Hot Air Bags

A few years ago we were in Puebla over the New Year. It’s a big tradition there to buy and release flame powered little balloons. They looked pretty iffy constructions, standing a foot or more in height, but they worked. Last weekend, at a nearby Arts Centre, we watched a bunch of people trying to get a much bigger balloon airborne. It looked a pretty desperate sort of creation, made from paper or plastic – I’m not 100% sure which. Whatever, a good proportion of the material was sellotape, which they were adding minute by minute to plug leaks. A little bit of air from a fan to get it inflated, and then the ignition of the fuel burner to get the hot air inside. Two words kept going through my head as I watched the whole process – ‘Mexican’ and ‘Hinderberg’. Success or failure? The three minute video below will reveal all. If you have a decent broadband connection, pressing the HD button on the bottom of the player massively improves the quality.