Blimp Gondola Sources
Hi, I've been lurking long enough and want to build myself one of these blimps. First step is buying the envelope and gondola. I saw that earlier versions used the Plantraco but the newer version uses the Tri-Turbo model off the shark.
The shark seems to be sold out at the linked place, I've googled around a bit and mostly found envelopes for the Tri-Turbo, but no gondolas or complete setups. Has anyone found them anywhere? Should I just get a Plantraco, why was it not used in the recent version?
The shark seems to be sold out at the linked place, I've googled around a bit and mostly found envelopes for the Tri-Turbo, but no gondolas or complete setups. Has anyone found them anywhere? Should I just get a Plantraco, why was it not used in the recent version?
Replies to This Discussion
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ModeratorPermalink Reply by Howard Gordon on -
Whoops - I meant rcguys.com, not rctoys.com. I use their 66" blimp, but they also have a 48" version that costs $60.
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ModeratorPermalink Reply by Wayne Dancer on -
Just a thought, but has anyone ever tried one of those large party balloons as an envelope? You could suspend a small PCB gondola underneath with light netting, or string and double-sided tape.
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ModeratorPermalink Reply by Howard Gordon on -
You can make your own balloons for this purpose - check out http://www.balloonkits.com
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Permalink Reply by Richard on -
I found a site with hoverblimps. (hoverblimps)
Maybe this has an interesting gondola as well. Does anyone have experience with this thing? I can't find any specs or reviews.
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ModeratorPermalink Reply by Chris Anderson on -
the hoverblimp envelope is not large enough to lift our electronics. You need at least 52"
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Permalink Reply by Richard on
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My thought was just about the gondola. at least for the eye it looks robust.
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Permalink Reply by Peter Klemperer on -
Anyone know a good way to get helium? I see target sell tanks online for 50 bucks, has anyone tried other approaches? I'm going to see what sorts of prices I get at the welding shops.
Also, how often do the envelopes need topping off or helium replacement?
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ModeratorPermalink Reply by Howard Gordon on -
You can rent a tank from a welding supplier such as Airgas or Praxair, though you'll probably have to buy a balloon filler valve from them. From Airgas, I got a 60 cu ft tank (2 cu meters), and paid a $130 deposit for permanent rental plus another $40 for the filler valve. Filling the tank costs about $40, and the process is just to swap the empty tank for a new full tank. This may seem expensive, but the Target tanks only hold 15 cu ft and those tanks can't be recycled, so the welding tank is ecologically friendlier.
My blimp envelopes seem to lose approx 5% per day - with my 66" blimp which holds 19 cu ft, that's approx 1 cu ft per day.
One other note - with the welding supplier, I can upgrade to a larger tank by just paying the cost differential.
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ModeratorPermalink Reply by Wayne Dancer on -
I agree, getting helium from a gas supplier is going to be cheaper in the long run. You have no idea how fast those small tanks run out of helium.
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Permalink Reply by Peter Klemperer on
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Thanks for the info guys. I had a summer job one time pushing 50 gallon dewers of liquid helium around a physics lab. Never had to buy it for home though.
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ModeratorPermalink Reply by Wayne Dancer on -
Heh, I love dewars. I used to take peoples coffee mugs and freeze them while they were gone from their desks. Good times! Now I have access to a vertical tank of LN the size of a semi trailer...
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