1/28/2003: Cow balloon takes off
 

http://cellar.org/2003/cowballoon1.jpg

"The Cow" is a hot air balloon taking off in the Swiss Alps at the 25th Annual Hot Air Balloon Week last week.

I had the version below in the queue for a few days, but it didn't make it out until I saw the version above, which is much more interesting.

It makes ordinary, teardrop-shaped balloons seem too ordinary.

I believe I would very much enjoy flying a huge cow balloon through the Swiss Alps. I believe that would be very enjoyable indeed.

http://cellar.org/2003/cowballoon.jpg

Now someone needs to make a pig version.

And post it in time for a Friday IotD.

anyone besides me think they should have designed it slightly differently, so the part that the gondola hangs from was the udder?

Or am I being udderly (sic) ridiculous? :p

Indeed! I further believe that enjoyment could be enhanced by flying whilst hanging onto a wing, or pointy cow horn.

This was cool too.

That frog is hung like a horse.

That's not just any cow they're flying, they're flying in a flying cow. Very fly.

I absolutely love the first picture, but for a strange reason ... even though we know it is an actual balloon cow, my first impression of the image was that it was a massive computer graphic cow, menacing the crowd ...

It has a Monty-Pythonesque feel to it. I could easily imagine a Terry Gilliam animation which would either end with the cow dropping a load of putrescent, liquid cow poop on the crowd as it escaped into the sky, or being shot by some dude with a blunderbuss, and falling straight down, crushing the assembled masses into a fine red paste.

I just love that cow building toward escape velocity.

I wonder if they have some sort of system to keep it facing the right direction as it flies around. It would seem to me that it would spoil the "cow of action" pose if the thing was flying sideways or backwards.

It is difficult to type with this jacket on.. I have had to use my nose, so I am sorry for any typo's.

All I did was to explain to my shrink that i had seen a giant flying Polar Bear sneaking up on a giant flying Frog that was hung like a horse..

Where do they vent the hot air from when they want to descend?

I could venture a guess for the cow...
actually, I didn't realize they had to vent hot air out. I figured since they have to keep heating the air to stay aloft, all they did was stop heating (or at least heat less often) to descend. Maybe not fast enough of a descent though.

No, they drop grappling hooks and pick up sand bags to go lower. Later they drop these to go higher again. Seriously. Didn't you wonder how they floated with all those sand bags tied to them in the movies?

Quzah.