Zeppelin Experience Tours

I am miffed that I will not be in Blighty for this I'm sure it will be
fantastic.

On a separate note I am getting pretty annoyed with Blogger, this entry is
coming via email and the trouble is it reformats it dreadfully and I can't
add images.

Very unlike Google to allow a product to have so many holes in it.

Dates: Monday 7th - Wednesday 9th May 2007

Depart from Stansted Airport on a direct flight to Friedrichshafen on the
morning of Monday 7th May (a UK Bank Holiday).

While in Friedrichshafen we will stay at the Graf Zeppelin Hotel for two
nights (Monday and Tuesday), and then return to Stansted on the Wednesday
evening. (Tour members have the option of making their own travel plans or
extending their stay as they wish.)

Now the exciting bits. During our time in Friedrichshafen the itinerary will
include:

A one-hour Zeppelin flight over Friedrichshafen and Lake Constance (the
Bodensee). Plus an exclusive guided tour of the Zeppelin hangar and a talk
by a member of Zeppelin's technical team. This will provide a fantastic
opportunity to see the progress of NT No.4 which will be under construction
during 2007.

The Zepp flight itself will be on a 'rolling' booking over the three days to
provide the maximum opportunity to fly should the weather be a factor. (In
the unlikely event that the flight can't take place at all then flight fees
will not be charged although all other events will still take place.)

Other activities during our stay:

Guided tour of the Zeppelin Museum in Friedrichshafen including a special
talk by an airship expert, together with a meal in the Museum's excellent
restaurant overlooking the lake.

A trip to the Zeppelin Museum and the Dornier Museum in the nearby town of
Meersburg, and possibly a visit to Zeppelin's house in Constance.

We will also organise evening meals on the Monday and Tuesday, possibly
incorporating a boat trip on the Lake, and of course some free-time to
explore Friedrichshafen itself.

Costs are being negotiated right now and accordingly we need to start
confirming numbers, so if you want to join us on this very special inaugural
trip then please contact us now.

Further tours are also being planned later in the year.

John and Ute Christopher

Airship Initiatives - putting airships to work

jcairships@talktalk .net

Tel/fax +44 (0)1453 843909

A couple of blog entries that made me chuckle...

I doubt if the ding was big but I like the story, I also like that fact that
Google will now serve up disaster ads because I have posted this.

5) I was once in a hot air balloon accident, when we crashed into a
mobile-home complex in New Hampshire at about 6am. All these crazy people in
their underwear came running out to see what was going on, including some
big fat guy in his tighty-whities who kept trying to pick me up off the
ground to see if I was hurt and I kept yelling "Please don't touch me! Don't
touch me!" And he thought it was because I was hurt but really it was just
because I didn't want some fat guy in just his tighty-whities touching me.

Thats from
http://smarshyboy.blogspot.com/2007/01/ok-please-forget-what-i-said.html

And then its time to relax

Reduce Tension By Thinking Tall And Loose January 30, 2007

For the past few days I've been noticing a bit of tension in my jaw. I don't
think the tension is new. Rather, I think the awareness of the tension is
new.

For much (most) of my life, I have carried tension in that area – jaw, neck,
and shoulders. In the past, I would not become aware of the tension until it
became acute and painful. Now, as I continue to deepen my awareness of my
inner state – thoughts, feelings, beliefs – I find that my awareness of the
state of my body is naturally heightened and I am noticing the tension in
the early stages.

So noticing this tension is not a bad thing. If you want to change something
you must be aware of it first.

I find it interesting though not surprising that this awareness has
blossomed after reading the post Look Like A Million Dollars on Noel
Kingsley's blog.

Noel writes:

In order to maintain your proper slim shape, you should free your
neck and 'send' your head upwards. Do this by thinking only. Also think of
your back lengthening. Your body is very springy and it's more than likely
that your full height is taller than you normally experience. The important
thing is that you don't make physical effort to achieve this as you will
only get stiff. Think loose and tall as often as you can. You are tapping
into the natural instinct you have for good poise that you've had from
birth.

It's impossible for me to "think loose and tall" and continue to carry the
tension in my jaw. I've been practicing this technique whenever I catch
myself holding some tension in that area. I'll stop and breath into my jaw,
neck and shoulders. I'll pull my head back slightly so that it is resting
comfortably above my shoulders and I'll imagine my head being gently pulled
upwards like a hot air balloon tugging on its tethers.

