Digital Air Balloon

The balloon (when inflated) is 32 meters tall with a circumference of 56 meters – the LED screen wrapped around is 6 meters tall and is continuous all the way around the circumference, therefore is it 336 square meters of LED screen

The balloon never leaves the ground, it is tethered to the ground, so it does not take off. This is due to the main power cables that are required to power the LED screen.

The content is operated from a control desk on the ground, it can be pre-determined or can be changed at any time to whatever the client requires (assuming content has been pre-designed and tested in advance)

As the balloon never leaves the ground, it can stay inflated indefinitely, the pilots simply swap gas tanks over during operation. We would recommend that the balloon doesn’t stay inflated for more than 8 hours as fatigue starts to set into the operation team who all need 100% concentration during the operating period

We require 2 days on site prior to the live event

Inflation can take up to 30 minutes, deflation under normal circumstances also takes around 30 mins. In the unlikely event of an emergency (such as bad weather moving in) deflation can be undertaken in less than 5 mins

The balloon never leaves the ground, it is tethered to the ground, so it does not take off. This is due to the main power cables that are required to power the LED screen

Maximum wind speed is 20kmh (12mph) during flight and 7mph during inflation, if the wind exceeds this speed before inflation, the chief pilot will not inflate the balloon. If the wind exceeds this speed after it has been inflated, the chief pilot will look at the conditions at the time. He will make a judgement call and will likely deflate the balloon until the wind speed reduces

If it is raining before inflation, the balloon cannot be inflated. If it starts raining after the balloon has been inflated the pilots will start preparation to deflate the balloon – Rain water increases the weight of the balloon fabric making it heavier and therefore the balloon will naturally start to sink, so if it starts raining, we must bring the balloon to the ground in a controlled manner as soon as possible

An exclusion zone of 50 meters x 75 meters is the minimum we can operate within – only authorised staff are allowed within this zone whilst the balloon is in operation. The area we work within must be flat and free of any permanent objects such as benches, cars, lamp posts, bins etc etc.

The team consists of 6 LED technicians / Content operators and 4 pilots

The balloons case is 6.6 meters, by 1.1 meters x 1.1 meters and weighs a little under 1 tonne. There are also x4 specialist cases carrying all the accessories which each measure 2 meters, x 1.1 meters x 1.1 meters - each weigh around 400kgs

As this is digital content, we can accept receipt of the approved artwork as little as 2 weeks in advance of activation however we recommend we receive the content 3 weeks in advance of the activation so that we can test it thoroughly

We require power, provided by either a generator or from a local source. We require a minimum of a 63 amp 3 phase supply. The balloon and associated equipment also require a flatbed truck with mounted crane to enable us to offload the kit at the activation location. In this instance we would bring our own generator and logistical transport