Chapter 3764: Hot air balloon reconnaissance

"You mean hot air balloon?" Lin Rui looked at him and said.
"Yes. We can conduct aerial reconnaissance on hot air balloons. This is the annual hot air balloon event in New Mexico and will not cause any suspicion. In fact, such hot air balloon festivals have been held many times. So this is enough to cause the guards to paralyze the mind. If the sky is full of hot air balloons, how can they lock us?
Moreover, almost everyone can do aerial photography on a hot air balloon. Because of this hot air balloon festival, it was originally a hot air balloon floating in the air for sightseeing. Even if they found out that we were shooting, they wouldn't have any other ideas. "The Crazy Horse replied.
"It makes sense." Lin Rui nodded and turned to Jon. "What do you mean?"
"This is something I didn't expect, maybe it is indeed an opportunity." Jon nodded. "In this case, we will need hot air balloons and long-distance shooting equipment. I can manage to get these. But where can we find such a hot air balloon driver."
"Russian can do it. Whether it's a hot air balloon or hang gliding or even cliff diving, there is no extreme sports he hasn't played." Lin Rui turned to Sergey and said, "Russian, can you fly a hot air balloon?"
"Are you kidding me? I'm the unofficial record holder for flying over the Alps in a hot air balloon. As long as I take you to fly once, you will become my admirers and even beg me to sign you." Sergey Triumphantly authentic.
Lin Rui turned and shrugged at Jon, "Go and prepare the equipment we need. It seems that we have to pick up this ancient reconnaissance method again."
Before the advent of airplanes, hot air balloons can be said to be the only aviation tool. As early as the 18th century, the French papermakers Mengerfeld invented hot air balloons in Europe. When the First World War broke out later, hot air balloons were gradually applied to the military. Because it can fly high in the sky or make a short stay, the original hot air balloon is an ideal vehicle for reconnaissance.
The appearance of the hot air balloon looks like the upper part is a huge balloon, and the lower part of the basket is the main aircraft. The principle is that the air in the upper part of the balloon is heated, so that it is relative to the air outside the balloon. The density of the hot air inside the balloon should be low, and then the buoyancy of the air can make the hot air balloon fly.
The basket in the lower half of the hot air balloon can carry people and carry fuel. When the hot air balloon was first born, it was only used to carry passengers. Later, it can be used in the military to monitor the movements of the enemy's navy and army.
The status of hot air balloons in the military was probably weakened during World War II. Hot air balloons are almost invisible in modern military affairs. The reason is that after World War I, military aircraft made major breakthroughs, which we can see during World War II. All kinds of fighters. Military aircraft with their agility and powerful firepower can replace the position of hot air balloons in the military.
So most of the hot air balloons we see now are civilian hot air balloons, but hot air balloons have disappeared in the army. But if equipped with high-performance aerial photography equipment, such a hot air balloon can still be used as a very effective reconnaissance tool.
Jon is responsible for finding equipment and suitable hot air balloons. Lin Rui decided to take a hot air balloon with Sergey to do an aerial reconnaissance.
Qiao An’s work efficiency is quite high, because the Albuquerque International Balloon Carnival will be held from October 6th to 14th, but because more than 800,000 people participated, many things are very in demand, including hot air balloons and aerial photography devices. But he quickly got equipment suitable for long-distance accurate aerial photography and related hot-air balloon equipment.
In fact, hot air balloon flight is not as simple as imagined. Their flight plan is carried out at sunrise to get the best weather. But before attempting to launch the balloon, Sergey must evaluate some elements, which must be correct: a fairly calm wind on the surface and above, no rain or storm activity, and no moisture, all of which would destroy the structure of the balloon.
They must also check the wind direction, because the balloon moves with the wind and must be able to ensure a safe landing place to retrieve the passengers and the balloon during landing.
Bad weather means no balloon trips. They must pray that their efforts are not wasted. After wind and weather tests, Sergey gave his conclusion that the weather is quite cooperative. They set out to prepare for launch.
When Jon unloaded a 901-pound balloon on the flat ground, it looked more than just a pile of crumpled fabric, but after laying a thick layer of tarp, they unfolded the deflated balloon from all sides. , And then saw its gorgeous design.
Purple, blue, and pink square backgrounds, with a huge hot air balloon festival mark in the center of the black background. This mark will be enough to prove that this hot air balloon is participating in the annual hot air balloon festival in New Mexico.
After they fixed the flat balloon to the overturned basket, Sergey, with the assistance of sausage, grabbed a large fan from the trailer, and they started the process of adding air. Use a fan for cold inflation first to draw some air into the balloon. When Lin Rui was standing next to the basket, helping to connect the cable between the basket and the balloon, when the powerful cold air blew through his hair, he could hardly open his eyes and could only turn around.
Next is hot inflation. When the burner attached to the top of the basket blows hot air into the balloon, the flame of the burner whizzes past. Sergey issued the appropriate warning until the balloon rose slowly from the ground. There was enough air in the balloon and they tilted the basket upright.
The huge 66-foot-high, 63-foot-wide balloon began to take off. Until they climbed onto the balloon, the balloon was struggling to leave the ground. Lin Rui saw that one of the team members below was waving at them, only to realize that they were already in the air.
As Sergey used the burner to send in more hot air, the balloon began to slowly climb up.
"How do you feel, boss?" Sergey asked Lin Rui.
"I feel my legs are soft. Damn, I didn't do that before. But can you really confirm that this thing is safe? This broken basket won't suddenly fall? Or will the hot air balloon burst?" Lin Rui shook his head.
"Don't worry, I have checked it all, it is quite safe." Sergey smiled.
"You better be right. Can a hot air balloon control the direction?" Lin Rui asked.
Sergey replied, "The hot air balloon uses the hot air current generated by the combustion of the cylinder to adjust the height of the balloon, and then controls the direction according to the wind currents of different heights. At the same time, it can also be carried out according to the balloon's drawstring and the size and angle of the balloon's upper mouth. Adjustment. So the only thing the hot air balloon can control is the height. Heating-raising, cooling-lowering.
However, the air is stratified. For example, a southerly wind blows 300-500 meters above the ground, and a northerly wind blows 600-800 meters above the ground. If you want to go south, just in the wind layer of 300-500 meters, go north and rise. In fact, the control of the hot air balloon is very vague. We have set the basic direction based on the weather forecast.
Believe me, no problem, we are moving towards the target location. The aerial recorder will record everything about the periphery of the laboratory. "