Page 10 - Cluster Balloon News Today : Breaking News, Live Updates & Top Stories | Vimarsana

Aerodynamic. >> we could see it if it like fell in the forest. it was like traffic cone paint so it really stood out. >> although the paint will make it easier to spot they need something much more dependable if they are going to find it. >> it seemed to be the best app to track the balloon. >> if you lost your phone you would have like a way to track it. >> here is the camera. >> next to it was a little ht camera used for sky diving and motorsports. >> the whole craft with the camera and system is within the 4-pound limit for the faa regulation. >> august 11, 2010, newberg, new york. after 8 ...

>> despite missing the mark he knows he has still broken his previous record so couch prepares to land. >> you have to have a way to make sure to get the balloons popped on the way down. my preference is a daycy red rider bb gun. >> it only takes a couple of balloons to change from ascending to descending. >> no wires, no houses no roads is what i'm hoping for. >> he touches down in cambridge, idaho, to a hero's welcome. the new cluster balloon distance record, 235 miles. >> so i think my next flight i'm sure i will get enough balloons and ballasts to go to 25,000 feet and so see if i can stay...

The camera captures. fortunately, it lands only 30 miles north of the launch site. and they're 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 time. and it's whooshes around. >> but once it reaches the stratosphere, everything levels out. >> we were shooting from about 80,000 feet. twice as high as a plane. three times as high as a plane. >> according to his iphone, the craft peaks at 100,000 feet or nearly 19 miles ...

Each time it made things a little better just learning from the previous flight. >> i started using a pilot's 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 3:30 in the morning. >> it's usually about 50 to 70 volunteers that make this thing work. we'd normally have four or six helium stations. each station ...

>> 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 can't steer myself. that's what i like about this little cluster ballooning thing. you just go where the winds take you. >> the thing you wouldn't realize is how peaceful it is up there. he's 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 would...