This technique is especially helpful to me when I am sitting at my desk for
a long stretch. I'll catch myself beginning to hunch forward and compress
down towards my keyboard. Remembering to think loose and tall helps restore
a more supportive posture.

So if you want to feel more relaxed, reduce tension and maybe even gain a
bit of height, remember to think loose and tall.

* Posted in : Well-Being , Healing , Physical Body
* Author : Edward Mills

http://evolvingtimes.com/2007/01/reduce-tension-by-thinking-tall-and-loose.h
tm

The chaps trying for 1 million unique visitors by June 2007 so the 4 of you
that visit here, do him a favour and pop by!!

G

Sydney Sky Orchestra

Sean Kavannagh has some fantastic images of the Sky Orchestra over on his
blog at http://ex65.blogspot.com/

It really looked quite spectacular.

I wish I could easily add pictures to my blogger site, it's a real pain and
never seems to work properly for me. Sean must be a choosen one.

Chateau d'Oex draws 25k spectators on Sunday

Well it must be pretty..

24 Heures, Fre and Chateau d'Oex tourism, Fre - The Chateau d'Oex hot air
balloon festival, a popular annual event, had perfect weather Sunday, with
25,000 spectators - half of all visitors during the nine-day festival.
Weather hampered the event early in the week but Friday and Saturday some 90
balloons lifted off each day. Nocturnal ballooning Friday night, with a
light show and music, pulled in a crowd of 10,000. The event drew 147 pilots
from 27 countries, including a group of Russians who drove 8,000 km to
participate.

http://www.genevalunch.com/node/2849

Visit flyingB's Flickr photos of the event and notice the small child
hanging off a tilting basket, who was the safety officer ;-)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/flyingbee/

Hot Air 2 yes the new version of the game is on its way

Annal and his team behind Nitrome are working hard on completing their
latest game, Hot Air 2, the first sequel Nitrome have done that should be
released soon. In the meantime, Mat was kind enough to answer a few
questions and reveal some information about the development of the game.

FreeGamesNews: When did you come up with the idea of developing a sequel to
Hot Air and why? Hot Air 2

Mat: We wanted to wait a while before doing a sequel to any of our games as
we feel they will feel fresher that way. We also didn't just want to make a
sequel be just the same as the original…we wanted to add features that would
make it a superior game.

We also took onboard a lot of fan comments about the original which has led
to an easier difficulty from the start and the map screen being included.

More information here http://freegamesnews.com/en/?p=1198

Gas Balloon Record

Now here is something I could really get into.

It must be absolutly fantastic in complete silence.

Record-breaking balloon flight attempted from Lake Elsinore

By: Cathy Redfern - For The Californian

LAKE ELSINORE ---- In what started as a wager between college buddies 10
years ago, two men Sunday launched a helium-powered balloon from Lake
Elsinore toward North Carolina, seeking to break an international record for
the longest such flight.

Pilots Andy Cayton, 51, of Savannah, Ga., and Samuel Canders, 29, of
Washburn, Maine, took off in the late afternoon from the Lake Elsinore Sky
Dive at Skylark Airport, chasing the record with a crucial cross-country
weather forecast that looked cold, but fair and dry.

They plan to be in the air for 60 hours and to cover some 2,300 miles,
Cayton said, adding that icing will be the biggest challenge since any
significant moisture will ground them.

The men plan to fly at altitudes of 10,000 feet to 18,000 feet, in
temperatures well below freezing. The white balloon, owned by Cayton and a
partner, is the standard size for racing gas balloons, but is smaller than
the more commonly seen hot air balloons, said Jim Bilbrey of Adventure
Flights, who hosted the flight.

Canders and Cayton are out to best the 2,134-mile record set in 2005 by a
team from Belgium, Bilbrey said.

According to a Federal Aviation Administration representative on hand
Sunday, the military-trained pilots have a good chance.

"Very few go after records," said Troy Bradley of Albuquerque, who works
part-time for the FAA. "Andy is very meticulous and persistent."

The men chose Lake Elsinore for its weather and geography, said Cayton, a
veteran balloon pilot. He was trained by Bilbrey 10 years ago when he came
to California to get his gas balloon license after retiring from the Army.

But it was the youngster Canders who made a wager while in college that he
would fly coast-to-coast in a balloon by the time he was 30 or submit to a
tattoo artist, Canders said. He said he turns 30 in March.

