... To say goodbye: May 18th

[Acolyte]

And one wonders why in the world she goes around with those goggles on full-time, even when she is far away from the shop? (Unless she's been working on stuff right up until she ran into/found Quentyn?)

Maybe she wears them as sunglasses? Driving in bright sunlight can be quite a strain on the eyes since you can't rest them as you would if you didn't have to give full attention to where you're pointing the vehicle.

Or perhaps it's a time of year when many flying insects are likely to be encountered.

*SPLAT!*

[Maxgoof]

Well, they were using them as eye protection during the trip ... wind + eyes = dryyyyyy ><

Uh, balloons tend to go at the same speed as the wind.

Only if you are going in the same direction as the wind.

As any sailor will tell you, when a sailboat is tacking in a different direction than the wind direction, the wind onboard the boat can get very stiff and cold.

In this case, the wheels act like the keel on a ship, so, it is possible to tack in a different direction.

[Baree]

All these theories... Heh.... I doubt Kessie will join Quentyn in his quest though. Like Quentyn said, she's in mid-semester. Anyway.... I just love Quentyn's expression in the 3rd panel. Great stuff.

[Squeaky Bunny]

Well, they were using them as eye protection during the trip ... wind + eyes = dryyyyyy ><

Uh, balloons tend to go at the same speed as the wind.

Only if you are going in the same direction as the wind.

As any sailor will tell you, when a sailboat is tacking in a different direction than the wind direction, the wind onboard the boat can get very stiff and cold.

In this case, the wheels act like the keel on a ship, so, it is possible to tack in a different direction.

I was thinking of Quentyn's ship, not the land craft. In that case all your reasons apply. Balloons are almost uncontrolable. Dirigibles (and OH, how I want to ride in one!) have the power to go anywhere they want to, but do it sooooooo slowly.

[DracoDei]

All these theories... Heh.... I doubt Kessie will join Quentyn in his quest though. Like Quentyn said, she's in mid-semester. Anyway.... I just love Quentyn's expression in the 3rd panel. Great stuff.

Umm, can you say "practical experience credit"?
Working in a low-lux environment, making due with local (oversized tools) and whatever she can pack into the weight limited balloon, tailoring trinkets to specific human buyers should be good for some Economics class credit, observing the practical effects of WildCard in a low-lux environment, not to mention that the history department would probably sponser her to the tune of not only her expenses, but her 'wasted' tuition for leaving in the middle of a semester. Yeah, I would say that her educational situation is not a major concern... the fact that she is only a first year student is more of a concern, this situation want someone with experience, not just potential in the position of mechanic/trade-good maker...
That being said, ironically enough, the person whose skills woould be the BIGGEST help on this trip would be Nessie... but she is a bit young to be going into danger.

[RHJunior]

I was thinking of Quentyn's ship, not the land craft. In that case all your reasons apply. Balloons are almost uncontrolable. Dirigibles (and OH, how I want to ride in one!) have the power to go anywhere they want to, but do it sooooooo slowly.

Actually, error on both parts, there.

Balloons CAN be steered--- with a careful study of the air currents. See, every few hundred feet the wind changes direction, by as much as 90 degrees. With the addition of sails, you can control your sidelong motion as you go as well--- you can't tack INTO the wind, but you have more control than most realize.

And zeppelins and blimps are only slow when compared to jets. The Hindenburg, for instance, flew an average of 78mph, with a top speed of 84 mph. They only LOOK slow because they're so BIG.

[Maxgoof]

And zeppelins and blimps are only slow when compared to jets. The Hindenburg, for instance, flew an average of 78mph, with a top speed of 84 mph. They only LOOK slow because they're so BIG.

Yeah, size makes a lot of difference. Around Wright Patterson Air Force Base there are often C-5 Galaxy Cargo Jets taking off and landing. When you see one coming in for a landing, they are so HUGE that they look like they have to be lighter than air, because they look like they are simply floating down, they appear so slow.

They also put out a sound that, once you hear it, you never forget it. No loud, not scary, just.....distinctive.

[Zobeid]

Balloons CAN be steered--- with a careful study of the air currents. See, every few hundred feet the wind changes direction, by as much as 90 degrees.

The wind can be moving different directions at different altitudes, but using that to steer a balloon and actually navigate where you want to go is highly problematic.

With the addition of sails, you can control your sidelong motion as you go as well

That's just plain wrong. A sail on a balloon is nothing more than dead weight. The balloon itself is a sail.

[Squeaky Bunny]

Balloons CAN be steered--- with a careful study of the air currents. See, every few hundred feet the wind changes direction, by as much as 90 degrees.

The wind can be moving different directions at different altitudes, but using that to steer a balloon and actually navigate where you want to go is highly problematic.

With the addition of sails, you can control your sidelong motion as you go as well

That's just plain wrong. A sail on a balloon is nothing more than dead weight. The balloon itself is a sail.

Exactly. All the pilot can do is make the balloon rise and fall. Wind currents are subject to the whims of Ma nature and can change at any moment. Steering is a guessing game sometimes.

And, if the balloon is going the same speed as the wind, how do you fill the sail? (other than putting the sail at a different altitude with a different airspeed?)

