Page 7 - Cluster Balloon News Today

Deeply, it could lose reception. if it falls into water, that would be very bad. a lot of things can go wrong. >> until they recover the craft, it will be a mystery as to what the camera captures. fortunately, it lands only 30 miles north of the launch site. and theyre able to retrieve the footage. >> to be totally honest, we got a little sick watching it. because we were eating it and watching it at our kitchen table the first time. and we were so focused on the screen and eating at the same ti...

Blow up one balloon. we dont want to blow them up all the way because we want room for them to expand. >> after all the balloons are staged, we put them in clusters of five. then you start assembling the groups of five into larger assemblies of 15 or 20. >> once everything checks out, couch kisses his wife and, with cameras rolling, begins the ascent. >> for the most part, i cant steer myself. thats what i like about this little cluster ballooning thing. you just go where the winds take you. >> ...

Home, and that made kind of a hard case and kind of made it this hamburger shape that was very aerodynamic. >> we spray-painted it so we could see it if it fell in the forest. it was traffic cone paint, so it really stood out. >> although the neon paint will make it easier to spot, they will need something much more dependable if they want to find it. >> an iphone seemed to have the best app to track the balloon. it gives you longitude and latitude but altitude as well. >> if you lost your phone...

Is stretched to its absolute maximum capacity. it was about 22 feet in diameter. its enormous. a little craft below it. >> it got like that big. because the pressure lightens as you get up. there isnt a lot of oxygen. and the air is very thin. >> the pressure of the helium inside the balloon is now much greater than the surrounding air pressure. so it continues to expand until finally the balloon pops and the craft comes plummeting back to earth at more than 100 miles an hour. >> so the parachut...

Traveled in whats called a cluster balloon. >> i call cluster ballooning simply a way to get up in the air with a group of balloons. some people would use weather balloons. ive never done that. party balloons seem real dependable. the funny thing is usually i use a lawn chair because its comfortable and i can recline it and i can lean back. its kind of redneck, and im kind of redneck. >> there are some federal aviation rules to follow. but remarkably, as long as couchs aircraft stays under 254 p...

After eight months of prep work, launch day finally arrives. >> when we were assembling the balloon, the two kids, max and his best friend miles were just so excited. >> we bought like some lollipops so me and miles were really hyped up. >> the kids gave this great countdown. >> ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one, zero, blast off! >> we cut off the balloon. >> it started rocking wildly like crazy. it was going about 25 feet a second, which is pretty fast. after about two m...

There isnt a lot of oxygen. and the air is very thin. >> the pressure of the helium inside the balloon is now much greater than the surrounding air pressure. so it continues to expand until finally the balloon pops and the craft comes plummeting back to earth at more than 100 miles an hour. >> so the parachute deploys maybe 30 seconds after the balloon bursts. it doesnt do anything until it gets to heavier air. >> at one point, it rocked head over heels. even though it didnt have head or heels. ...

Couch kisses his wife and, with cameras rolling, begins the ascent. >> by the most part, i cant steer myself, and thats what i like about this little cluster ballooning thing. you just go where the winds take you. >> the thing you wouldnt probably realize is how peaceful it is up there. its super quiet. like hes traveling at the same speed of the wind. even when he was moving at 50 miles an hour, he could set a napkin on his knee, and it wouldnt go anywhere. >> its just like youre floating on a ...

Each time it kind of made things a little better just learning from the previous flight. >> i started using a pilots parachute, which is nice and comfortable. we had more balloons, more ballast, we got more security and safety. better communication between the ground crew. >> july 5, 2008. kent couch attempts to fly from bend, oregon, to boise, idaho, and break his record of 193 miles traveled in a cluster balloon. >> on launch day, we had to be up at like 3:30 in the morning. >> its usually bet...

Forest. it was traffic cone paint, so it really stood out. >> although the neon paint will make it easier to spot, they will need something much more dependable if they want to find it. >> an iphone seemed to have the best app to track the balloon. it gives you longitude and latitude but altitude as well. >> if you lost your phone, you would have where to track it. and we could follow it. >> next to the camera was a little hd camera thats used for sky diving stunts and motor sports and things li...