The two pilots met just last month, but Canders said he guessed they would
"get acquainted pretty quick" in the 6-foot-by-4-foot basket, in which they
will be accompanied by their camping gear, a radio and lots of warm clothes.

Canders' enthusiasm was infectious as he talked about the flight, though he
joked that he might be better off just getting the tattoo.

"I'm excited," he said. "I can't wait."

Both pilots have piloted just about everything, but Canders has not flown
balloons much and calls himself "just ballast" on this flight. But he is
also the sponsor of the flight. Organizers said the helium alone costs about
$7,000.

He called this flight "Andy's show." Cayton last year captured the national
title in the major race for gas balloons and is planning to go after the
international prize this fall.

Cayton said he has been flying gas balloons for four years. He said piloting
the balloon is "a real physics test." As much as 1,000 pounds of sand
ballast might be pitched from the basket to control the balloon's flight
pattern, while a valve is used to let out the helium.

As for the competition, he likened it to golf.

"You are really out competing against yourself more than anything," he said.

There are about 180 potential records for balloon flying, said the FAA's
Bradley, and they are getting broken more frequently due to technological
advances.

He said the two were lucky to get out Sunday, the planned day, for their
"camping trip in the air," as some wait months for favorable weather.
Sunday's trip was postponed from dawn to dusk, the times favored for
launching because of the calmer winds.

The balloon was made by Bert Padelt of Allentown, Penn., who was also on
hand for the launch, as were Cayton's friends Barbara Fricke and Peter Cuneo
of Albuquerque. All pointed to the importance of forecasting help from Day
Weather of Wyoming.

The pilots, after hours of inflating and preparation, said in general they
like gas balloons because they can travel much farther and are much quieter
than hot-air balloons.

Slowing from his packing and talk of patches and glue and
industrial-strength Saran wrap, Cayton paused, remembering past trips.

"It's the quiet," he said. "You can hear the coyotes from 18,000 feet."

To track the men's progress online, visit www.savannahsix.com. For
information on the international gas balloon world, visit www.gasballon.be.

Melbourne might loose its balloons

Close to me old heart this one.

I flew in Melbourne when Balloon Sunrise belonged to Chris Dewhirst, that
was a couple of owners ago. Ambush marketing is always a touchy subject and
is even rearing its head for the 2010 world cup here in South Africa.
Already areas of cities are being zoned as exclusion zones for non event
sponsors. The zones are pretty big, tough luck if your Kentucy is within the
zone, all external branding will have to be covered because Mc D is an
official sponsor, I don't know that its just an example. I understand even
signage to bank ATM's will have to change so if your a visitor to South
Africa and need help finding your brand near a stadium tough!!

Perhaps the people at major sporting events should do more for the brands
supporting them. Go for it ambush marketers I say ;-)

Peter Ker, State Political Reporter
January 29, 2007

Fears that new ambush marketing legislation could affect Victoria's tourism
industry have prompted an investigation from the state's top tourism body.

Companies operating hot air balloon rides over Melbourne are eagerly
awaiting the State Government's next move on the legislation, amid concerns
balloonists could breach laws — that will focus on aerial advertising — if
they continue to fly balloons with corporate branding.

Aerial advertising bans were trialled during last year's Commonwealth Games,
but the Government was prompted into action after a big airship branded with
Holden logos flew over major events, including the AFL grand final.

The airship attracted the ire of sports authorities such as the AFL and
Cricket Australia, and infuriated rival companies who had paid large sums
for the official sponsorship rights.

The Age believes that Tourism Victoria marketing director Don Richter has
consulted tourism industry members ahead of Parliament resuming in February.
In a communique to officials in the Department of Sport and Recreation, Mr
Richter has advised the Government to consider exemptions from the imminent
laws, particularly during the morning, when most balloon companies operate.

Peter Gill, general manager of Balloon Sunrise, said his company would
struggle to break even without corporate branding on balloons, and urged the
Government to consider exemptions for tourism operators. "Legislation should
exclude hot air balloons that have fare-paying passengers," he said. "We are
not ambush marketing; we are going for a hot air balloon flight … We don't
interfere with any major event in Melbourne."

He said legislation should also take into account that most companies fly
across the city about dawn — hours before most sports and cultural events
begin.

He said buying new equipment without corporate branding was beyond most
Melbourne companies, with balloons costing about $70,000 each.