[Squeaky Bunny]

I was thinking of Quentyn's ship, not the land craft. In that case all your reasons apply. Balloons are almost uncontrolable. Dirigibles (and OH, how I want to ride in one!) have the power to go anywhere they want to, but do it sooooooo slowly.

Actually, error on both parts, there.

Balloons CAN be steered--- with a careful study of the air currents. See, every few hundred feet the wind changes direction, by as much as 90 degrees. With the addition of sails, you can control your sidelong motion as you go as well--- you can't tack INTO the wind, but you have more control than most realize.

And zeppelins and blimps are only slow when compared to jets. The Hindenburg, for instance, flew an average of 78mph, with a top speed of 84 mph. They only LOOK slow because they're so BIG.

It's relative. A J3 Piper Cub has a tops out at about 85 and can just about do aerobatics around a blimp, but even then it looks like it is about to stall from lack of airspeed.

[RHJunior]

A sail on a balloon is not necessarily dead weight. It can be used to alter the aerodynamics of the craft, to control its orientation and its vector.

... so long as the sail has more "drag" than the balloon does, of course. But that's why the envelope is longer than it is wide, and the sail is as far out at the front end of the vessel as possible... so that the craft will orient itself tail-end-first into the wind, like a weathervane (or like a dandelion seed, if you prefer.)


Also, by letting air "spill" from one side of the sail or the other, the ship can veer left or right as it goes.... much as a descending parachutist can veer left or right by spilling air from one side or the other.

What's more, by spilling air from the BOTTOM of the sail, they can generate lift....

I have also done a little research into <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sailing">sailing</a> and discovered there are certain <a href="http://www.phys.unsw.edu.au/~jw/sailing ... erodynamic tricks</i></a> one uses in sailing ... It consists essentially of using the sails to generate pull in the same way an aircraft wing generates lift.... how applicable this would be to a luftship is up in the air (ha ha), but it goes to show that there's more to it than just "catch the wind and go forward."

[Squeaky Bunny]

I really have to plead ignorance on most aspects of LTA aircraft and need to study up on the subject before making more comments. Perhaps I best keep my expertise to balloons with funny faces and ears, twisty ones, or those that are less than eight feet in diameter.

[Labrusca]

Wonder if anyone else thought this. Doesn't the swarm of students re-engineering Quentyn's things make you think of the "watchmaker" aliens in "The Mote In God's Eye" the way they improve and personalize everything? Anyone else would have made a NEW elfshot pistol rather than totally customizing the old one.

Quentyn has GOT to know how much he is held in esteem by many others now. The easy thing would have been to send him out unprepared so that he never came back. Land problem solved. Instead, look at all the help he is getting in preparations.

[Anthony Lion]

I have also done a little research into <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sailing">sailing</a> and discovered there are certain <a href="http://www.phys.unsw.edu.au/~jw/sailing ... erodynamic tricks</i></a> one uses in sailing ... It consists essentially of using the sails to generate pull in the same way an aircraft wing generates lift.... how applicable this would be to a luftship is up in the air (ha ha), but it goes to show that there's more to it than just "catch the wind and go forward."

Unfortunately...

The aircraft happens to have another wing on the other side, which also generates the same amount of lift, which is a good thing, or the pilot would soon chuck his lunch from the perpetual corkscrew...

The same applies to sailboats, except there the keel is the counterbalance, excerting the same amount of force, but in the other direction, or those beautiful boats would flop over(capsize) the moment they tried to do anything but go directly downwind...

As for Quentys ship having an elongated balloon(like a blimp) and the sail at one end...
Yes, he would probably be able to keep it pointing directly downwind, or a few degrees to either side, but from that do actually maneouvering?
He would need some sort of keel to push against.

Either that, or some sort of propulsion device.
(Set fire to the hydrogen gas coming from the luftgas pump, maybe... If he feels suicidal... )

Do they have windmills?
Jacob Ellenhammer in Denmark built and flew Europes first aircraft in 1906, based on kites, and using cloth that had been used on windmills. (his father worked on maintenance on windmills, so they always had old cloth available for kites and such)
He even had a working helicopter(as in lifting off the ground. I have no ide of how controllable it was) in 1912.

[Madmoonie]

Ah.....Quentyn just needs to get his hands on a blackhawk.

[Squeaky Bunny]

Wonder if anyone else thought this. Doesn't the swarm of students re-engineering Quentyn's things make you think of the "watchmaker" aliens in "The Mote In God's Eye" the way they improve and personalize everything? Anyone else would have made a NEW elfshot pistol rather than totally customizing the old one.

Quentyn has GOT to know how much he is held in esteem by many others now. The easy thing would have been to send him out unprepared so that he never came back. Land problem solved. Instead, look at all the help he is getting in preparations.

Watchmakers? I dunno. I was thinking "Batteries Not Included" when you mentioned it.

[RHJunior]

You're not following me.

You need a keel for tacking into the wind, or to go at any course other than the direction of the wind.

But for veering along the flight path----like a car changing lanes on the freeway--- spilling air from the left or right sail will suffice.