After an foggy morning and some connection problem the balloon flew to 200 m:
First flight to 200 m
Restricted airspace activated
We plan to high tomorrow. Consequently we activate a restricted airspace around the field site in Aarwangen. We need the restricted air space for flights above 60 m above the ground. It is already published in the daily airspace bulletin Switzerland (DABS) for tomorrow:
We will also carry a Transponder, which makes the Balloon visible for other airplanes. Our registration number is SUI-4956 (hexadecimal: 4B5803). Hopefully you can follow us on any flight tracking website, e.g.:
https://www.flightradar24.com/
HOLIMO was in the air!
HOLIMO had his first flight with the whole instrument package today. Without wind today, the remaining lift was less then expected, but we hopefully can add more helium to the balloon.
First flight to 60 m
The HoloBalloon is flying safely and stable at approximately 10 km/h wind speed. Also the handling of the landing was manageable with around 10 kg of payload. Next time we will try out the whole instrument package.
But now we lashed the balloon securely to the ground as another winter storm is arising.
Set-up 14.01 – The first flights!
The day started with an unpleasant surprise. Our power generator got stolen!
But nevertheless the HoloBalloon survived its first small flights.
Set-up 11.01 – The Balloon arises
Finally we fill up the Balloon. Unfortunately the camera storage was full in the middle. It took about 4 hours, which was longer than expected. Therefore we did not take the first flight, but put the Balloon to sleep under a cover.
But now everything is ready for the first flight!
Set-up 10.01 – The day of the hammer
We hammered a lot more nails into the hard ground. The try to use the big wheel loader for this was not successful. But big thanks to the guy from the gravel plant for give it a try.
Set-up 06.01 – Preparing the ground
Would be a perfect measurement day. In the morning ground fog and later the day a stable high fog layer. But first we have to set-up everything. Hammering the nails into the ground was a hard work. We do not need to go to the gym today. But now everything is ready to start the work on the Helikite.
Set-up 05.01 – The site getting full
The field site is filling up. The helium bundles arrived today. It was quite a off-road ride for the truck, but the bundle are safely on place now.
Start of the field campaign set-up
We started the set-up for the field campaign in Aarwangen today. Almost we had to postpone the start because the entrance towards the gravel plant is blocked by a barrier as the gravel plant is in Christmas holiday until next Monday 08.01. Luckily the community Aarwangen uncomplicated provided us with a key for the barrier.
The weather was really wet, but the winch and the trailer arrived at the field site.