Rescue Me Balloon

[cfolster]

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/651668573/rescue-me-balloon

What do folks think? Obviously, the monofilament line getting tangled around you or your boat if you're still in the water could be an issue, but the general idea is interesting . . .

[spuglisi]

I think it's interesting too Cathy...same concern about the monofilament....and also how would it behave if the wind is blowing hard, at what distance is it visible ?

[jason]

If a balloon is good enough for a CIA pickup from the middle of the ocean it should be good enough to help get us rescued.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fulton_surface-to-air_recovery_system

The balloon setup looks a nice find.

[billvoss]

I'm skeptical about the Balloon. At least for coastal kayaking. Besides training and practice I would first try to bring:

1. PFD.
2. Drysuit.
3. Two or more Rick Crangles.
4. Modern VHF radio with DSC and integrated GPS.
5. PLB with GPS
6. Commercial PLB like SPOT.
7. Cell phone in waterproof case that permits use without removing from case.
8. Short-wave radio (license required) in waterproof case the permits use.
9. Duplicates of the above radios, 2nd VHF, 2nd PLB, etc.
10. SOLAS grade strobe.
11. SOLAS grade flares. (I prefer hand-held flares, see point 4 below.)
12. Coast Guard grade strobe.
13. Reflective tape. (Very good cost/benefit ratio for night rescues.)
14. Rescue Laser.
15. Coast Guard grade flares. (Not as reliable as SOLAS but smaller and cheaper.)
16. Sea Dye Marker

My list above is only in approximate order and omits many pieces of useful equipment such as spare paddles, tow ropes, helmets, first aid kits, etc that would not compete with the Rescue Me Balloon. Another way to think of the above list is:

1. Equipment to keep you alive long enough to be rescued.
2. People on the scene to rescue you very quickly without involving the Coast Guard.
3. The ability to communicate with the Coast Guard (and others) so they know you need help, and ideally what kind of help you need.
4. Radio based equipment should trigger the search and get the searchers very close to your location. The final category consists of equipment to help the searchers find you precisely despite thick fog, darkness, huge waves, hurricane force winds, and other adverse conditions. That is why I prefer hand-held to parachute flares. I assume that GPS and radio direction finders have already narrowed the search area but finding one person in adverse conditions can still be very challenging.

In my mind, a Rescue Me Balloon fits in category 4, and only works well in high-visibility low-wind conditions. A PLB and a cheap sea dye marker would be a better combination under those conditions.

[billvoss]

Forgot flashlight, signal mirror, and whistle.

Edited January 8, 2015 by billvoss

[josko]

I'm glad to see a paddle float is not on there.

[mhabich]

This can all be accomplished with equipment you already have. Throw a SOLAS flare into your skin-on-frame boat and seal the cockpit with your paddle float. Clip yourself to a toggle with your strong, but easy-to-handle, tow line. The flare will illuminate the boat and the heating of the air within will cause it to rise from the water, summoning help and keeping the boat from crashing into you.

[billvoss]

My latest SOF build is a bit too heavy to act as a balloon. However, if I brought along some compressed helium of the means to make hydrogen gas, I might be able to inflate my PADDLE FLOAT, which tied to my tow rope might act as a Rescue Balloon!

[josko]

Now, THERE's a use for a paddle float. Do you think you cold carry enough compressed helium to lift the paddler to safety?

[Inverseyourself]

If you use helium, take a few deep breaths before getting on the radio. The CG will get all excited about rescuing Mickey Mouse!

[Gcosloy]

And if all else fails, the inhalation of helium is recommended by the Hemlock Society as the least painful way to go!

[JohnHuth]

I played around with balloons on my own for this kind of thing. I purchased some weather balloons and helium to inflate them (yes, had fun sounding like Mickey Mouse).

They didn't work very well in winds above 10 knots - just got blown sideways and no amount of line payed out would get them more aloft. Maybe this one is different than my experiments, but I rapidly gave up after four or so attempts.

[leong]

If a balloon is good enough for a CIA pickup from the middle of the ocean it should be good enough to help get us rescued.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fulton_surface-to-air_recovery_system

The balloon setup looks a nice find.

Jason,

I don’t think the balloon for this Skyhook system is used for location. It’s used to lift up the attached lift line.

I’m very familiar with Skyhook systems, but not for people extraction. I once worked for RCA Service Company (in the computer operations center of the missile tracking ship General H. H Arnold) . The ship was used to track test firings of intercontinental ballistic missiles as they re-entered the atmosphere, usually somewhere off the coast of Ascension Island. Skyhook was used to send data tapes back to Cape Canaveral for off-line data reduction and analysis. The collected data was mostly from the ship’s radar tracks and missile telemetry.

From the ship we could see an Airforce C5A fly over the ship trailing a long line with a hook on the lower end. The hook was supposed to grab onto a wire attached to the databox sitting on the deck. A balloon held up the wire. When successful (sometimes it took multiple passes of the plane) the box would fly up with a tremendous acceleration (I assume that the current system used to extract people has more stretch in the line to reduce the acceleration).

