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April 24, 2007 9:24 AM PDT

Hot air balloon is shaped like Darth Vader's helmet

by Declan McCullagh
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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.)

(Credit: StarWars.com)

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.

That's all fine, but as a pilot of fixed-wing planes myself, it would be more than a little worrisome to see Darth Vader's head looming up unexpectedly in the windscreen. According to federal aviation rules (see FAR 91.113), balloons supposedly have the right-of-way over all other aircraft. But the FARs say nothing about when it's Darth Vader's head -- which is why it's high time for us pilots to outfit our Cessnas with some badly-needed offensive weaponry.

Declan McCullagh, CNET News' chief political correspondent, chronicles the intersection of politics and technology. He has covered politics, technology, and Washington, D.C., for more than a decade, which has turned him into an iconoclast and a skeptic of anyone who says, "We oughta have a new federal law against this." E-mail Declan.
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Add a Comment (Log in or register) (6 Comments)
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Fantastic!
by ejevo April 24, 2007 1:14 PM PDT
Love it! But I'm puzzled as to why this item is present in CNET's "News.com Security" RSS feed???
Reply to this comment
Fantastic!
by ejevo April 24, 2007 1:14 PM PDT
Love it! But I'm puzzled as to why this item is present in CNET's "News.com Security" RSS feed???
Reply to this comment
Of course it's in the security feed!
by tmoynihan April 24, 2007 4:27 PM PDT
Security-wise, if there's one thing I want to be aware of and protect myself against, it's this: giant, flying Darth Vader heads.
Reply to this comment
Of course it's in the security feed!
by tmoynihan April 24, 2007 4:27 PM PDT
Security-wise, if there's one thing I want to be aware of and protect myself against, it's this: giant, flying Darth Vader heads.
Reply to this comment
Balloons have right-of-way
by Cashfan May 1, 2007 9:46 AM PDT
Hot air balloons do have the right-of-way because we can't steer, and we move
much slower than other aircraft, thus one of the reasons we try to avoid IR
training routes.
Reply to this comment
Balloons have right-of-way
by Cashfan May 1, 2007 9:46 AM PDT
Hot air balloons do have the right-of-way because we can't steer, and we move
much slower than other aircraft, thus one of the reasons we try to avoid IR
training routes.
Reply to this comment
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