Crown Balloons -- Helium Balloon System

If you need to go to the ends of the earth -- think of us. The Crown Balloon System will help you get there and back. It is a special way to travel to remote regions -- this patented system has been designed for use in very difficult situations.

If you want to go where no one else has gone -- we can help you get there and be effective -- mineral prospecting, research expeditions and/or supporting these activities (as a tax deductible vacationing field assistant). It puts you just over wild jungles and into remote subarctic regions. Get a custom system -- travel in style and get there first. For details please eMail us or see:

Two large units (one is shown in the photo) are used with two separate (or "T") balloons to give a complete system comprised of 14 helium balloons (each balloon is 30 feet in diameter).

The system is always attached to tree tops or to sea anchors with lines between the main units and to the T balloons. Except in an emergency, there is no free flight. Travel is realized by launching grapples or sea anchors and then by winching toward these fixed points.

The two separate balloons or "T" balloons are used to retrieve grapples and to inspect, clean and repair the main units. The gross lift of the system is about 11,400 pounds. Up to 16 people can be located in/over a remote regions for up to 6 months. Depending upon the amount of equipment carried along, resupply of essentials using helicopters may be required.

Each main unit has separate enclosed sleeping berths for 6 persons (3 G boxes and 3 Stash boxes) and has a shower and toilet. Each cluster of six balloons is rigged over an articulating titanium framework which can be easily rotated upward to give a 3 over 3 configuration or downward to give a flat set of 6 from the "crown" configuration shown. This crown configuration is the best arrangement of the balloons for launching grapples. In a flat configuration, the overall height is about 37 feet.

Each main unit has batteries and air conditioning. The balloons have internal ballasting and restabilize the main units gradually when the loading on the framing shifts. Each balloon has external roll lines permitting it to be rotated about different axes to give routine access to the surface. The units can be disassembled, packaged and shipped by plane, ship, rail, truck or boat.

Sheets of photovoltaic cells cover the tops of balloons providing about 40 Kw of electrical power during daylight hours at noon in the tropics. When the system is traveling downwind, the winches are used as generators. This allows for production of power when traveling downwind at night or in overcast situations. One result of using these types of power sources is that the weight of a unit does not continually change due to fuel consumption. This is a concern for other helium lighter-than-air systems which require continual reballasting.

The view shown above is of one main unit from below and to one side. The unit is in the crown configuration with the outer three helium balloons (only two are visible) rotated half way up over the inner three balloons. The bottom of the center triangular platform can be seen with framing (a cable frame) in each of the three corners formed by 3 top frames. The three inner balloons are attached to the corners of the triangle formed by the top frames. The mooring lines are not shown.

The three outer balloons are attached, one each, to a Y frame which pivots about two of the corners of the triangle formed by the top frames. A G box forms the center of a Y frame. An (unleveled) grapple launching platform is seen below each G box (the grapple launchers have been removed).

Outboard of each corner of the triangle formed by the top frames is a box -- a Green utility box (closest), a Red utility box (to the right) and a larger control room (to the left) with white curtains. In each corner, a cable frame fills the area between a corner of the center platform and the (higher) corner formed by two top frames. Each cable frame houses two winches, and supplies. They have steps which provide access from the center platform up to the top frames.

The safety nets (supported by spring poles) and the (articulating) hammer-headed saw which are rigged under a main unit are not shown. On the nearest two sides of the center platform, 3 side walls have been lowered to a level position to increase the effective working area of the center platform. The square recess in the bottom of the center platform gives access to the 2 "Miller" doors in the middle of the center platform. They open upward to allow people and supplies to be raised from or lowered to the ground.

Development of the Crown Balloon system began in 1980. The first formal engineering specifications and drawings were created in 1990. The first scale models were built in 1995.

The titanium winch has been under development since 1994 (4 speeds in either direction; pneumatic, electric or manual; tails in and out; finger-proof; with remote controls; continuous duty cycle; cable or 1/2 inch rope). For more information please see patent number 5,857,645 (USPTO; search or FreePatentsOnline).