Contributed by George C. Madison, Boston, Mass.
How to Make a Pilot Balloon
By E. Goddard Jorgensen
Pattern for Cutting the Segments
Unusual interest is being displayed in ballooning, and as it is fast becoming the favorite sport many persons would like to know how to construct a miniature balloon for making experiments. The following table will give the size, as well as the capacity and lifting power of pilot balloons:
| Diameter. | Cap. in Cu. Ft. | Lifting Power. |
| 5 ft. | 65 | 4 lb. |
| 6 ft. | 113 | 7 lb. |
| 7 ft. | 179 | 11 lb. |
| 8 ft. | 268 | 17 lb. |
| 9 ft. | 381 | 24 lb. |
| 10 ft | 523 | 33 lb. |
| 11 ft. | 697 | 44 lb. |
| 12 ft. | 905 | 57 lb. |
The material must be cut in suitable shaped gores or segments. In this article we shall confine ourselves to a 10-ft. balloon. If the balloon is 10 ft. in diameter, then the circumference will be approximately 3-1/7 times the diameter, or 31 ft. 5 in. We now take one-half this length to make the length of the gore, which is 15 ft. 7-1/2 in. Get a piece of paper 15 ft. 7-1/2 in. long and 3 ft. wide from which to cut a pattern, Fig. 1. A line, AB, is drawn lengthwise and exactly in the middle of the paper, and a line, CD, is drawn at right angles to AB and in the middle of the paper lengthways. The intersecting point of AB and CD is used for a center to ascribe a circle whose diameter is the same as the width of the paper, or 3 ft. Divide one-quarter of the circle into 10 equal parts and also divide one-half of the line AB in 10 equal parts. Perpendicular lines are drawn parallel with the line CD intersecting the division points made on the one-half line AB. Horizontal and parallel lines with AB are drawn intersecting the division points made on the one-quarter circle and intersecting the perpendicular line drawn parallel with CD. A line is now drawn from B to E and from E to F, and so on, until all the intersecting lines are touched and the point C is reached. This will form the proper curve to cut the pattern. The paper is now folded on the line AB and then on the line CD, keeping the marked part on the outside. The pattern is now cut, cutting all four quarters at the same time, on the curved line from B to C. When the paper is unfolded you will have a pattern as shown in Fig. 2. This pattern is used to mark the cloth, and after marked is cut the same shape and size.
