DIY
OUTDOORS
$4 Hot Air Balloon
Up, up, and away, with Scotch tape
and a painter’s drop cloth.
By Jesse Brumberger
ON A JUNE AFTERNOON IN 1978, WHILE
most normal kids were focused on sports
or getting Dad’s car keys, I was busy readying another one of my quixotic contraptions,
made out of junk-at-hand, for its maiden
voyage. Assisted by a good friend who also
enjoyed such nerdy pursuits, I stoked a fire
inside an improvised burner and slowly,
carefully inflated the large, fluttering balloon
I had fashioned out of plastic drop cloths,
Scotch tape, and coat hangers.
The sides of the plastic envelope became
warm to the touch, and I could feel a slight
upward tug on the hoop that framed the inlet
at the base of the balloon. My friend and I
took turns steadying the giant transparent
chrysalis over the chimney and gleefully fuel-
134 Make: makezine.com/29
ing the fire with old exams and papers from
the just-completed school term. Another minute passed; the balloon felt very warm and I
could feel its positive buoyancy. I wasn’t sure
how hot the top might be getting and didn’t
want to press my luck. I released the hoop.
The balloon lifted upward perhaps 10 feet
clear of the chimney. It seemed to hesitate
there, as though comprehending its new freedom, and then accelerated skyward with a
swirling whoosh. To my total surprise, it kept
climbing past treetop level, 100 feet, then 200
feet, and began to drift as it climbed. First it
cleared the field, then the neighborhood, and
then went out of sight over the hills.
Our elation was only slightly dampened by
my father’s reprimand for our irresponsibility
Zachary Brumberger
