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I just love doing things that have never been done before.
Helium cluster balloons are a balloon system that’s composed of generally latex balloons,
large latex balloons flown in a, in a bunch or cluster.
I’ve just always enjoyed flight and things that fly and
We decided that we wanted to do a project together.
We tried coming up with something that made sense in the air.
A flying octopus is certainly unique and unusual and we know it’s gonna get attention but
I was thinking more structurally it would be, um, a much more balanced sculpture. It
would be, you know somewhat easier to predict what it will do.
Larry Moss then flushed out a team to build his vision.
But again I’ve never done anything this big so as far as the structural integrity
and everything, I’m just kind ah going on their word but, you know, I’ve seen what
they have done before, it’s mighty impressive stuff so I figure everything’s gonna go
well.
Tasks were divided among the team and the construction took on assembly line efficiency.
[Music and the sound of balloons filling with helium]
Each morning an inspection was done to assess status and identify issues.
Work often continued well after night fall when the illuminated sculpture would almost
glow in the darkness.
Balloons were joined following the design and satisfied structural integrity and overall
appearance.
[music plays]
The artists got an opportunity to showcase their skills by creating detailed sculptures
to adorn the outside of the octopus.
The transportation of the octopus pieces to the launch site was done with an octopus parade
using volunteers from the community. [music plays]
Any pieces that were damaged during transit were repaired at the launch site.
To add lift, helium balloons were inflated inside the head of the sculpture.
[music plays]
After inspection and damage repair the 45 foot long tentacles were secured to the octopus
head.
Following the tentacles, the detailed pieces were attached to the sculpture.
The lift needed to raise the sculpture, pallet and ballast would require about 10,000 cubic
feet of helium. The helium would be contained in 72 five-foot and seven-foot latex balloons.
About an hour would be spent to inflate and secure the balloons.
The crowd that had gathered for the spectacle anxiously awaited to see if the octopus would
fly.
[music plays]
The full length ‘Flying An Octopus’ video can be purchased for 29.95 plus shipping on
the world wide web at tbayer.com