads;
- leg-split;
- scissors;
- pencil;
- long ruler;
- triangle.
Now let's get to work:
- The number and size of the cut strips will depend on the diameter of your ball. If it is 1.5 m, then 12 strips will be needed, 2 m - 16, 2.5 m - 20, 3 m - 24.
- To draw an even template, first draw a vertical line on the paper, equal to the length future strip. Through it, draw perpendicular segments at a certain distance equal to the limits of the width of the segment. The end points of the segments are connected by a smooth line, which will be the outline of the strip.
- Using the cardboard template, trace and cut out the outlines of the segments on tissue paper. The most convenient way is to put several layers of it on top of each other, forming a pack, and cut out several segments at once.
- The segments are first glued together with “boats”. Then these “boats” need to be glued to one another. Before sealing the last seam, turn the structure out so that it has the shape of a ball.
- The base of the ball is held together with glued strips of paper and twine - this design will hold the ball when heated.
- Cover the top of the dome with a circle of the same tissue paper.
- After the glue has dried, straighten the dome by holding it over a blowtorch.
- A basket for special cargo can be attached to the structure using the same string.
To launch the ball, turn on the burner or light a fire, hold your ball over the heat source without letting go of the string. Once the air inside your homemade balloon has warmed up, it can be released into flight.
Thus, you can make a balloon with a basket with your own hands at home. But passenger balloons can only be purchased or rented.
Today at big cities On holidays, huge balloons - aerostats - fly into the sky. You can make a smaller balloon – up to 1.5 meters in diameter – yourself. This ball consists of 12 stripes. Let's first make a stripe template. From large sheets of printed paper we will glue a strip 240 centimeters long and 40 or more centimeters wide. On this strip, at a distance of 200 millimeters from each other, we will draw 13 transverse lines: the lowest one - 70 millimeters, then 150, 230 millimeters, etc. We will connect their ends with curved longitudinal lines, and cut out a template using them.
Now let's make the stripes of the dome. To do this, you need to glue 12 of the same strips of tissue paper, lay them in a stack and put a template on top and cut all the strips using scissors at once. Along the edges of the cut strips, you need to bend an allowance for gluing approximately 10 millimeters wide.
Using these allowances, first glue two strips in pairs - you get 6 segments of the ball, shaped like boats. Paired segments begin to be glued together. Before gluing the last seam, the ball is turned inside out so that the seams are inside it.
Children's creativity craft - DIY balloon
Games are an integral part of normal development child. It is not necessary to buy a ball or dolls, because children even consider spending time together with their parents as a game. They are just at that age when fantasies and dreams are an integral part of their lives. Try making some crafts with your child. In this article you will learn how to make a papier-mâché balloon. The child will receive a sea of emotions and impressions from this process, and then will be able to play independently with the finished craft.
For children's crafts you will need:
- balloon;
— hand cream;
— a box of tea bags;
— colored paper;
- scissors;
- PVA glue;
- newspapers;
- glue brush;
- container with water;
- gouache paints;
- paint brush;
- wire or thread.
Stages of work on a balloon craft:
1. Take a newspaper or any paper, just not thick. We tear it into pieces, which we then soak in a container of water.
2. Take a balloon of any color. Inflate it and lubricate it with hand cream.
3. Place our moistened pieces of newspaper on the layer of cream. We do this without glue and over the entire surface of the ball so that there are no gaps. We leave only a small area at the tail of the ball unpasted.
4. Now coat the entire ball with glue and lay out the next layer of paper. So we repeat this process 3 or 4 times.
5. Let the ball dry, preferably near a heat source. This will take approximately two hours.
6. While the drying process is underway, let's start making the balloon basket. To do this, take a tea box, cut off its lid and cover the entire surface with colored paper. If desired, the inside of the box can also be sealed or painted over.
7. When our ball is completely dry (all layers of paper should be thick), prime it with a mixture of gouache and glue. Let the child choose what color the ball will be.
8. After this, carefully pierce the ball. From the inside it will come unstuck from the newspapers.
9. The balloon can be decorated like a real balloon - with colored stripes or left plain.
10. Now we attach the basket to the ball.
Such a creative craft can be hung from a chandelier or on a cornice in a nursery, and if it’s warm and there are trees in the yard, you can make a whole parade of balloons of all kinds of colors and sizes. Believe me, even the neighbors will not remain indifferent.
About hot air balloon flights and how to make one yourself.Below is a description of a balloon that you can make with your own hands. And now I want to talk to you not about those balloons that children need to launch, but about the real ones that you can fly on.
