UFO Lanterns/Balloons

As you will be aware from the UFO pages on the 'fire balloon' flaps of the summers of 2005, 2006 and 2007, we received reports of 'UFOs' from various parts of Britain.  Indeed these typ eof fire balloon are increasingly being launched/flown at all times of the year.

UFO Balloons is now one of 10os of importers/retailers of this type of device, indeed they are now frequently stocked by firework retailers.  There is little doubt that these devices are a risk on various levels, and during very dry periods flying balloons with a source of uncontrolled flame is very irresponsible.

In 2005 we were delighted to receive some confirmation and indeed comments and advice on our then thoughts on questions from Ray Prince of  UFO Balloons.

Ray gives us a background and description of this type of fire balloon:

"UFO Balloons are a cheaper derivative of the Sky Lanterns that have been launched in the Far-East for thousands of years.

Sky Lanterns are traditionally manufactured using rice paper over a bamboo frame. The heat source being a paraffin soaked rag suspended under the Lantern. It has always been my understanding that these traditional Sky Lanterns were probably not legal in this country, because of a size restriction of any balloon with a linear length of greater than 2 metres requiring CAA approval. I must say that this requirement has been advised to me by others, and I can't find actual written confirmation of it anywhere. The CAA don't reply to my enquiries! I am also assuming that the 'linear' measurement may include a circumference measurement in any direction. Therefore I have ensured that my UFO Balloons are less than 2 metres however you measure them!

UFO Balloons use a clear plastic bag with a barbeque firelighter suspended beneath it on thin copper wires to provide the heat source. UFO Balloons would create a fire risk if they descended whilst still alight. This will not happen if used correctly because they only descend when the heat source has extinguished. A greater risk is for it to snag on something when ascending and set that something alight!

Whilst the UFO Balloon concept sounds simple there have been precise calculations made to get the right size balloon to get the correct lift carrying the weight of the heat source. Furthermore, the plastic used in the bag is both light in weight and heat-resistant. Finally, the bag, and to a lesser extent the copper wire, will degrade quickly to avoid damaging the environment."

In response to our thoughts on the 'formations' of lights, and whether these could be in some way tethered fire balloons, Ray confirmed:

"I don't think there is any way you can tether these balloons. I know, I have tried! Even with what seems to be no wind at all, the balloons move around so much they would damage themselves if tethered. The only way they might look like they were stationary if is they were quite a distance away and possibly only slightly moving away from the viewpoint."

In terms of trying to identify a fire balloon as the cause of a UFO report:

"I find it very simple to identify UFO Balloons from other UFO's. They always glow whitish-yellow (atmospheric conditions can sometimes give them a reddish-orange tinge) they always travel quite slowly, and always in the same direction and speed as the prevailing wind. However, these balloons can confuse people. I know this from reading reports of sightings of my own launchings, Firstly people have no idea of perspective; People only 100 yards away from a launch position may assume the balloons are something much bigger flying some miles away! Secondly, when they eventually disappear from view, normally when the heat source extinguishes, some people will report that they 'sped off at great speed'. It all actually gives you a better insight into how people perceive things differently based on their perspective and experience of similar things. I have discussed this with Mark Dalton of Southend UFO Watchers Group and he agrees that all sighting reports have to have these 'human perspectives' taken into account.

UFO Balloons do not photograph or video very well whilst in flight. Whilst, in real life they are visually very effective, they are very hard to capture on 'film'. It is obviously something to do with the human eye being so much better than a camera. I am pretty sure that a professional cameraman with the right equipment could probably take great footage of these balloons but it hasn't  happened yet to my knowledge.

The photos on the following site are typical of what a small group of UFO Balloons look like on camera (not very impressive!) these, along with the report confirm, in my opinion, a definite UFO balloon sighting:

http://www.ufoinfo.com/sightings/uk/050910.shtml

In the summer of 2007 APRA and other groups and forums have noted an increase in reports of lights other than the obvious amber/orange/yellow of the original lanterns (caused by the illumination of the flame).

Perhaps the answer is fairly simple, as importers and resellers now have coloured balloons on offer; usually marketed as 'daylight balloons', these have envelopes in red. orange, yellow, blue, purple, green etc - it doesn't take too much to consider how these would be seen when launched into a dark sky.