hot-air ballooning

Ballooning to the top

Flight Doodle is a simple, fun, and extremely polished casual flying game in which you pilot a hot-air balloon through endless hazards to ever-increasing heights.

The interface is simple: you use tilt controls (tilting your device left and right, with adjustable sensitivity) to steer a hot-air balloon up an infinitely scrolling vertical skyscape; you can use touch-screen buttons on the left to slow down, speed up, or get a temporary boost. You face an inexhaustible supply of enemies that threaten to pop your balloon and end your game--including rock-throwing cloud men and pointy thumbtacks that materialize at the edge of … Read more

Hot air balloon is shaped like Darth Vader's helmet

I just came across this link to what must one of the more extreme forms of Star Wars fandom to extrude itself onto the Internet in recent memory: A hot air balloon in the shape of Darth Vader's helmet. (Via SciFi Tech and Boing Boing.)

It was created by a mad Belgian inventor named Benoit Lambert, who, according to StarWars.com, received permission from Lucasfilm to build the balloon as long as it was used for non-commercial activities. It can carry two passengers and a pilot. There's no indication of when Lambert will build a lighter-than-air Death Star. … Read more

Finally: An affordable personal blimp

It could be the 21st-century version of the Sunday drive: Blow up the hot-air blimp, take it for a spin, then fold it up and put it away.

Of course, that's assuming you've got $200,000 liquefying your Tiffany money clip.

The Personal Blimp from Skyacht Aircraft made its maiden voyage in late October, and although the company calls it a blimp, it's essentially a steerable hot-air balloon. It utilizes hot air in place of helium and is propelled by electric motors.

Though the cost may seem high for a leisure activity, consider that the average helium … Read more