Previously, such flights were unrealistic; we could only dream about this. It’s great that now you can bring this fantasy to life and make an unforgettable romantic flight! Such flights are very original and safe, and most importantly, they can be performed all year round, both in winter and in summer. If you are organizing your own holiday, then such an event will bring a lot of pleasure to your guests. Such a holiday will be remembered for a lifetime. If you are interested in this idea, you can contact the Aeronaut aeronautics club, which offers. The club's pilots have won major Russian competitions more than once, and this club is considered the best and most professional.
In addition to romantic lifts into the air, if you love and appreciate extreme sports, the club has a special tempting offer for you - a hot air balloon flight in the only basket in Russia with a transparent bottom. And one more news from the company: now everyone can take a hot air balloon flight under the new “MONO” program. Flights under the MONO program are carried out in the Dmitrov flight zone on weekends. Flight duration is from 40 to 60 minutes. The balloon basket can hold up to 8 people! You have a great opportunity to spend an entire hour in the air with your family and friends.
And one more thing that interested me. Here is a unique gift idea for any occasion, this is an acquisition. The gift will be the most original and unusual; the certificate can be made in the shape of a balloon with the inscription “Happy Birthday”. For flights there is a wide choice for your imagination. You can choose the flight “Picnic”, “Raffle” and others. Or you can choose (this is for young romantics) the “Proposal” flight. A very romantic way to propose marriage to your loved one. EH!
And now, after you fly, I suggest handing over the balloon with your own hands.
Buy 24 sheets of silk paper from a stationery store. Each balloon slice will require a sheet of paper 210 cm long. Therefore, to get this length, you will have to glue several sheets of paper into one.
Make a pattern from newspaper paper (also glued) and cut out the balloon segments using it. The pattern with dimensions is shown in the figure (Fig. a). Dimensions are indicated in millimeters. Having cut out all the slices (there will be eight of them!), glue them together and you will get a ball (Fig. b). In the process of gluing the segments of the balloon, a paper lump is formed on its top. He will disturb you. Therefore, carefully cut it off, but so that a circle with a diameter of about 10 cm is formed on the top of the ball. Cover its surface with a strip of paper (Fig. c).
At the bottom, the ball passes into a cylinder, to which a rocker arm for a cup of cotton wool is attached. The cylinder must be solid. To do this, take several sheets of old drawing paper, which are glued together in several sheets along its entire length, which is approximately 140 cm. The diameter of the cylinder should be 47 cm. The paper cylinder is attached to the neck of the container with glue, having previously lubricated it inside with liquid glass so as not to the paper burned (Fig. e). Then make a circle from wire approximately 1 mm thick. Attach another piece of wire to it on both sides. This will be the axis. Insert the circle into the paper cylinder, but first attach another, second axis perpendicular to the axis, onto which you place a lid from a shoe polish jar. Punch holes in the lid with an awl, as high as possible, that is, at the very edge, so that its center of gravity is as low as possible under the suspension (Fig. d). This way you will get a Cardan suspension, the essence of which is that when the ball is tilted under the influence of the wind, the cup will always remain in a horizontal position. It is very important to ensure that the wire rotates completely freely both in the paper cylinder and in the lid of the shoe polish box.
To avoid fire, the balloon should be launched at outdoors. Place a cotton swab soaked in alcohol on the lid and set it on fire. Warm air will fill the ball, stretch the paper and slowly lift it up. If the balloon segments are poorly glued, warm air will escape from it and the balloon will not rise. Therefore, you need to carefully check whether its slices are well glued together.
Huge colorful balloons in the sky always fascinate, this sight makes people different ages delight and joy. Balloons were invented by mankind a relatively long time ago, but now they are used not as a means of transportation, but rather for entertainment. You can make a balloon with your own hands, and it is not as difficult as it seems at first glance. Of course, it’s difficult to make a huge balloon, and there’s no point in making it, but a small balloon will be within the capabilities of anyone. This balloon can be launched with the whole family. And it will be truly exciting.
Before you start making a balloon, you should familiarize yourself with its design and structural features.
Balloon design
How to make a balloon
The following materials are used to make it: thick paper, thin tissue paper, twine, glue, thread, as well as a triangle, a long ruler, scissors, glue brushes and a pencil.
The amount of material depends on the selected ball size (D) (see table). It is difficult to make a ball out of paper, but a polyhedron with a large number of faces, similar to a ball, is possible. For example, for a ball with a diameter of two meters you will need 16 strips of paper.
