Hypothetical

[BD0G]

As a father of three little ones, I love the idea of challenging their minds. And this experiment sounds fun. You even had me a little curious, so I did a brief google searches and calculations. Have you done that yet?

You need:
- 703 cubic feet of helium at a cost of over $1000, that doesn’t include the three 5 foot tall steel cylinders needed for transport.
- 1,742 standard sized 11” balloons. If you want less balloons, you can always go for the jumbo 3 foot wide balloons, you’ll only need 50 of those suckers.

You might want to let the local new channels know, it will definitely make the nightly news. You will look something like the grandpa lifting his house in the movie UP.

You could peek his curious by starting on a smaller scale to see just how much helium is need to generate lift. Any chance you have a small cat interested in aviation?

Oh, and don’t forget to get your HazMat endorsement for transporting those pressurized cylinders if you don’t want to pay for a delivery service.

And we want videos!!! ?

Wow there are actually a bunch of logistics that need to be considered.

 

[Sandwich]

It's not the weight or last pound that you will have a problem with; it's the mass. It's like asking a rowboat to steer a cruise ship. They're both floating, but too much mass to move with a rowboat or drone.

I’m not expecting much velocity just a manned flight by an 8 year old.

 

[Sandwich]

It's not the weight or last pound that you will have a problem with; it's the mass. It's like asking a rowboat to steer a cruise ship. They're both floating, but too much mass to move with a rowboat or drone.

No, it’s not the same. Boats displace water, this would be displacing air. It take much less effort to displace air than it does water. As the original question says, I’ll be moving a pound.

 

[Sandwich]

As a father of three little ones, I love the idea of challenging their minds. And this experiment sounds fun. You even had me a little curious, so I did a brief google searches and calculations. Have you done that yet?

You need:
- 703 cubic feet of helium at a cost of over $1000, that doesn’t include the three 5 foot tall steel cylinders needed for transport.
- 1,742 standard sized 11” balloons. If you want less balloons, you can always go for the jumbo 3 foot wide balloons, you’ll only need 50 of those suckers.

You might want to let the local new channels know, it will definitely make the nightly news. You will look something like the grandpa lifting his house in the movie UP.

You could peek his curious by starting on a smaller scale to see just how much helium is need to generate lift. Any chance you have a small cat interested in aviation?

Oh, and don’t forget to get your HazMat endorsement for transporting those pressurized cylinders if you don’t want to pay for a delivery service.

And we want videos!!! ?

Your idea of a scaled version is good...but I’ll use a sandbag instead of a cat. If something happens to my Grandson, it’s an accident, if it’s a pet, it’s a felony.

 

[NAVMAV]

Oboy... retired Newshack here. Having seen a lot of wild 'n wonderful projects over several decades.

First blush this sounds like an entertaining thing for The Kid, BUT... ends quickly when you consider uncontrollable elements involved - starting with WIND, ending with WIFI or Whutever signal is involved.

Accidental push of RTH button comes quickly to mind...~

Tether or not, we wouldn't send OUR Kids up like this. Sorry to sound like a Killjoy. (There's a word we haven't seen for ages.)

Rgds, NAVMAV

 

[Sandwich]

Oboy... retired Newshack here. Having seen a lot of wild 'n wonderful projects over several decades.

First blush this sounds like an entertaining thing for The Kid, BUT... ends quickly when you consider uncontrollable elements involved - starting with WIND, ending with WIFI or Whutever signal is involved.

Accidental push of RTH button comes quickly to mind...~

Tether or not, we wouldn't send OUR Kids up like this. Sorry to sound like a Killjoy. (There's a word we haven't seen for ages.)

Rgds, NAVMAV

Thanks for the input. Its my plan to keep altitude to six to 8 feet above the ground and fly when there is little to no wind. And if necessary I can shoot him down...just kidding.

 

[sdold]

No, it’s not the same. Boats displace water, this would be displacing air. It take much less effort to displace air than it does water. As the original question says, I’ll be moving a pound.

No, he's right about this.,. You don't understand Newton's First Law and you're moving 85 pounds. Change boat to dirigible and maybe it will make sense to you. There are plenty of other reasons not to do this. One that should be obvous is that you're going to be flying a drone near a kid with spinning props and a pair of eyes watching. The best that will happen is that it'll crash when it moves sideways against the rope can't maintain a level attitude. Hopefully it won't cut the kid with the props on the way down.

 

[Olav van Gerven]

What about taking the first pound in stead of the last? It would leave only 57 for the baloons to lift.

But serious: Technically, I see no reason why it would not work, but for safetyreasons, I cannot reccomend it.

 

[Sixgun89]

You guys are the best! This is the best Blog I’ve ever seen! Really a great hobby when it draws this kind of people!
Just my two cents!
I think our friend need to know the difference between mass and weight.
Thanks Mavic Pilots and all your great members!

Tom S

 

[Sandwich]

No, he's right about this.,. You don't understand Newton's First Law and you're moving 85 pounds. Change boat to dirigible and maybe it will make sense to you. There are plenty of other reasons not to do this. One that should be obvous is that you're going to be flying a drone near a kid with spinning props and a pair of eyes watching. The best that will happen is that it'll crash when it moves sideways against the rope can't maintain a level attitude. Hopefully it won't cut the kid with the props on the way down.

