[balloon-makers] Re: another viewpoint Re: Velcro standards etc

[Jonathan Wolfe]

  private e-mail address wrote:
...--------------------------------------------
  Of course it is all well and good that he feels empowered, but I
feel nervous.  I now involuntarily rely on his judgement not only as a
pilot which I assume he is licenced, but also as a repair tech which I
assume he is a hobbiest, to not hurt or kill me or others as he hangs
above my head in the national airspace. 


Of course I am a licensed pilot, and I am also a FAA certified
repairman for my aircraft. You may assume I am a "hobbyist" but I take
these activities pretty darn seriously. And I wholeheartedly agree with
Paul Stumpf's input about the difference between tinkering with
something non-essential like parachute velcro and something absolutely
critical like thread or fabric integrity. 

Nothing disastrous would happen if the imitation brand velcro I used
fails completely and all at once. Worst case scenario, I'd stay on the
ground that day as I couldn't inflate the envelope. No need for
nervousness.

When it comes to fabric integrity, this is something I take extremely
seriously. Here is an area where I have done some real innovation
(developing a process to tiedye urethane-coated ripstop nylon). And I,
my clients, the manufacturers and the FAA are all extremely interested
in the effects of the dyeing process on the integrity of the fabric and
the coating. After a combined 28 months of testing (costing many, many
thousands of dollars), including accelerated UV exposure, porosity and
pull testing, neither Aerostar nor Lindstrand UK has found any
significant weakening of the fabric. Thus, the fabric that I dye for a
commercial balloon starts out as certified FAA approved white fabric,
and ends up as certified FAA approved colored fabric in a standard
airworthy balloon. Nothing to be nervous about. The manufacturers stand
by the "SkyDyed" fabric, and the FAA has nothing negative to say about
it whatsoever.

My biggest challenges are no longer technical, they are educational,
i.e. showing the world that what I do is both radically beautiful and
completely safe. And as always, the key to success is marketing. I
can't wait to find the next client for one of my flying artworks!

-Jonathan Wolfe, Ph.D. 
http://www.FractalFoundation.org 
http://www.SkyDyes.net 


<blockquote cite=""
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  On 10/26/06, <b
 class="gmail_sendername"><a rel="nofollow"
 href="_javascript_:parent.ComposeTo('private e-mail address', '');">private e-mail address
<private e-mail address>
wrote:
  <blockquote class="gmail_quote"
 style="border-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); margin: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.8ex; padding-left: 1ex;">
    
     
     oh my god, no one to sue but myself
 
-----Original Message-----
From: private e-mail address
To: private e-mail address
Cc: private e-mail address
Sent: Thu, 26 Oct 2006 3:13 AM
Subject: [Balloonmail] Velcro standards etc
    
    
    
  
  
  
  <div class="AOLPlainTextBody"
 id="AOLMsgPart_0_2255e953-ab8b-42e5-b00f-3534cf3fca75">So, as I'm
plowing through the masses of interesting emails on the subject of
specifications and liability, I just got this in the inbox: 
> Thank you for your recent order at buyhookandloop.com You are
among > an ever growing crowd of consumers that realize they do not
have to > pay 3X the price for Velcro Brand product --
Congratulations! Our > generic "velcro" meets or exceeds the
specifications of industrial > brand Velcro. 
I don't mean to advertise for this company, but I just replaced the 12
velcro tabs in my [experimental] balloon Gloria before Fiesta (she just
turned 5, with 216 hours now - She's mostly Carrington, but also some
unapproved Westmark fabric - all holding up great!). And I LOVE being
able to do this kind of repair work myself, and making my own choices
about safety specs. It's not for everybody, but assuming personal
responsibility is very empowering. It's one of the serious advantages
of being a homebuilder and going the experimental route. And I think it
cost me all of $7. And it's been working great. 
But, if something goes wrong (catastrophic velcro failure in a
parachute top?!) I've got nobody to sue but myself :) 
 
-Jonathan Wolfe, Ph.D. 
  http://www.FractalFoundation.org 
  http://www.SkyDyes.net