Questions tagged [balloon]
A lighter-than-air aircraft without its own means of propulsion, typically filled with helium, hydrogen, or hot air.
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Why do blimps have fins?
Why do blimps have fins? Can't the two (or so) engines already control direction?
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If a balloon lies within gun range, why would a 21st century warplane shoot it with a missile, instead of rotary guns?
I am not necessarily referring to current events, but you can if you want. Presuppose a balloon is within altitude, and range, of the guns of a warplane made in the 2000's.
Particularly if a military ...
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Do hot air balloon pilots file flight plans?
Are hot-air balloon pilots ever required to file flight plans? (can they file?)
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To what extent is modern "maneuverable spy balloonery" really a thing?
There's a high altitude balloon in the news recently. It seems to have come from the Pacific, passed over Canada and is now over the US. I don't have any official tracking data but notional ...
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What other times has a Chinese high-altitude balloon entered US airspace?
In an AP news article there's a quote from a politician stating:
“This is not the first time a Chinese balloon has entered American
airspace over sensitive national security areas,” Daines said in a
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What determines the maximum ground speed of hot air balloons?
I am wondering how the ground speed of hot air balloons is controlled. The wind is obviously going to have a large influence upon the ground speed, but apart from wind effects, do hot air balloons ...
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Does the FAA construe FAR 91.225 to prohibit aircraft w/o electrical systems w/o ADS-B-out from flying above 10,000' MSL unless below 2500' AGL?
For airspace within the 48 contiguous states and the District of Columbia:
For aircraft originally certificated without engine-driven electrical systems (and not subsequently certified with such a ...
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How do hot air balloon pilots avoid collisions?
There are many places in the world where hundreds of hot air balloons are flown in close proximity to each other. How do the pilots steer them away from each other to avoid mid-air collisions?
Wind ...
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How do hot air balloons navigate?
Hot air balloons are quite obviously carried along with the wind, so how can they be navigated? Choosing the correct launch point relative to the desired landing point would seem to play a major part ...
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What are pro/cons of steam as lifting gas for airships?
I was reading Wikipedia page about hot air airship and another Wikipedia page about the first powered and steerable airship which was powered by a steam engine. So I ask myself "why didn't they ...
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Are hot-air balloons regulated similar to jet aircraft?
Can conventional hot air balloons be considered aircraft as far as regulations are concerned? I mean, they do fly in the air, can ascend into the sky and can land, and also can navigate. But it doesn'...
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What are these autonomous, shape-shifting indoor neutral-density craft I read about?
This may be on the edge of off-topic. I am trying to read more about a technology where generally autonomous (though could be sent commands), neutral-buoyancy craft were navigating indoors, in large ...
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What would be the process to approve a minimal, standardized flight recorder for commercial balloons?
According to this article about the recent balloon event, the NSTB will try to interrogate personal electronic devices for any related data. Since some of these mentioned in the briefing do not ...
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Can balloons be stacked in a climable daisy chain to the edge of space? [closed]
How high can a balloon/s be and still be tethered to the ground?
The most common problem was finding the calmest place on Earth.
The longest balloon chain is 20 km
Pictures below are basic ...
user20435
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How do balloon pilots avoid birdstrikes?
Balloons, by their very nature, are at the mercy of the wind, and can’t maneuver out of the way of other objects except by (very slowly) climbing or descending. For this reason, mid-air collisions ...
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Do the soaring and/or ballooning communities in the US recommend 123.5 as the preferred frequency for air-to-air and air-to-ground use?
Does the soaring community (e.g. the Soaring Society of America) or the ballooning community in the US recommend 123.5 as the preferred frequency for air-to-air and air-to-ground use by glider pilots ...
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