Summary

This hot air balloon plan is very easy to build, requiring only 11 sheets of 20" x 30" tissue paper (for a 3 sided balloon), and is part of the Learning In A Makerspace chapter of my new book "The Makerspace Workbench" from Maker Media!

Instructions

To make the balloon:

Print out the template or simply fold and cut the tissue paper as shown. Overlap the pieces by about 1" and use glue-stick to glue the them together. Cut off part of the bottom of the balloon and reinforce it with a 12" diameter ring made out of a coat hanger (this keeps the tissue from tearing).

To make the launcher:

Suspend a 6" x 24" stovepipe inside of a 8" x 24" stovepipe using 1.5" fasteners. Bend three 12" shelving brackets for the legs and attach with fasteners. Use a small camping stove as the heat source, but be VERY CAREFUL not to catch the balloon on fire.

Tissue Paper Hot Air Balloon & Launcher