Ultralight Ballon?

I've had a on and off fascination with building a FAR 103 ultralight Rozière balloon. Are there any web sites about this, or others that have built one?

My son did some research - don't know if he found any sites. One cool thing about an UL balloon - fuel is not limited to 5 gallons since it doesn't provide propulsion.

I hope this link works- you'll like this site Rich T

I guess that was a bum link-it's called 'History of the Small Balloon' by Glen Moyer- some pix of UL balloons with backpack tanks.... Rich T

This is a frequently asked question. See the Ultrlaight FAQ in rec.aviation.answers and try these websites.
http://www.hotairship.com/index.html and

: have built one?

: BRENT

Why a 'Rozy,' Brent? The strength of the Roziere concept is long-duration flight. Unless you're planning an AM-1/AM-2 record attempt, there are simpler (and far less expensive) U/L balloon designs better suited for day-to-day operations.

There are a number of homebuilt balloon websites out there. I don't have addresses handy, but your browser ought to be able to find them.

Good luck,

Don't they all have to be ultralight to fly well?

Sorry, couldn't resist. <

VFR flights under Pt 91 are required to plan to have 30 minutes of fuel in the tanks at landing, however. They may actually land with 0, and one of my training flights we landed a balloon with no liquid propane, but you must _plan_ to have 30 min left. That's not a bad idea for u/l balloons, too. It can take awhile to find a suitable landing site. Consequently, I wouldn't go at it with the attitude of 'I've found this neat way to get around a reasonable reg!' The reg might make your life simpler at some point.

If one were to subject the Goodyear airship to the part 103 ultralight test, I suspect it would 'weigh' less than 254 pounds. Same for the USS Akron and Macon, rest their souls. So what is the difference between an 'ultralight' and a 'regular' aircraft if they're both lighter than air by definition?

By the way, if the Akron and Macon were less than 254 pounds 'weight', then does that mean that the F9C Sparrowhawk biplanes hangared inside were grandfathered into ultralight status as well?

If anyone wants to build a Sparrowhawk and set up the trapeze bar under an existing airshiup, by the way, I hereby volunteer to do the inflight hookups at airshows!

Bill (The Happy Hooker) Berle

There is no medical requirement for a balloon license in the U.S. (Though I agree you still need to learn to fly them).

Thanks very much. I was corrected by several folks who informed me the medical is only needed for the commercial balloon rating.