Originally published at: Balloon’s Transatlantic Flight Cut Short With Precautionary Landing - AVweb
Three crew members are safe after a transatlantic hydrogen balloon flight was cut short due to a suspected gas leak.
I’m sure I’m not alone questioning the use of hydrogen in manned balloons. Has mankind forgotten about the horrendous Hindenburg disaster in 1937? That was hydrogen filled and led to using helium ever since without the ever present danger of igniting a highly flammable gas.
Helium costs way more and provides less lift, so there is that. Also note the Germans wanted to fill the Hindenburg with helium, but the USA would not sell them any.
Helium is SAFER than hydrogen, period. Ever wonder why every ballonist since the Hindenburg uses helium? Helium has never caused a fire. However, poor airmanship and unpredictable winds have brought down balloons, some on fire after their wicker baskets collided with power lines. The baskets cought fire but the helium (inflammable) never ignited.
This is well known. I am not sure why they used hydrogen, the only three things I can think of are:
- They were too cheap to pony up for a lot of helium.
- They needed the last bit of buoyancy.
- They were trying to set a record specifically for hydrogen balloons.
Here you go, looks like door number 3:
Peter Cuneo & Alicia Hempleman-Adams will take flight as part of an audacious adventure of old friends on a journey that will look for new scientific discoveries while aiming to become the first ever flight of an open basket hydrogen balloon across the Atlantic.
They were looking to set a specific record, not a generic trip across the Atlantic that has been done already more than once IIRC.
Perhaps introducing hydrogen ballooning to most of the public unaware of hydrogen’s past history of the Hindenburg disaster may quell fears of cryogenically stored high pressure liquid hydrogen fuel for fuel cells producing electricity to power automobiles and aircraft. Publically launching a balloon filled with gaseous hydrogen is basically an explosion waiting to happen.
Hydrogen balloons get launched all the time, mostly not for passengers though.
Comparing the current hydrogen ballooning to the Hindenburg is kind of apples to oranges thinking. Back in the 1920s and '30s, the technology for holding huge volumes of any gas in a zeppelin or blimp involved using canvas fabrics (typical sail cloth materials made of cotton) that were covered with some paint or dope material to seal the fabric. The seams were also sewed together and extra dope applied to seal the seam. As a result, the bags constantly leaked a little even when operating properly. The Hindenburg used a canvas outer covering stretched over a lightweight aluminum frame, while the hydrogen was “sealed” in separate bags inside the frame. Since the gas bags were always leaking a little hydrogen, the outer skin had some vents on the top of the craft to allow the lighter than air gas to escape and not build up inside the space between the bags. The theory for the Hindenburg disaster was that hydrogen venting from one of the top vents ignited due to static electricity or a lightning strike.
Fast-forward to today, and the “modern” balloons are constructed of synthetic materials that seal much better and have no sewn seams. The bag holding the hydrogen is also the outer skin of the ballon, so any leaks will allow the hydrogen to quickly escape and not build up in any interior space. Modern balloons also have explosion proof or intrinsically safe wiring and control systems that will not ignite any hydrogen present. Does this mean that hydrogen is as safe as helium? Certainly not, but helium is a finite resource that is rapidly being depleted and is becoming very expensive for large volume use. The type of balloon used in this case is not a commercial passenger carrying craft like the Hindenburg, so no paying passengers were present. I find it interesting that people are scared to death about hydrogen but think nothing about climbing into a plane containing many gallons of highly flammable gasoline that is intentionally burned to create motion. Spilled gasoline in an accident is far more dangerous than hydrogen since it is much more likely to cause severe burns to passengers if it ignites.
Oh, and FYI, hydrogen is stored either as a cryogenic liquid at atmospheric pressure, or as a gas in high pressure containers. You can have one or the other, but not both. I’m not making fun, just trying to clear up a misconception.
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Correct me if I’m wrong, but is there a flame up into that hydrogen balloon?
Maybe that’s a stock photo of a hot air balloon? Is it a combo balloon?
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