As a kid, I always fantasized about building a small, hot air / helium combo gas airship, about three times this one's size. It would've had electrically powered motors, powered by a small gas generator, to allow for smaller engine nacelles, and better independent, differential thrust. Today, that ship might be possible. LOL ;) Thanks for the video.

Since it is a hot air blimp, it takes continual effort to keep the air heated to the proper temperature to maintain altitude. The air is always cooling and there is a delay between when you fire the burner and when the new heated air actually takes effect, so you actually have to burn before the blimp starts coming down, which takes a good bit of practice get the timing down. Hot air balloons have the same problem. It takes a lot of skill to fly them level.

Wow, you are lucky to have seen the hot air blimp races in Russia. I have never even seen a full size hot air blimp in real life myself. I do own and fly my own hot air balloon, but hot air blimps are almost non existent in America. I do have the pipe dream of actually building a full size one some day, which was the main reason I built this model. It is a very challenging and expensive goal however, so it will likely be several years before I ever get there.

That's true, a hot air RC blimp is very impractical and nearly impossible to fly once it gets higher than treetop level due to the inability to visually detect descents/accents. I don't think it will ever be a viable consumer product. The only reason I built this one is to prototype a full size one and get through the learning curve on a smaller scale where mistakes are less costly.

@dougiequick1

6 жыл бұрын

HELLO! the technology you request are called video camera and radio ... real time video allows navigation ....could even employ gps and have it simply shown on screen as a blip on a map overlay! EVEN use existing old google earth and pretend it is real time! Yes there could be issues with FAA but screw em if they cant take a joke! ....right?

I'm thinking that the RC propane torch could be part of a really novel home security system.

@karsoncolt1866

3 жыл бұрын

Dunno if anyone gives a shit but if you are stoned like me during the covid times then you can stream all of the latest movies on instaflixxer. I've been watching with my gf during the lockdown =)

@billyshepard3786

3 жыл бұрын

@Karson Colt yea, I have been watching on instaflixxer for since november myself :)

The long distance shots of the ascent are not only dull, they fail to show how the HOT air is introduced to raise the craft.

NICE JOB!!!!

Putting a camera on a quad copter is pretty much a flying camera with really good control. They already have these on the market and are frequently used for inspecting tall objects like smokestacks, power distribution towers, buildings etc.

Hot air only has about 1/3 the lift of helium, and the weight of the burner and fuel system is considerably more than anything required for an RC helium blimp. So the result is that a hot air RC blimp must be a lot larger than most RC helium blimps. There are only two or three people in the world currently who have built an RC hot air blimp, and the other ones are very large too.

Thanks, it was quite difficult actually. It took over a year of working on it, several thousand dollars and two previous attempts to arrive at this final design.

The Navy makes it look easy, but it's not a gimme! But you have definitely sparked my curiosity. Thanks! It would be nice to have a venue that would pay into this research!

@pyronaught

9 жыл бұрын

***** yeah, I wish I had the time and money to develop the full size version. It takes considerably more money to get beyond RC prototypes, and even this prototype ate up about $5K in development costs!

It is built from sewn fabric and has things like zippers and a large unsealed hole where the gondola attaches, so it is not airtight and could not be used with helium. As with a hot air balloon, the envelope is open at the bottom so that CO2 generated from burning propane can escape. Two fans suck air in from the outside and blow it into the envelope so that the oxygen consumed by burning is always being replaced.

This was a big project spanning several years, but to be honest it is very difficult to fly it and not very practical as an RC blimp. I built it mainly as a prototype with the end goal of building a full sized manned hot air blimp. As a prototype it was a success, now onto the much more difficult task of building a real one!

That just like good year blimp

Lift depends on the outside temperature and how hot you want to make the internal air. The blimp and gondola combined weigh about 50lbs with fuel, and if I recall right I designed it to lift about that much on an 80 degree day with internal temps of around 200F. Thus there is a lot of room for increasing the internal temp up to 250F max if more lift is needed, but then you go through fuel faster.

