Balloon Busting

roddie Mon Oct 21, 2013 1:52 pm

An easy way to have some cheap fun! Obtain an 8-pack of 30-36" long wood/bamboo campfire skewers ($1.00)... a bag of sm. rubber bands ($1.00)... and a bag of sm. party balloons ($1.00)... less than the cost of lunch.

Cut 6 of the skewers into varied-length pairs; (x2) at 6" long... (x2) at 18" long... (x2) at 24" long. Leave the last pair full-length.

Locate the center of your flying circle, and mark it with a thin flagstone paver or other suitable center-circle reference for your foot that won't "trip you". Lay-out 4 points 90 deg. apart and about 3-4 feet "OUTSIDE" the perimeter of your flying circle and stake-in x4 DIFFERENT LENGTH skewers straight up. Attach the other 4 skewers of MATCHING LENGTH, near the top of the "staked" ones, with rubber bands so that ea. station varies from 1-5 feet high and the upper skewers should bend/flex at the lower rubber band joint, when a "kill" is made.

Inflate enough balloons to have some real fun... 100-150 should do it... (have the wife do this so you're not too dizzy, before you have to fly) lol!

Attach balloons at the top of each station, with rubber bands... and you're ready to do battle! Taking a step "forward from center" while flying; put's you in range for a "diving kill". Stand in the center for launching, low altitude fly-by's and upon landing, so as to be clear of the stakes.

This is a "sure-cure" for boredom!!!

duke.johnson Mon Oct 21, 2013 2:31 pm

An old fashion balloon bust! This is great fun! I have an old timer C/L friend, we set up a balloon bust for his 80th birthday. We used 1/4" balsa to hold up the balloons (less damage to the planes if you hit the stick). And I put the balsa stick through the bottom of a foam coffee cup to hold the balloons from moving around in the wind. We also set some of them up four of five feet apart and each one a foot lower than the before it, then said you had to take them out in reverse order. A little dive and climb fun!

**RknRusty** Mon Oct 21, 2013 3:06 pm

Heck yeah, that's something I've always wanted to do. The Goldberg kit plans used to always have a picture of a kid trying to bust a balloon. Whenever I do it, I'll get it on camera.

Kim Mon Oct 21, 2013 4:59 pm

It's threads like these that make me REALLY wish my Uncle Wayne was on the Forum. He would enjoy telling his story of how I removed the lower outboard silkspan from the wing of his Ringmaster. We were using a spruce kite-stick and paper cup to hold the balloon off the ground, and had a little "Misalignment" situation!!!

roddie Tue Mar 04, 2014 9:55 am

(Bump).. Springtime is just around the corner people.. (thank goodness) and a sm. Helium tank costs about $25-30 dollars. Use spring-type clothespins to clamp the balloon strings... and you eliminate the sticks!!!

**RknRusty** Tue Mar 04, 2014 11:45 am

Thanks for the reminder. It's on my list of things I have to do.

**Cribbs74** Tue Mar 04, 2014 12:15 pm

It's actually good practice for OTS. Snapping out level on climbs and dives is not as easy as it sounds.

I've wanted to do this for a while.

**RknRusty** Tue Mar 04, 2014 2:04 pm

I see, so you do a series at different levels. I wonder if there are any general rules. He busted one on every lap. I suppose you get extra if you bust more on each lap. I'll have to search out some more on this game.
Maybe the neighborhood kids will blow them up while I bust them. I don't think I want to do that with my old Flite Streak.
Rusty

Ken Cook Tue Mar 04, 2014 4:29 pm

Rusty, John Ashford was the pilot of the Streak. He's the coolest guy you could meet. He came to one of our combat contests last year. He's attended Brodak's as well. The hobby just isn't the same without guys like him. He was really happy at the balloon bust. Ken

**RknRusty** Tue Mar 04, 2014 8:24 pm

Here are the rules posted from a 4th of July control line triathlon held by the Tulsa Gluedobbers in 2011:

Balloon Bust will be scored by the shortest time for the most balloons busted. One lap is mandatory before the first balloon is attacked and one between balloon attacks is mandatory. If a stick gets broken and the balloon does not break, it doesn't count. No balloon on ground can be attacked. If two balloons are broken in same lap only the first balloon is scored; the second balloon does not count.

The whole triathlon sounds like fun:
http://www.tulsacl.com/triathlon.html

Rusty

Ken Cook Tue Mar 04, 2014 9:11 pm

No Bi-slobs allowed in these parts. Ken

roddie Mon May 01, 2023 12:37 pm

(fast-fwd. 9 years... Rolling Eyes

)

Hey friends! I was at my local "dollar-store" yesterday and found these "yard balloon sticks" (pkg. of 4) Smile

... and the wheels started turning.

$1.25 USD/pkg. contains 4-sets of *sticks* (*2-pc. each set having a coupler to make one 36" length stick) and 4 cone-shaped balloon holders having an integral clip for securing the knot in the balloon.

Of course you could devise your own method for holding the balloons. It's all about having fun while also honing your skills as a Control-Line pilot! Flying

Some images that I've found on the subject.. or.. "The absolute most fun you can have in the rain"..

NEW222 Thu May 04, 2023 6:14 pm

I used to love the 'balloon bust' competition. Especially with 1/2a. I think I was almost on a 1 : 1 ratio with busting a balloon to busting up a plane. I took a different approach. As I was relatively new, I took more akin to 'dive bombing' the balloons. Unfortunately for me and a few aircraft, I was unable to pull up in time.....

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