A HOT AIR BALLOON

Enlarge Image Image Gallery AN AIRWORTHY SHIP... IN ONE DOZEN EASY STEPS

When the fine spring weather awakens your hibernating sense of adventure, make this miniature aerial explorer and watch as it takes flight.

By Fred Ohlerking

Just about everybody feels the urge to "take off" once the weather warms up . . . and, even if springtime chores are keeping you tied to the homestead or back yard, you can still make an escape (although only for a little vicarious adventure). Using just a few household materials, you can put together the simple airship illustrated here, launch it on free "fuel", and watch your spirits take flight!

To construct your own miniature dirigible, you'll need seven sheets of 20" X 30" tissue paper, a six-foot length of 14-gauge wire for a couple of scavenged coat hangers), some white glue, a pair of scissors, and a roll of Scotch tape.

A LOT OF HOT AIR

Once you've put the simple flyer together, you'll need to create a source of heat to send it aloft . . . and that, too, is a quick-and-easy process. Collect six large juice cans (the 46-ounce size works fine) and cut out both ends from five of them. The sixth can will serve as the base of the "smokestack", so you should remove only its top. You should also cut a wedge-shaped opening In one side of that "bottom" can, as illustrated. (You can start the hole with a triangle can opener, then use a pair of tinsnips to enlarge it . . . and bend the sharp edges inward with pliers.)

Next, make three small holes (evenly spaced) around the top and bottom of each can, and thread short lengths of wire through those openings to fasten the cylinders together in a vertical stack. Finally — to prevent cinders from flying up into the balloon — wire a section of screen on top of the burner.