Cluster Balloonist Flys Floating House in Preparation for Trans-Atlantic Crossing George Dvorsky - io9.com
go to original November 21, 2012

Jonathan Trappe, 38, who was inspired by the 2009 Pixar film, staged a maiden flight ahead of a planned voyage across the Atlantic Ocean. (jtrappe1)

This past weekend, Jonathan Trappe successfully lifted a Pixar-esque house to a height of 20,000 feet over Leon, Mexico, by using a cluster of helium-filled balloons. Trappe has performed similar stunts before, including toy balloon rides over the Alps, Lake Michigan, and the English Channel. But this latest feat was in preparation for something far grander: A journey across the Atlantic ocean.

Trappe already holds the world record for the largest balloon cluster flight when he used 300 weather balloons to lift a yellow house over 10,000 feet in the air for about an hour.

But the prospect of a trans-Atlantic flight presents an entirely new set of challenges. To make it work, Trappe is planning to build an array that would require 365 helium balloons occupying a space 106,215 cubic feet in size.

And smartly, the gondola will double as a boat should he have to ditch it in the ocean, what Trappe describes as "a perfect, sturdy, rigid, double-hulled proactive lifeboat."

The project won't be cheap; he's hoping to raise nearly $300,000 via an Indiegogo campaign. And should the project get off the ground, the ensuing adventure would likely be featured in a television documentary.

As exciting as this stunt is bound to be, somebody needs to tell Trappe that the Earth is running out of helium — a chemical element so light that it can evaporate into space.

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