Tethered helium balloon
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A tethered helium balloon is a helium-filled gas balloon which is tethered to the ground, or to a road vehicle, by a steel rope and raised and lowered by a winch.
Tethered or Static Helium Balloon
Tethered passenger balloons were very popular in France in the 19th century.Henri Giffard who also invented the dirigible, built the first one (5 000 cum envelop filled with hydrogen moved by a steam winch of 50 hp) in 1867 in Paris. The most famous one was made by GIFFARD in the castle of the Louvre downtown Paris in 1878 flying 35 000 passengers in 100 days!
The first tethered balloon in modern times was made in France at Chantilly Castle in 1994 by Aerophile SAS and following the installation of a balloon in Paris in 1999 the company has installed more than 50 tethered balloons in 25 countries above very prestigious places like Berlin, Istanbul, Ocean Park in Hong Kong, OCT EAST in Shenzen or Angkor Vat in Cambodia.
Not only manufacturer, Aerophile is also the largest carrier in lighter than air ever with more than 300 000 passengers flown every year in its four operation Paris, Disneyland paris, Orange County Great Park in California and Downtown Disney (Walt Disney World Resort) in Orlando.
A helium balloon is tethered at Montecasino in South Africa next to the Bird Gardens. The ride takes passengers up to approximately 120m above Fourways.
Lindstrand Technologies has installed 30 tethered balloons in 18 countries. Lindstrand Technologies is headed by Per Lindstrand who, with Sir Richard Branson, was the first person to cross the Pacific Ocean by balloon.
The latest entry in the world of tethered helium balloons has been of "Ahmedabad Eye"[2010], which has been installed as a new feature at the Kankaria Lakefront situated at Ahmedabad, India the site visited by millions of people after its transformation into amusement park.
AeroBalloon, Inc. incorporates technologies used in modern yacht design to build the AB-20 balloon gondola which carries over 1000 passengers per day at Chicago's Navy Pier. The modern composite gondola is lighter than traditional steel gondolas and requires less helium to lift its total payload. AeroBalloon is led by Douglas Hase, record holding lighter than air and ultralight aviation pilot. AeroBallons have flown at stadiums and parks including New York City's Central Park, Boston Common, and Discovery Green in Houston.
The World's Largest Tethered Helium Balloon is located at Conner Prairie in Indiana.
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