[Balloon-makers] Re: Balloon-makers Digest, Vol 12, Issue 9

[Jon Radowski]

On Mon, Apr 14, 2008 at 5:43 PM, rick heller <drsmeller at yahoo.com> wrote:
> Thanks Curtis and all who responded. Wow I'm surprised a 32K will take 326
> yds. I'm just wondering about construction technique - efficient Boland or
> long panel Aerostar........
>
> I was pretty set on the Boland technique but now it seems like a lot more
> work. Never having done this before i can only guess and hope for the best.

Hi Rick,

If you compare horizontal and vertical panel construction techniques,
it's really not a tremendous amount more work to cut out and sew a
balloon with horizontal panels (Lindstrand A-series, Cameron Z-series,
Padelt, Emich, Cassidy, Boland style) rather than long vertical
half-gores (Aerostar S-series, Cameron N-series). With the long gores,
you waste a lot more fabric if everything doesn't fit into itself
well, and you limit your design choices severely if you don't plan
your cuts very wisely - and don't mess up! Also, when using second
quality fabric, it's much easier to cut around the bad sections if
building with horizontal panels.

You might have noticed that in the last decade or so, most
manufacturers have adopted horizontal cuts as the standard (Cameron
Z-series, Aerostar Horizon, etc.) because of the lesser fabric wastage
and the maximum pattern design opportunities presented by the
horizontal cut. Yes, it may take a little longer to create a full
vertical gore by sewing multiple horizontal panels together, but in my
opinion the benefits far outweigh the extra cutting and sewing
involved.


Soft Landings,
Jon Radowski
--
http://www.apexballoons.com
http://www.hotair.tv
Elverson, PA - 908-208-1869