Cluster Balloonist Launches From AirVenture
Jonathan Trappe, a certificated balloon pilot who has redefined the concept of lawn-chair-small-balloon flying, launched from EAA’s AirVenture grounds on Thursday evening in his cluster balloon system with the aim to probably fly all night long. As of 10 p.m. Thursday night, he had crossed Lake Winnebago and was tracking southeast, making about 7 mph at 6,919 feet, according to the track displayed on his website. Trappe crossed the English Channel in his rig in May, and has the process of inflating, assembling and flying his aircraft down to a science. AVweb was there as he prepared to launch on Thursday afternoon, and we will have a video later in the week.
Jonathan Trappe, a certificated balloon pilot who has redefined the concept of lawn-chair-small-balloon flying, launched from EAA's AirVenture grounds on Thursday evening in his cluster balloon system with the aim to probably fly all night long. As of 10 p.m. Thursday night, he had crossed Lake Winnebago and was tracking southeast, making about 7 mph at 6,919 feet, according to the track displayed on his website. Trappe crossed the English Channel in his rig in May, and has the process of inflating, assembling and flying his aircraft down to a science. AVweb was there as he prepared to launch on Thursday afternoon, and we will have a video later in the week.
Trappe collected his crew on the lawn behind EAA's museum several hours before his planned launch time to begin inflating the balloons one by one from large tanks of helium. The brightly colored balloons, which were designed for advertising use above car dealerships and shopping centers, come in several different shapes and sizes for different purposes. Trappe said he can control his altitude by using ballast and also by releasing or popping the balloons one by one, and he can control his direction to a certain extent by pre-planning using weather data and adjusting his altitude to find the winds he wants.
