Hot Air Balloon Clocks Clock

Angie's Hot Air Balloon Clocks
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INDEX PAGE HOT AIR BALLOON CLOCKS - PRICE $21.99 EACH
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#135 HOT AIR BALLOON CLOCK

#625 HOT AIR BALLOON CLOCK

HOT AIR BALLOON CLOCKS ARE APPROX. 9 INCHES IN DIAMETER - POWERED BY ONE AA BATTERY (NOT INCLUDED.) OUR HOT AIR BALLOON ACCENT QUARTZ WALL CLOCKS MAKE A PERFECT GIFT!

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Hot air balloons are the oldest successful human flight technology, dating back to the Montgolfier brothers' invention in Annonay, France in 1783. The first flight carrying humans was made on November 21, 1783, in Paris by Pilâtre de Rozier and the Marquis d'Arlandes. Hot air balloons that can be propelled through the air rather than just being carried along by the wind are known as airships or, more specifically, thermal airships.

Attractive aspects of ballooning include the exceptional quiet (except when the propane burners are firing), the lack of any perceptible feeling of movement and the birds-eye view. Since the balloon moves with the wind, the passengers feel absolutely no wind, except for brief periods during the flight when the balloon climbs or descends into air currents of different direction or speed.

A hot air balloon consists of a bag called the envelope that is capable of containing hot air. Suspended beneath is the gondola or wicker basket (in certain, long distance or high altitude balloons, a capsule) which carries a source of heat capable of producing a sufficient temperature gradient between the air inside the envelope and the surrounding air mass to give enough lift to keep the balloon and its passengers aloft. Unlike gas balloons, the envelope does not have to be sealed at the bottom since the rising hot air only exerts pressure on the upper hemisphere of the balloon to provide lift. In today's sports balloons the envelope is generally made from nylon fabric and the mouth of the balloon (closest to the burner flame) is made from fire resistant material.

Recently, balloon envelopes have been made in fantastic shapes, such as hot dogs, rocket ships, and the shapes of commercial products.

The first modern hot air balloon was designed and built in 1960 by Ed Yost. He made the first free flight of such an aircraft in Bruning, Nebraska on 22 October 1960. Initially equipped with a plastic envelope and kerosene fuel, Yost's designs rapidly moved onto using a modified propane powered "weed burner" to heat the air and lightweight nylon fabric for the envelope material.

Today, hot air balloons are used primarily for recreation. There are some 7,000 hot air balloons operating in the United States.

Hot air balloons are able to fly to extremely high altitudes. On November 26, 2005, Vijaypat Singhania set the world altitude record for highest hot air balloon flight, reaching 21,290 meters (69,852 feet). He took off from downtown Bombay, India and landed 240 km (150 miles) south in Panchale. The previous record of 19,811 meters (64,980 ft) had been set by Per Lindstrand on June 6, 1988 in Plano, Texas.

The furthest that a hot air balloon has ever been flown is 7,671.91 km. In January 15, 1991, the Virgin Pacific Flyer balloon completed the longest flight in a hot air balloon when Per Lindstrand (born in Sweden, but resident in the UK) and Richard Branson of the UK flew from Japan to Northern Canada.

With a volume of 74,000 m³ (2,600,000 ft³), the balloon envelope was the largest ever built for a hot air craft. Designed to fly in the trans-oceanic jetstreams the Pacific Flyer recorded the highest ground speed for a manned balloon at 245 mph (394 km/h).

The longest duration hot air balloon flight ever made is 50 hours and 38 minutes made by Michio Kanda and Hirosuke Tekezawa of Japan on January 2, 1997

A hot air balloon for manned flight uses a single layered, fabric gas bag (lifting "envelope"), with an opening at the bottom called the mouth. Attached to the envelope is a basket, or gondola, for carrying the passengers. Mounted above the basket and centered in the mouth is the "burner" which injects a flame into the envelope, heating the air within. Raising the air temperature inside the envelope makes it lighter than the surrounding (ambient) air. This causes the balloon and its payload to rise.

Modern hot air balloons are usually made of synthetic fabrics such as ripstop nylon, a light weight fabric of high strength. During the manufacturing process, the material is cut into panels and sewn together, along with structural load tapes (webbing) that carry the weight of the gondola or basket. The heater or burner is fueled by propane, a liquefied gas stored in pressure vessels, similar to high pressure forklift cylinders.

The amount of lift (or buoyancy) provided by a hot air balloon depends primarily upon the difference between the temperature of the air inside the envelope and the temperature of the air outside the envelope. For most envelopes made of nylon fabric, the maximum internal temperature is limited to approximately 120 °C (250 °F). It should be noted that the melting point of nylon is significantly higher than these maximum operating temperature -- about 230 °C (450 °F). However the lower temperatures are generally used because the higher the temperature, the more quickly the strength of the nylon fabric degrades over time. With a maximum operating temperature of 120 °C, balloon envelopes can generally be flown for between 400 and 500 hours before the fabric needs to be replaced. Many balloon pilots operate their envelopes at temperatures significantly below the maximum in order to extend the longevity of their envelope fabric.

For typical atmospheric conditions, a hot air balloon requires about 3 cubic meters of envelope volume in order to lift 1 kilogram (50 ft³/lb). The precise amount of lift provided depends not only upon the internal temperature mentioned above, but the external temperature, altitude above sea level, and humidity of the surrounding air. On a hot day, the balloon cannot be loaded as much as on a cool day, because the temperature required for launch will exceed the maximum sustainable for nylon envelope fabric.

In the lower atmosphere, the lift provided by a hot air balloon decreases about 3% for each 1,000 meters (1% per 1,000 ft) of altitude gained.