Stacy Hume, a spokeswoman for Sports Minister James Merlino, said
stakeholders would be considered. "Legislation will be introduced in 2007 to
protect selected major events from ambush marketing, this is currently being
developed," she said.

http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/tourism-chief-floats-balloon-ban-draw
backs/2007/01/28/1169919213445.html

More Blue Peter style action

I would have thought this would have been a good thing to perfect whilst st in an office today.

For this make you will need

Hot Air Balloon

SUBJECT: Aeronautics
TOPIC: Lift
DESCRIPTION: An indoor hot air balloon made out of a plastic film dry cleaner bag. CONTRIBUTED BY: Gregory Vogt (OSU)
EDITED BY: Roger Storm, NASA Glenn Research Center

MATERIALS:
Dry cleaner plastic film bags (select a bag with the thinnest possible plastic and have several on hand. You may have to experiment with bags of different thicknesses.)
Several small paper clips
Cellophane tape
Heat source (Blow dryer, sterno, backpacker camp stove, etc.)
Matches
Three feet of aluminum heat duct (if using open flame heat source)
Electric drill (to put holes in the heat duct)

The complete instructions here http://www.lerc.nasa.gov/WWW/K-12/TRC/Aeronautics/Hot_Air_Balloon.html

Chateau d'Oex bankrupt??

Chateau d'Oex's big balloon event having a bumpy financial ride

January 25, 2007 - 10:36 posted by Ellen Wallace

24 heures, Fre - Chateau d'Oex's famous week-long ballooning event could be on the verge of bankruptcy, if rumours are to be believed, The chairman of the organization behind it, Sky Event, admits that 2006 was a bad year and could well show a deficit. According to Scherrer, the accounts are not yet completed, but poor weather in 2006 left the event financially weakened.

Meanwhile, today is expected to be a good weather day at the hot air balloon event, which runs this week and is traditionally one of the biggest tourist attractions in the region at the end of January.

Sole of Africa Hot Air Balloon Festival

Well I'm going to pip them to the post.

We have not really decided on the name of the balloon festival but its the working title.

The Sole of Africa Hot Air Balloon Festival 20-22 April 2007 Nottingham Road Natal Midlands

With a very slippey program

Thursday 19th Press Flight from Pietermaritzberg

Friday 20th AM PM free flight

Sat 21st AM free flight PM Glow

Sun 22nd AM free flight

Thats is all very much subject to change.

Watch this space

Chateau D'Oex oh how we all wish...

With thanks to Julian Hensey for this link

http://www.shutterpoint.com/Photos-Search.cfm?search_opt=KXXXX&q=Ch%C3%A2teau%2Dd%27Oex

I think there are many of us very jealous not to be in Switzerland this week, looks fabulous.

There are some very dodgy videos about as soon as I see a decent one I'll post it.

South African Hot Air Balloon Meet.

It really seems that our meet, held in conjunction with, The Sole of Africa campaign is coming together.

If you would like to attend with your balloon then please let me know. Passenger rides over the Midlands Meander will also be available.

20th - 22nd April 2006 Nottingham Road, KwaZulu Natal, South Africa.

Not really pinned down the title yet though!!

Find me at balloonzn(at)gmail.com

Western region members will recieve absolutly no preferential treatment at all honest ;-)

San Martin,slighty darker.

No one hurt as hot-air balloon forced into emergency landing

By Leslie Griffy

Mercury News

A low-flying hot air balloon made an emergency landing Sunday, after it ran into power lines in San Martin, Santa Clara County Sheriff's Sgt. Ed Wise said.

Neither the two passengers nor the pilot were injured, Wise said, when around 8:25 a.m. part of the ballon's skirt was burned after it glided into a power line near Mammini Court, just north of San Martin Avenue.

Wise said a mistake by the pilot caused the ballon to hit the power line. The Federal Aviation Administration was told about the emergency landing.

Its a dogs life.... Balloonists' tip leads to seizure of 36 pit bulls in Union County

Jan 22, 2007 : 7:45 am ET

MONROE, N.C. -- Police were tipped by a couple in a hot-air balloon about a
large number of dogs at a Union County home, leading to the seizure of 36
pit bulls in one of the county's largest dog-related cases.

The dogs were taken last week at the house in Indian Trail, said county
sheriff's Lt. Michelle Starnes. The dogs probably will be euthanized,
Starnes said.

