Coupon/Prize-Dropper Blimp Project

[lerningdriver]

ok, here's what I'm trying to do.. I need a blimp that would be able to hold maybe one or two coupons or envelopes to be dropped over people in an Indoor football game. Problem is, somone told me that to keep the blimp from being pushed around by the air conditioning/ventilation system, it needs to be atleast 10 feet long if not more, but I'm not interested in that kind of size, I'm looking at up to 7 feet, and less if possible. I also have a few questions, is there a place I can purchase a mechanism that would hold and drop the coupons? or should I make it myself? what batteries/motors/speed controllers/proppelers should I use?

i'll probebly have more questions as I go along but this is good as a start. I'll hopefully be starting the project in the next 3 weeks to a month.

thanx in advance.

[LEMMEDRIVEIT!!]

Just Curious, but what stadium is requiring you to build this for them?

The ones that they use at my hockey stadium and basically like a 7 foot diameter squished sphere, with 2 fans and the bottom for spinning adn turning, and then an elevator behind each of them that allows it to move up and down while going fowards. You can also mount a fan vertically for the up adn down part. I'd just say if you have the extra channels jsut hook up some servos with hooks to a little tube, stuff the coupons int he tube, adn then have the servo drop or tip the tube to let the coupons out.

Hope this helps

[lerningdriver]

well I'm actually building this for my school, my teacher will pay for it and I get a grade for doing it in my engineering/design class.

now what I was thinking is have 2 fans, one on each side with a rod running between them to hold them to the center piece and then have a servo move that piece as much as 90 degrees so the fans could be aimed anywhere from straight to down, and then they could be reversed to allow any kind of motion with only 3 channels. Aslo, i was thinking of getting a 4 channel remote and have a servo "hold" a coupon somewhat like you said and then drop it.

I just dont know where to start and which size would be ideal to use.. I'm also worried it will be too heavy to fly? :confused:

[LEMMEDRIVEIT!!]

Well,now that i think about it, they did use the method that you are talking about. But what you do need is a big enough balloon of helium. To be able to carry something that big, and so that it doesn't get blown around by the A/C system, it needs a little dead weight if its not heavy enough. The ballons they used were about 5 feet or so in diameter.

[lerningdriver]

I doubt 5 feet or so would be enough weight.

[skip m.]

-What about modifiying one of those rtf blimps hobby people or tower sells ?? or does it have to be your own design? plus how much can a couple of coupons weigh anyways?

[LEMMEDRIVEIT!!]

Don't bother with modifying one of those. I have one, and the radio range is only about 15 feet, and all of the electronics are on a big circuit board, so it will probably be more trouble than its worth. I was saying that maybe make the balloon big enough so that it has more power to lift than what you are actually lifting, and then add some dead weight to make it even all aroudn hte balloon, in form of clay or something. that will give the overall balloon a heavier weight.