Quote:
Originally Posted by Vespers War
I am curious how much a Kevlar basket would weigh, since they're typically wicker to reduce weight and remain flexible enough to land safely. A 5-person Sport basket from Cameron Balloons weighs 140 pounds empty while an 8-person Aristocrat basket is 210 pounds.
Replacing passengers with fuel tanks could extend flight. Using Cameron's tank information, steel tanks are 37.2 kilograms for 41.6 liters, 49.9 kilos for 56.8 liters, or 61.2 kilos for 72.3 liters. Aluminum tanks are 32.7 kilograms for 37.7 liters, and titanium tanks are 41.3 kilos for 56.8 liters or 55.8 kilos for 75.7 liters.
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You could also replace the wicker basket with a Chariot seat. Basically, a 2-person bench seat (Cameron Duo Airchair) with a fuel tank on either end. This wouldn’t provide any protection to the occupant(s) but does save weight and I suppose the seat itself could be covered in Kevlar. Balloon components shown are from Cameron’s UK site (they had everything listed in kg).
Note: Cameron's UK site lists the 5-person Sport basket at 78kg (172 lb) which differs from what you found. The largest Aristocrat shown on the UK site only holds 5; in order to get to 8-person capacity, you’d have to move up to the Single ‘T’ Partition-Solid Floor, which weighs 210kg or the ‘TT’ Partition-Woven Floor which weighs 240kg, both carry 8 plus the pilot.
Alternative transport could be a set of two (2) motorcycles or mountain bicycles with trailers.
Bicycle 1 Qty Weight(kg) Gross
Mountain Bike 1 13 13
Trailer 1 12 12
Basket - Cameron Duo Airchair 1 38 38
Burner - Mini Double Neo 1 18 18
Envelope - O-42 (42k) 1 60 60
Fuel Tank - Stainless (72L) Master 1 63 63
Fuel Tank - Stainless (72L) Slave 1 62 62
Sledgehammer 1 4.5 4.5
Total 245.5kg
Bicycle 2 Qty Weight(kg) Gross
Mountain Bike 1 13 13
Trailer 1 12 12
Tether Rope 14mm 500m 0.080/m 40
WD-1 Commo Wire 600m 0.014/m 8.4
Hand Crank Capstan Winch 1 50 50
Tie-down Rods (2.4m x 3.1cm D) 6 23 138
Tie-down Rope 12mm 100m 0.065/m 6.5
Sledgehammer 1 4.5 4.5
Total 247.4kg
Another basket alternative is a ‘cloudhopper’, basically a bosuns chair (modern rigs use a paragliding harness) attached to the balloon with the fuel tank strapped to the back.
And I don't have any weight figures handy for field telephones but you'd need two (2). Tie-downs are only needed for captive (tethered) use.