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inflation he.s been available.
The 20-foot General Mills balloons are inflated through a tube
in such a fashion that the gas collects in a bubble at the top of the
balloon. !he tube is inserted by the manufacturer and is shown in Figure 5.
It this bubble is restricted, the wind cannot catch and make a sail of' it.
(See figure 25 tor the sail effect.) The actual technique of inflation is as
follows&
In actual inflation the balloon is spread out on a ground cloth
which covers the launching table and a balance. The balloon is
arranged so the upper 18 feet projects beyond the balance. Two
heavy (80#=) elliptical shot bags '(see ~;igure 26) are covered with
polyethylene and placed on top of the balloon on either side of' the
inflation tube. The platform is then made to balance. The lower
end of the balloon is weighed and then stretched out again dov.n wind,
held down with sand bags and polyethylene strips. A weight equal to
the weight of the lower half of the balloon, plus the equipment weight
and the desired tree lift b placed on the balance. Inflation is
started, taking care to get all twists out of 1he inflation tube
before allowing .tull gas flow. When the balance beam falls, in-
flation is complete (care must be exercised to guard against under-
inflation due to wind moving the balloon on the balance). The in-
flation tube is carefully removed, and the helium truck is moved clear.
All personnel are now positioned for release.
B. Release
During the early portion of the experimental period, flignts of
meteorological balloons in clusters were launched. The first flights were
made with balloons hitched one above another along a single strong load line.
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