Thanks for the input.
I’m going to make a 5 point attachment to the UAV. The center point attachment slightly shorter than to the legs. This should give the UAV the needed room for making is corrections, yet still give it limited ability to make a turn.
If needed. My controller is already set to make small slow movement, and any input will be done slowly. Also, I’ll test with sandbags before letting my Grandson on board. A light jacket, bike helmet, goggles, and gloves should mitigate most of the risk. We will use every failure as a learning event, which is great lesson for him to learn. This will be an event, not a play toy.

 

[DrDrew3]

National Geographic tried this helium balloon stunt in true Mythbusters fashion. It worked on paper but proved impractical and wrought with problems when attempted IRL.

Here’s what happened...

 

[FoxhallGH]

Nope - there is a basic misunderstanding here about the difference between Weight and Mass ... you may have reduced the lifting weight to a single lb, but the mass you are moving is 85 lb's ... while you might find it easy to lift this arrangement vertically in the first place, you'll see the difference that Mass makes when you want to change the direction. The Mavic will need to overcome the inertia of 85 lbs of Mass to make everything change direction. It's at that point, the 'harness' holding the Mavic to the Balloons will need to do its thing to allow a veeeerrrryy slow change of direction without the Mavic ripping free, or flipping over so far it either chops a hole in the balloon or [preferrably] the motor cut-outs operate.
For goodness sake, if you are going to do this, do it with a child-sized dummy attached to the balloons first!

 

[bobscheel53]

My plan is to keep any flight low and slow, with me at the control. Then if all goes well, mount my control and let him pilot. Flights kept within 6feet of the ground.

If I mounted to individual arms of the drone I’m not sure how that might disrupt its auto control, but if I use a center attachment point, I lose the ability to point and control.
Anyway, it’s a project that we can do together. One day, when I’m dead, he’ll get pleny of laughs from it.

I just wanted to run the idea past a few skeptical adults before approaching my Son, his Wife and Grandson. I may not tell my daughter in law....

Wind is a significant variable. Once this assembly is air borne you would have very little control over it. Take your grandson indoor skydiving or something safe.

 

[Sandwich]

National Geographic tried this helium balloon stunt in true Mythbusters fashion. It worked on paper but proved impractical and wrought with problems when attempted IRL.

Here’s what happened...

My Grandson weighs about 75% less, and we will not attempt a flight in wind.

 

[Sandwich]

Nope - there is a basic misunderstanding here about the difference between Weight and Mass ... you may have reduced the lifting weight to a single lb, but the mass you are moving is 85 lb's ... while you might find it easy to lift this arrangement vertically in the first place, you'll see the difference that Mass makes when you want to change the direction. The Mavic will need to overcome the inertia of 85 lbs of Mass to make everything change direction. It's at that point, the 'harness' holding the Mavic to the Balloons will need to do its thing to allow a veeeerrrryy slow change of direction without the Mavic ripping free, or flipping over so far it either chops a hole in the balloon or [preferrably] the motor cut-outs operate.
For goodness sake, if you are going to do this, do it with a child-sized dummy attached to the balloons first!

Actually, you’re describing “momentum”, and your right. I know there will be limited thrust, but with 25 minutes of battery, I think I can overcome inertia and momentum for a small event, to include a direction change. The Wright Flyer used a 12 horsepower engine, with most of its power being used to create lift and overcome drag. And that craft weighed 604 pounds.
Again, thanks for the input. I have already made changes on the plan based on the feedback.

 

[Flyicaptain]

I don’t think this is a very good idea. For starters, if you attach the balloons and it gets away from you you’ll never see it again.

Or is grandson either. ?

 

[Thomas B]

If the drone is on the ground and 75# is placed on it I think the legs will break. Same for the arms if it is hovering. I guess if you’re gonna try you’ll need a place that is connected only to the balloons or their attachment strings, not the aircraft. Tricky at best.

 

[Sandwich]

Nope - there is a basic misunderstanding here about the difference between Weight and Mass ... you may have reduced the lifting weight to a single lb, but the mass you are moving is 85 lb's ... while you might find it easy to lift this arrangement vertically in the first place, you'll see the difference that Mass makes when you want to change the direction. The Mavic will need to overcome the inertia of 85 lbs of Mass to make everything change direction. It's at that point, the 'harness' holding the Mavic to the Balloons will need to do its thing to allow a veeeerrrryy slow change of direction without the Mavic ripping free, or flipping over so far it either chops a hole in the balloon or [preferrably] the motor cut-outs operate.
For goodness sake, if you are going to do this, do it with a child-sized dummy attached to the balloons first!

If a locomotive were suspended in air, could you move it? I think I can.
I went hot air ballooning, the basket carried 6 to 8 people, plus the pilot, plus a gas cylinder and torch and framework. Though it created a large surface, it took little wind to move it vertically..

 

[Sandwich]

If the drone is on the ground and 75# is placed on it I think the legs will break. Same for the arms if it is hovering. I guess if you’re gonna try you’ll need a place that is connected only to the balloons or their attachment strings, not the aircraft. Tricky at best.

The purpose of the helium will be to reduce the perceived weight to what’s manageable by the drone. The only purpose for any weight is to maintain control. And for stability, everything will be under the drone.

 

[Sandwich]

Or is grandson either. ?

It’s okay, I have two Grandsons.