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.)
(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. 
much slower than other aircraft, thus one of the reasons we try to avoid IR
training routes.
- 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
- Like this Reply to this comment
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(6 Comments)much slower than other aircraft, thus one of the reasons we try to avoid IR
training routes.