Flying Sculpture

The July 2003 flight will consist of a flying octopus and fish

Original flying dragon plan

The original design idea was a flying dragon with John carried in the dragon's claws. For a variety of reasons, we've changed the design for the first flight. The original design is still shown here just for fun (and because we do hope to do it some day).

Construction notes

construction with air-filled balloons.

extended wings would span about 100 ft, but if we keep them more tucked, there's less to worry about with them bending in the wind. (wind is only a concern on take off and landing.)

snout to tip of tail - 100 feet.

head, neck and tail will have round helium balloons inside, probably 16" - 36". These sections should be self-supporting. Body will be an open basket design so nothing will be restraining the 4-8 foot balloons if they need to be released.

Product List (ballpark)

The body will be constructed from the 7 foot balloons with a woven balloon shell made from the non-round balloons. All detail work will be done with non-round balloons. The sculpture will be structurally sound with just the balloons. No framing material will be needed, but some will be included for safety and to ensure the look we desire, even under less than perfect conditions.

Schedule