NavigationSite OverviewHere you can find tons of photos, videos, and info on this cool hobby and start building your own balloons, or buy ready-to-fly balloons right here on the site.Social Bookmarking 
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Welcome to Solar-Balloons.comIf you haven't heard of a solar balloon before, take a minute or two to look around the site. We've got tons of photos, videos, DIY instructions, and more info on this little-known hobby.Did you know a solar balloon can fly over 100 miles from your backyard, and can make a great "kite" when flown with a tether? Did you know a solar balloon is a cheap and easy way to take aerial photos and videos with your digital camera? Read on... A solar balloon is basically a miniature hot air balloon, heated entirely by the sun. How does this work? It's made of black plastic, and the black color easily absorbs heat radiating from the sun. This in turn heats up the air inside the balloon, turning a plain plastic balloon into a high-flying miniature hot air balloon within seconds. Digg this / Post to del.icio.us / Facebook / Tweet this Flying solar balloons is a cheap and easy hobby - like flying a kite, only better. A kite needs wind to lift off the ground, but a solar balloon just needs the sun and it will defy gravity and lift itself into the sky! Don't forget the tether! Solar balloons can fly tens of thousands of feet high - above the jetstream. The sun will keep them hot all day so they can fly hundreds of miles in just a few hours. Sometimes, a balloon released with an "if found" tag attached will be found a long distance away from the launch site. Unless you want to go against the odds of the balloon ending up in a remote area, keep it tethered and you can have many hours of flying time. You can learn to make solar balloons and build your own, provided you can find the right materials. If you're one who loves to make things, you can check out our instructions on this site. Solar balloon kits  
We offer solar balloon kits that are very affordable and will allow you to build your own balloons even if you couldn't find the right materials at your local stores. Click here to see what we offer. Get your own ready-to-fly solar balloons You can buy solar balloons of different shapes and sizes right here on this Web site! We offer affordable balloons from 5 feet tall to 12 feet tall, and even a cool tube-shaped balloon with a drawstring designed for super-easy flying. These are handcrafted, ready-to-fly models that include flying instructions and tips with each order. Check out our line of ready-to-fly solar balloons! And another UFO-shaped solar balloon takes to the skies...
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Get your own solar balloons here!We offer handcrafted solar balloons available for purchase right here on the site. All you need is a blow dryer or a fan, and some cheap kite twine to keep it from flying away. Choose from our selection of Tetroons and EZ Tubes. (More models will be released soon!)Check out our line of ready-to-fly solar balloons starting at $7.00 We accept PayPal and all the major credit cards, as well as money orders or checks. Check it out now. Click here! Fly Solar Balloons Welcome! If you're new to solar balloons, look around the site for lots of photos, videos, and even building instructions. If you think it's cool, check out my eBook for complete instructions on 9 different balloon designs as well as everything else you should know about building and flying solar balloons. What's a solar balloon?A solar balloon is a hot air balloon that is heated entirely by the sun. No flame or other external heat source is needed - the balloon gets its heat from the black material which it is made from. Dark colors absorb heat, so the black surface of a solar balloon absorbs heat from the sun, which heats the air inside the balloon. Thus, they can fly all day, without re-heating or re-inflating, as long as the sun is out.Solar balloons don't get as hot as fire-heated hot air balloons, but they can be, as some are, made large enough to lift a human plus ballast. This site, however, focuses on smaller-scale balloons - ones that can be made from black trash bags and tape. A simple, 5-foot tall balloon can be made with only four trash bags. When released, it can fly over 500 miles in one day! Now Available
This eBook is packed with information on solar balloons. Learn all about how they work,
how to get the right materials, and how to make many different balloons.
Included in this eBook are instructions that will teach you in detail how to build many different balloons, including the full fleet of tetroons from 5 to 13 feet and beyond, the EZ Tubes, the standard-shaped balloon, regular tubes, and even the Solar UFO! Learn about the best weather conditions and times of year to fly, how to fly your own balloon hundreds of miles, how to take aerial photography, and much more. Many questions you may ask are all answered in this eBook. Click Here for more information. Solar balloon returnsList of solar balloons I released, with "if found" tags, that were found after landing. Arranged in order by total distance traveled.10-foot tetroon broke 700!
November 2007I'm a little late in getting the word out, but now the video is done and I am announcing my longest flight yet...A 10-foot tetroon flew 780 miles in less than 6 hours! I've confirmed the sender's IP address so this is not a hoax. The balloon was found near Quinby, Virginia the day after the release. This particular 10-foot tetroon was over a year and a half old when I released it. As you can see, it has many patches and some small holes and has been my aerial photography balloon since I built it in the early spring of 2006. 
When I built the 13 foot tetroon, I decided I should get rid of my old
beat-up balloon - and of course, I got a tag ready and turned the old tetroon into the sky.You can make and fly your own balloon this far! Here are a few links to help you get started. How to make your own How to release solar balloons Buy pre-built solar balloons Here's the video500 miles! Out of state! 5-foot tetroon makes amazing 230-mile flight in less than 4 hours
February 4, 2007: Another 5-foot tetroon was released around 1:30 PM CST. Two days
later it was found in a creek bed under a canopy of trees! The balloon probably
washed a short distance downstream before it was found on February 6th, in Hayesville,
North Carolina.
This is my first out-of-state flight ever that has been recorded. From the time the balloon was released to the time the sun set was less than 4 hours. The balloon was traveling at over 60 mph! Solar tetroon traveled 170 miles On December 27, 2006, I released two 5-foot tall tetroons. Each one had a card attached
to it displaying my Web site address and where/when it was released. That
evening I got a return from one of them. It had flown approximately 40 miles northeast
of the launch site before landing in a pond.Three days later, I released another tetroon. After the sun had set and I was sure the balloon had landed, I checked my email. Sure enough, someone had found my balloon. But as I read the message, I learned that it was the other balloon I had released 3 days before—and it was over 170 miles away ... Search this site
 Search Blastvalve.com - Cool hot air balloon search engine! Solar Balloon LinksCheck out these solar balloon links! To have your link added or to request a link or banner ad exchange, Email us..
Share your ideas!Have any tips, ideas, or experiences you want to share? Post hereView posts
 View/Sign Guestbook CalculatorsTetroon Volume Calculator__________Micron/Mil ConverterConvert microns (µm) to Mils (0.001 inch) or vice versa. Just enter the number in the field and it automatically calculates.Found a balloon?Have you found a balloon with a tag that led you to this site? If so, please let me know here. You do not have to provide your email address (although I would like to get in touch with anyone who finds one of my balloons). You will never recieve spam from Solar-Balloons.com. |
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