Fire balloons blog
These things have always fascinated me, I can remember being a very small child and my dad making one from tissue paper and wire with a ball of cotton wool soaked in Meths to provide the heat. I guess its the combination of flight and fire that excites (I have always had Pyro leanings in fact that was one of my nicknames as a boy).
If any of you have read Roald Dahls 'Danny champion of the world' there is a great description of the night Dannys dad makes him one of these fire balloons and they watch it dissappear into the night, one of my favourite books and definetly the best ever childrens author.
Anyway I have decided to get some of these chinese lanterns for Christmas this year, so weather permitting we will be launching five of these on boxing day which is my eldest sons eighteenth birthday - if its raining or windy then we will go for New years eve as I am fed up of listening to other peoples fireworks and never do much on that night anyway.
I have decided not to make them as I dont have enough time and they are pretty cheap to buy nowadays at about £15 for six from
Night Sky Lanterns or £2.50 each from
Party Packs. While I was researching this article I found some great videos on youtube of the lantern festivals they hold in china where they launch thousands of these in one go. I am wondering if they all end up in some poor chinese farmers paddy field and he has to clear them all up! Search youtube for more info.
Hopefully will publish some pics of our attempt at launching these fire balloons in the new year.
I also intend to take a flight in a real hot air balloon some time in the spring - we regularly get the Virgin balloon flying over our house on calm evenings (once so close it nearly took our chimney off) so they must launch nearby, maybe more about that in the future if it happens.
Links:
Night Sky Lanterns,
Party Packs, Virgin balloons
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