Indian Tycoon Sets Balloon Flight Record

GillBates0 writes "The BBC is reporting that Vijaypat Singhania, a textile tycoon, has set a new world record for the highest hot air balloon flight. The 67-year-old took off from Mumbai, India in a 48m(160ft) balloon and flew to a height of 21,290m (69,852ft) breaking the earlier record of 19,811m(64,997ft)."

Is he any relation to

[Anonymous Coward]

That Indian math guy [slashdot.org] covered previously on Slashdot?

A semi-related question

[Anonymous Coward]

I spent several nights googling, and couldn't come up with anything definitive. How long can a balloon stay aloft? I don't care about whether it uses hot air, hydrogen, whatever. I'd like to make a balloon that would hold about 5-10 pounds (well, more than that, including the tether), put it on three long tethers, and let it fly as long as possible. The duration it can stay up is important, because I can't go check on it often (I live too far away). I want to loft an anemometer and record wind speeds to assess the viability of erecting wind generators. The good generators are really big, and really tall. And really expensive - a million dollars give or take per turbine. Obtaining financing will require the most reliable energy estimates I can muster. Wind speed can vary significantly with elevation, so I want to make measurements quite high, and a balloon seems like it might be a cheap way to do it. I want to collect data for an entire year, because seasonal fluctuations will significantly impact the viability of such a project. I could relaunch a few times, but if it's a daily event, that becomes problematic.

If you have any expertise in balloons, post an email address, and I will contact you.

Re:A semi-related question

[Mr2cents]

Sending a weather balloon up in the sky is one of my dreams too. I'm not an expert -yet ;) - but I'll give you the things I found out already.. Mistakes may be plentiful, so if anyone can point them out they are free to do so.

A weather balloon will continue to rise until it pops. Helium is lighter than air no matter the altitude, so ignoring the helium loss and the extra pressure inside the balloon due to the tension of the balloon itself, there is no point of equilibrium. I think you can theoretically create such a point, but it would rise so slowly that it would be unpractical.

So I was thinking to send one up that is already at/near equilibrium at ground level, aided by a second "booster" balloon to get it up in the air fast. The second balloon would either have to pop sooner than the first one, or else it would have to be cut off by the payload at a certain height. This can be done with a glow wire wound around a nylon tether, eg. After that, the fligt duration will be mainly limited by helium seeping out of the baloon, and I have no idea how long it can last.

I'm thinking to put a simple QRP (=low power) HAM transmitter on board, together with a few simple sensors (pressure and temperature readings). Recovery is unlikely, so a GPRS receiver is way to expensive IMO.

I don't know much about the legal aspects, but I doubt some nation will spend mega$$$ to shoot down a 25$ (?) balloon payload if it happens to drift into their territory. And even if they do, I won't care much (unless if they try to send me the bill - but I plan to include Bill Gates' address on the probe just for that reason 8-) ).

A. Coward: Wind speed can vary significantly with elevation, so I want to make measurements quite high

This is the part that has got me puzzled. You want to measure wind speeds high up in the air to assess possible wind turbine placings (you're a bored millionaire or what?), even though you realize ground level wind speed and high altitude wind speeds are unrelated?!? I really don't get it. Also, anemometers won't work, because the balloon is drifting along with the wind, so measured wind speed will be close to zero, even though the balloon can be moving at 100km/h. What you need to measure is the position of the balloon over time, and from that data you can deduce the wind speed.

Also note that wind turbines are placed based on avg. *long term* wind speeds, not on ad hoc measurements from a single balloon. You'll have to make measurements for multiple years.

So, based on all those arguments, I think your idea is majorly flawed, or else I've misunderstood you. Sorry in either case ;-)

Re:A semi-related question

[fatboy]

I have done a weather balloon project myself [groovin.net]. Sounds like what you wish to do is a zero pressure balloon [eoss.org]. You will need to read FAR-101 for regulations regarding free unmanned balloons. [risingup.com]

My friend Bill Brown (WB8ELK) has flown more than 200 balloons and has had great success of long term flights with balloons that simply have a pinholes poked in them. One he launched in Alabama a few years ago flew all night and was last heard off the coast of Nova Scotia [tapr.org].