Balloon Aerial Photo Mapping

Yesterday the sun was shining and I used the Sunday for a new round of my experiment. Since I still don’t know what caused the explosion the last time, I was very careful during the filling. Unfortunately I only had a pink balloon left so it is a bit girly but who cares.

The balloon turned out to be more stable than the last one. Soon it hovered over the drill I used as anchor like last time. The camera box got mounted with some plastic robe under the balloon. I filled the balloon till it carried the camera and some stones. The stones provided some extra weight for the robe which the balloon had the carry later. I sealed the balloon clip from the kitchen and secured it with a knot.

On the first flight I didn’t want to use my camera so I put in some stones to replace the camera. This turned out to be a good idea because the wind was stronger than I expected.

At first the balloon lifted up very well. As it got high enough the wind was starting to push the balloon around. That was a problem because in my garden are many high trees and a house, of course. It looked a bit like a kite. Once the robe got stuck on the roof but luckily I got it free somehow. Still the wind was always pressing the balloon back to the ground. Once just a few centimetres over our pond. I was really happy that I used stones instead of the camera on the first flight.

Back in the hanger I redesigned the mounting and put in the camera. But oh no! The balloon wasn’t carrying the camera any more. The clip wasn’t holding properly and I had lost a lot of gas.

After refilling it was getting serious. I programmed the camera to start making pictures after 10 minutes in a 15 seconds period. So I had enough time to run down the street to a place with more space for manoeuvring. As I got there the camera got bored and turned off (Stupid power save). Since the camera was well secured I could not reach the power switch, so I had to untie the hole box. I should make a hole for the switch.

With the camera powered on I made a lot of pictures of my feet while I tied the box back to the balloon. But finally everything was flying but still not as high as I need to. I am guessing I got 10 meters so all the pictures showing beside my feet only bricks from different distances and altitudes. Not so amazing but still a good step forward. I was still leaking gas. So I need to fix this and I need more upwards lift. Maybe I use two balloons next time.

One thing is for sure: You get a lot attention if you running around with a gigantic balloon. It is perfect promotion!