The dog owner is Stanley Max Plowman Jr., 26, who said he boards, breeds and
sells pit bulls. The case still is being investigated and no charges have
been filed.

Vitaene C

I am guessing that this is a cold air inflatable unless anyone knows
different?

They seem to be going mad for balloons in the Gulf, I understand a new
passenger ride operation is due to start up in Oman shortly as well...

Vitaene C brand awareness – is it all hot air?

By staff reporter

22/01/2007 - As marketing strategies for health drinks go, they don't get
much bigger than NTDE's plan to enter the Guinness book of records with an
8-storey balloon in the shape of a Vitaene C drink bottle.

National Trading and Development Establishment (NTDA), a distributor in the
United Arab Emirates, is making sure that the brand is hard to ignore – not
only by anyone in the wide vicinity of the Record Breaking Festival in Al
Safa Park next week, where the balloon will be inflated, but also by world
record followers around the globe.

Vitaene C
<javascript:KeywordSearch('KEYWORDS=Vitaene+C&period=all&inner=1');> is a
product from Japanese drinks maker Pokka that contains vitamin C, B2, B3 and
niacin, and is said to have built up considerable brand recognition in the
local UAE market since its introduction in 1998.

"We wanted to create something that would give recognition to Vitaene C and
subscribe to the brand values of powering the healthy growth," said company
representative Hussain Zubaidee.

"The marketing
<javascript:KeywordSearch('KEYWORDS=marketing&period=all&inner=1');>
campaign which was executed in 2006 was targeted specifically to the
health-conscious individual who is looking for a fizzy boost. This year we
wanted to make a big deal on the merits of the drink – hence we thought big,
with the largest inflatable balloon in the world."

The balloon weighs in at 500kg of flame retardant material but will be up to
six-times its own weight when filled. Its volume is estimated to the
three-times that of the previous record winner – the Power Rangers Lost
Galaxy balloon launched by Fox Family Worldwide in 1999 with a volume of
1044.8 cubic metres.

Installation calls for the expertise of a team of 14 specialists from the UK
and India, including a project leader and technical engineers.

Love this video of a homemade fire balloon.

If you've never made oe of these rus out and try it.

Very cool, when I flew in Thailand the locals would often let them off in our honour.

Big events often had thousands of the things lifting into the sky.

Walking to the Pole and then a balloon record...

Somebody following HA's antics.

UK team who have made history by reaching the centre of Antarctica without
mechanical assistance have spoken of their epic journey. Henry Cookson, Rory
Sweet and Rupert Longsdon used only skis and kites to travel 1,093 miles
(1,750km) to the Pole of Inaccessibility.

Mr Cookson told of the moment when they saw their goal.... "We were on the
verge of collapse, but we just looked at each other and started laughing,"
he said.

The Pole of Inaccessibility is marked by a life-size bust of Lenin, left by
a Russian team who reached the pole using vehicles in 1958.

"We saw this black dot on the horizon. It got larger, then we saw this
silhouette of the statue. It was so surreal after travelling across 1,750km
of flat Antarctic plateau," said Mr Cookson. He said the team, accompanied
by Canadian guide Paul Landry, had experienced "serious lows and highs"
throughout their journey.

"We had three or four days without a breath of wind. Our bodies seemed to
relax. When we started again, the pain was mind-numbing," he said.

He added that the team helped each other by keeping at the same pace and
helping each other with equipment problems and sharing out loads when one
person was finding it too tough.

The challenge was completed to raise money for The Calvert Trust
<http://www.calvert-trust.org.uk/> , which provides adventure opportunities
for disabled people.

The team - who call themselves N2i - hope to raise £150,000 towards a sports
centre.

They pitched their tent 30ft from Lenin's gaze and will spend the coming
days preparing for their pick-up.

Henry Cookson, 31, from West Kensington in London, Mr Sweet, 39, from South
Cerney, and Mr Longsdon, 34, from Coates, both in Gloucestershire, expect to
return to the UK on 7 February.

While they are waiting to be collected, Mr Cookson said the team intended to
dig below the Lenin statue to try to find the hut it is said to stand on top
of.

"In the base there is said to be a golden book, which we will sign if we can
get to it," said Mr Cookson.

As for the future, Mr Cookson said newly-married Mr Longsdon intends to
spend some time with his wife and Mr Sweet is hoping to break the hot air
balloon altitude record.

