[meteorite-list] Floating Fireball Over Texas Caught On Video

From: John Gwilliam <jkgdiver_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Thu Apr 22 09:55:45 2004
Message-ID: <4.2.0.58.20020112104901.009b2890_at_pop.primenet.com>

Boy, this story brings back some fun memories for me.

First of all.....DON'T DO THIS!

Back in the 1960's, my older brother and I built similar hot air
balloons. We used old surplus "C" ratio heat tablets for the heat source
and suspended them in a wire mesh basket. The bottom on the balloons,
which were made from laundry bags, were held open and supported at the
bottom with a circle of light wicker.

We had a pretty efficient launching system. With a goal to see how may we
could get into the air at one time, we had to get them up fast. The bags
were held over a metal garbage can with a small fire in it to pre-heat the
balloons and the heat tablets were lighted at the same time. It was really
something to watch a rising column of glowing objects drifting Southwest
towards the mountains.

Our record was eleven balloons up all at the same time. They glowed quite
well and could be seen for miles as they gained altitude and traveled with
the wind. One time, we attached several aluminum foil strips to the bottom
of each balloon. News the next day talked about several "UFOs" that were
seen over the Phoenix and also on radar at Sky Harbor Airport.

Things were different back in the 60's. Don't try this at home...or
anywhere for that matter. I'm sure you would be in a heap of trouble.

Then there was my first 1956 Chevy...............;-)

Best,

John

At 08:54 AM 1/12/02 -0500, magellon_at_earthlink.net wrote:
>Ron & All,
> In my college years, we would glue wooden popsicle sticks to make a
>cross. On this, one could secure 8-10 birthday candles with drops of melted
>wax. Tying the four ends of the cross with thread to four corners of a
>large dry cleaning bag. Then sealing the top hole (of the bag) and lighting
>the candles, the bag would fill with hot air and lift into the sky. (You
>had to pick a windless day or risk candle blow out) Sometimes the bag
>itself would catch on fire. (FIRE DANGER - DO NOT TRY THIS YOURSELF)
> I think some unqualified Texas personnel are trying to resurrect my
>lighter-than-air "experiments"...
>Ken Newton
>
>Ron Baalke wrote:
>
> > http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/news/010702_news_ufo.html
> >
> > UFO sighting?
> > Mystery object caught on tape
> >
> > A Pearland resident with a video camera caught the
> > mysterious object on tape.
> >
> > By Don Nelson
> > ABC 13 Eyewitness News (Houston, Texas)
> >
> > (1/7/02) - Some Pearland residents are still
> > scratching their heads after spotting a strange
> > object in the sky on Sunday. But was it a UFO?
> >
> > There is a mystery unfolding in Pearland. But it may
> > be a while before this one involving a "fire in the
> > sky" is solved.
> >
> > Rocky Flint captured images Sunday afternoon with
> > his video recorder in Pearland. It appears to be a
> > burning object in the sky. His wife, Cynthia, says
> > it was hard to miss.
> >
> > Cynthia Flint/Pearland Resident: "It resembled a floating fireball."
> >
> > The fiery ball appears to remain stationary for several minutes before
> > moving downward and then disappearing. Flint says she had no idea what
> > she was witnessing.
> >
> > Cynthia Flint/Pearland Resident: "There's nothing to describe what it
> > was. It's so unique and so different. I've never in my whole life seen
> > anything like it."
> >
> > Eyewitness News made calls to both airports and neither one could shed
> > any light on the mystery. The Brazoria county sheriff's department also
> > received some calls, but they couldn't find anything. Flint's husband
> > has his own theory.
> >
> > Cynthia Flint/Pearland Resident: "He couldn't believe what he was
> > seeing. He said that it looked like a UFO."
> >
> > We made another call to NORAD, the North American Aerospace Defense
> > Command. They also failed to provide answers.
> >
> > Rocky Flint/On amateur video: "It's still here, baby. And they see us."
> >
> > Before Sunday, Mrs. Flint didn't believe in UFO's.
> >
> > Cynthia Flint/Pearland Resident: "I'm not a big believer of them. But I
> > can't describe what I saw up there, either."
> >
> > Several other phone calls from viewers who also saw some type of "fire
> > in the sky" came into the newsroom on Sunday. But right now, we still
> > aren't exactly sure what it was. Stay tuned...
> >
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>
>
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John Gwilliam Meteorites
PO Box 26854
Tempe AZ 85285
http://www.meteoriteimpact.com
Received on Sat 12 Jan 2002 01:05:40 PM PST