Wondering if a heater coil from stem to stern inside the balloon on a pre inflated heat resistant inner coated balloon would give you controllable lift? It could even be solar powered or battery operated . You can then just heat the air inside the balloon. With micro light weight battery technology of today added weight shouldn't be a problem. Of coarse for storage it would have to be flexible when you deflate the balloon.

Its awesome.

Wow! That is absolutely Awesome! I've got a small goodyear helium I'm putting a brushless micro motor on with a 5x3 prop on the nose, elevon mixing on the horizontal stabilizers, and a ruder for the vertical. But this is fantastic! Subscribing and sharing it. Take care and Happy flying!

Making that fpv would be epic !

Blimps will change my mind and I will die soon

Muy bueno el dirigible. les mando un enorme saludo desde argentina .

What about making the burners work automatically off an altimeter or a range finder pointing at the ground. Then it would automatically maintain buoyancy, leaving you to just fly it like a helium blimp. On second thoughts, maybe putting several temperature sensors inside the balloon and then taking the average reading would be a better input for a burner controller! Be good to have a kill switch for them on your transmitter though, in case of some accident.

That is super cool and i wonder what its top speed is because those props sound powerful

Very cool! Thank you for sharing!

1.3 oz silicon coated ripstop nylon

This is seriously awesome

I figured someone probably already invented flying cameras. And that is true about hooking up a camera to a radio control helicopter accomplishing the same thing. The only problem is, if it crashes you lose the chopper and the camera.

Well done!!! Greets from Münster/Germany!

I would think one would make the balloon black and enjoy free solar heat! Could also employ reflective inner finish to help keep heat in lower portion?? no?

@GULLYSCOUNDREL

5 жыл бұрын

Dougie Quick that’s racist

VERY COOL, very cool but, yes there is always a but. 10 more feet long and a few more in dia you could just fly the thing your self!! anyway, we were just wondering if anyone had done it yet? looks like you did it. very very cool

Hard to imagine it would be so inefficient given full scale hot air balloons (I thought?) can go relative long distances with an actual payloads where these scal models don't even have extraneous payload...huh?? How about a two chambered affair with full time LTA helium and then a hot air chamber to control altitude?

first thanks for your reply most people would not even bother, plus 2012 is a year old again thanks. anyway we saw the russian hot air blimp races just thought about you. just saying a little larger and you could ride the thing. the russian ones, well not russian ones, but the 9 countries in the championship russian race contestants very cool (hot) project though

Great video!

All the Best! Keep me posted on your progress. Oh, BTW, is this air tight enough to hold helium? That would create a Lot of lift.

But I'll at least give you credit for building that hot air blimp, which I could never do. I find using radio control boats the best.

Man that's huge O.O

i love rc

3:27 half blimp half dinosaur!!!!!

How did u make the envelope? What material is it and how did you attack the tail and components?

Did you buy the envelope or did you make it? If so, where did you buy it from? Also, can you use hydrogen instead of hot air for lift

how did u get that thing and where did you buy it it looks sooooo cool lolz i rate 5 star🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

I've just subscribe to your channel +Pyronaught, looks great your project. I'm curious about what material did you use to make the blimp. I did a try years ago using the better fabric available in my country, but didn't resist the hot air and all I had was an awesome hole in the middle, and a terrible fright! :(

@pyronaught

8 жыл бұрын

+Luis Alberto Mendieta Acosta I used 1.3oz silicon coated ripstop nylon, same stuff used to build ultralight hot air balloons. You still have to tilt the burners at 45 degrees, otherwise pointing them straight up would in fact burn a whole through the top.

@cinismovirtual

8 жыл бұрын

+pyronaught , thank you for the advice, I will keep it in mind if try again in the future. Good luck!