"I just want to get home safely and in one piece, then I'll see what else is
tempting. There are some fantastic possibilities,"

Hempleman Adams-I had better eat humble pie

Nobody told me it was an Ax5

By Sue Ryan
Last Updated: 12:01am GMT 14/01/2007

The British explorer David Hempleman-Adams has broken the world altitude
record in a hot air balloon.

Record-breaking hot air balloon
David Hempleman-Adams reached an altitude of 32,500ft

Mr Hempleman-Adams endured temperatures of minus 60C to fly his balloon to
32,500ft (6 .1 miles) – just above the cruising height of a jumbo jet – and
smash a record that had stood for more than 27 years.

An airline pilot flying below the 50-year-old adventurer radioed him to say:
"Only a mad Englishman would do that in an open basket."

It was his fourth attempt to break the record set by Carol Davis, an
American, who flew at 31,299ft in 1979.

Under aviation rules, altitude records have to exceeded by three per cent.
The sealed black box was taken away for ratification by an official
observer. The result is expected to be confirmed in the next four weeks.

The balloon, with the explorer in a 3ft by 4ft basket and wearing a
parachute, was launched from a sheltered site near Red Deer, Alberta, at
5.20pm British time on Friday. He landed just under two hours later at
7.17pm.

At one point in the flight, his equipment started to freeze and the burner
went out. Despite wearing an oxygen mask, the explorer also suffered slight
hypoxia (dizziness through lack of oxygen).

The descent provided the greatest challenge. When Mr Hempleman-Adams reached
32,500ft, he discovered that he only had five per cent of his fuel left,
forcing him to descend at 1,500ft a minute.

"It was pretty hairy," he said yesterday. "Doing it at that speed made the
balloon very unstable and it was rotating and shaking the whole way down. It
was such a hard landing, I think I must be two inches shorter." It could,
however, have been far worse – he landed near the only lake and power cables
in the area but managed to miss both.

Graphic showing how high the balloon reached

Estimating the exact amount of fuel is crucial and has been blamed for the
failure of Mr Hempleman-Adams's three previous attempts. Too much and the
balloon is too heavy, too little and the flight has to be aborted.

His latest record has been the most hard-fought. It took three expeditions
to get to the North Pole, three to cross the Atlantic in a balloon and two
to take one particular route to the geomagnetic North Pole.

On the last, he did not even tell his wife, Claire. "So that's where Dad has
been," she told their three daughters when she heard about his achievement
while shopping.

"That one was extreme," he said. "I knew how tough it was, and I have never
sat down and talked about the risks with those close to me."

He was appointed Lieutenant of the Victorian Order in the latest New Year's
honours list for his work for the Duke of Edinburgh Award scheme. He raised
£2 million, with £5 million more pledged over the next five years.

In 1998, he became the first man to do "the adventurers' grand slam" – the
highest mountain on each of seven continents plus the four geographic and
magnetic poles. He achieved his latest record in the AX-05 category of
hot-air balloons. The AX-05 group represents balloons with a capacity of
900-1,200 cubic metres of air.

Chat now on this blog....

If you scroll right to the bottom of the page you will now find a chat window!

When I'm online updating this I'll let it be known.

We could then chat in a dull way about ballooning!!

700 flies in France, Zeppelins attack London... on this day.

More from Cut and Paste Aviation.

1915 - The first Zeppelins used in German bombing raids on Britain attacked Great Yarmouth and King's Lynn, and Britain suffers its first casualties from an air attack.

Germany employed three zeppelins, the L.3, the L.4, and the L.6, in a two-day bombing mission against Britain. The L.6 turned back after encountering mechanical problems, but the other two zeppelins succeeded in dropping their bombs on English coastal towns.

1784 - The largest hot-air balloon ever made, by the Montgolfier brothers, makes an ascent at Lyons, France.

Called Le Flesselle in honor of the Governor of Lyons who had sponsored the project, the balloon was 131 feet high and 104 feet in diameter with a capacity of more than 700,000 cubic feet. The ascent was watched by over 100,000 people. The balloon reached a height of 3000 feet before a combination of unfavourable winter conditions, and a failure of the balloon's fabric at a point of previous damage meant that the balloon only reached a height of 3000 feet before making a somewhat rapid descent back to earth, which left the seven aeronauts shaken but unhurt.