Then most of us would probably be better off using a typical radio control helleum blimp, which would be much easier.

yes it was cool. they had 9 countries entered. the American guy was flying the Italian blimp. it was the first one held in russia, and the only one for 12 years. they can't get them organized, like you said not too many people own them. a couple of them held rwo people

I have a geodesic hybrid dirigible airship Frame. Would you like to collaborate?

How does he controls up/down? He can not cool the air that quick so it goes down fast.

@danielwillets2346

6 жыл бұрын

Rubens Barcellos downward thrust

Your blimp kept losing altitude not wanting to fly. Seems you were having some trouble.

Upgrades version with propellors and helium instead of heating for sale ?

@savagecat1098

8 жыл бұрын

Oh ok -.-

what material did you use for the body

@pyronaught

Жыл бұрын

The fabric envelope was made from silicon coated 1.8oz rip stop nylon, normally used for parachutes.

So it doesn't need to be helium just air ?

@pyronaught

9 ай бұрын

Hot air, but yes.

@detectoracehole940

9 ай бұрын

@@pyronaught ty sr is it legal for me to do a hot air rc blimp of you might know ?

@pyronaught

9 ай бұрын

@@detectoracehole940 Laws would depend on where you live. In many places it is illegal to send up paper hot air balloons that carry fire aloft as the heat source, and the wording of those laws might be generic enough to include a blimp like this as well. In the UK there are RC balloon rallies where uncontrolled model hot air balloons that use the same kind of burner are sent aloft, so I guess it would not be illegal there. The same kinds of balloons are flown in the US and you can buy them online as well. Given the time and cost of making one of these RC hot air blimps, you really wouldn't want to fly it above tree top level anyway due to the likely chance of it getting away from you. Then it would likely go somewhere and start a fire when it comes down and the envelope falls into the still burning pilot flame, which would get you in trouble regardless of weather there are specific laws against it or not.

Where did you buy the envelope

Can it lift a man?

have you tried hot helium to get more bouyancy per btu?

@pyronaught

8 жыл бұрын

Filling something that big with helium would produce enough lift to carry a person, and also cost a small fortune.

@punkinhaidmartin

8 жыл бұрын

pyronaught I didn't say fill it with helium. Just include some. It will stay at the top. Perhaps a layer of helium under a layer of hydrogen. Find a way to heat hydrogen safely and you could get by with a significantly smaller balloon.

@mauryginsberg7720

7 жыл бұрын

Did you experiment with creating your own hydrogen through electrolysis of water? that should keep the costs down, and you can create as much as needed even in the field/on the fly............. Oh the humanity! :)

helium airships

How did you make the envelope/bag?

@lemmythebulldog8812

7 жыл бұрын

punchline43 it was made out of silicon

@punchline43

7 жыл бұрын

No I mean how was it assembled? Designed, shaped, cut etc. It seems it would be challenging to say the least, especially something of this scale.

it looks like it loose heat very fast.

@pyronaught

9 жыл бұрын

AngelLestat2 it does, which makes it hard to fly. Because the size is so small compared to a full size hot air balloon, it looses heat faster. The ratio of surface area to volume gets larger as size decreases, giving you less float time between heating.

@AngelLestat2

9 жыл бұрын

pyronaught Yeah, volume rise faster than surface. I dint thoght in that before.

Hindenburg

You need a bigger flying field

How much do you want for it

@pyronaught

9 жыл бұрын

Casey Davis I don't sell them, they are very difficult to make. This was just a prototype for building a full size one.

A lot of money spent that's for sure. I would like to invent a radio control digital camera that flies so one can take great bird's eye photos and videos. But than again all you have to do is fasten a camera onto a radio control plane and achieve the same thing. Hahahaha.

You should light it on fire in mid air and watch it crash like the Hindenburg

@CombraStudios

6 жыл бұрын

or make a blimp filled with hydrogen/oxygen mix and catch it on fire

i loge rc

That’s not a rc now to big