The ship’s crew (including me) were allowed to put personal mail in the box extracted by Skyhook. However, we were warned not to send anything valuable. That was because the box would self-destruct after some time if it fell into the water. I guess that’s because there was usually a soviet ship monitoring us from about a mile away.

-Leon

[Inverseyourself]

Besides, if a group of paddlers gets caught in a tricky situation and only one paddler has the Rescue-ME-ME-ME-Balloon and ends up using it (think "Wheeeeeeeeeeee"), the post-incident pow-wow might become a little uncomfortable for that person.

[jason]

I played around with balloons on my own for this kind of thing. I purchased some weather balloons and helium to inflate them (yes, had fun sounding like Mickey Mouse).

They didn't work very well in winds above 10 knots - just got blown sideways and no amount of line payed out would get them more aloft. Maybe this one is different than my experiments, but I rapidly gave up after four or so attempts.

I wonder if the CIA version works in the wind due to it being shaped more like a blimp than a weather balloon.

[jason]

Jason,

I don’t think the balloon for this Skyhook system is used for location. It’s used to lift up the attached lift line.

I’m very familiar with Skyhook systems, but not for people extraction. I once worked for RCA Service Company (in the computer operations center of the missile tracking ship General H. H Arnold) . The ship was used to track test firings of intercontinental ballistic missiles as they re-entered the atmosphere, usually somewhere off the coast of Ascension Island. Skyhook was used to send data tapes back to Cape Canaveral for off-line data reduction and analysis. The collected data was mostly from the ship’s radar tracks and missile telemetry.

From the ship we could see an Airforce C5A fly over the ship trailing a long line with a hook on the lower end. The hook was supposed to grab onto a wire attached to the databox sitting on the deck. A balloon held up the wire. When successful (sometimes it took multiple passes of the plane) the box would fly up with a tremendous acceleration (I assume that the current system used to extract people has more stretch in the line to reduce the acceleration).

The ship’s crew (including me) were allowed to put personal mail in the box extracted by Skyhook. However, we were warned not to send anything valuable. That was because the box would self-destruct after some time if it fell into the water. I guess that’s because there was usually a soviet ship monitoring us from about a mile away.

-Leon

Leon,

The sky hook used by the CIA and other Government originations was used to located pickup and hall people into planes. Without the balloon a person is much harder to find, thus it's a multi purpose item. Attempt to find someone in the waves is a difficult item even with lot/long coordinates.

[Brian Nystrom]

Did anyone read the instructions for this?

This looks bad enough, but when you read the details, it's much worse. Essentially, you have to do a couple of steps that would be pretty much impossible with gloves, let alone if you're in rough water. It's definitely not possible to deploy it with one hand, or quickly with two hands.

The concept is interesting, but impractical, and the design is really poor. Also, I don't see a $75 single-use safety item selling well.

[leong]

Leon,

The sky hook used by the CIA and other Government originations was used to located pickup and hall people into planes. Without the balloon a person is much harder to find, thus it's a multi purpose item. Attempt to find someone in the waves is a difficult item even with lot/long coordinates.

Jason,

>> Attempt to find someone in the waves is a difficult item even with lot/long coordinates.

Yes, of course that’s true. But I don’t think that the Skyhook balloon is used for locating someone, at least to locate them initially. I think that you may be mixing apples and oranges (or Cathy’s Rescue-me-Balloons post with Skyhook balloons).

As the Rescue-me-Balloons company says, their product is lke a flare that lasts a week. The whole package weighs about a quarter of a pound.

On the other hand, Skyhook balloons are used to lift a rescue cable into the air so a plane can snag the cable. A Skyhook balloon, its cable and harness couldn’t possibly be carried on a kayak. The setup probably weighs a lot more than you and your kayak.

The Skyhook system consists of two main elements:

1. a plane equipped with steel wire-catching horns, an electric-powered winch—a mechanical device used to pull in or let out cables—and a 50-foot steel cable; and

2. a separate package of gear—delivered by air-drop—to allow people on the ground to “catch” the Skyhook.

Here’s how Skyhook would probably work to rescue a swimmer:

1. An air-dropped package arrives at the swimmer’s location.

2. It contains a balloon, rescue harness, and a cable.

3. From the air-dropped package, the swimmer uses a helium balloon to lift a 500-foot cable into the air.

4. Then he would strap himself to a harness connected to the other end of the cable, and sit with the wind to his back and arms crossed.

5. A low-flying, slow-moving plane would snag the cable with the Skyhook device on its nose, sweeping the person off the ground.

6. The plane’s crew would then winch the swimmer to the aircraft.

I have no idea of how the swimmer is initially located so the “Skyhook” package can be air-dropped close enough to be used.

[leong]

I wonder if the CIA version works in the wind due to it being shaped more like a blimp than a weather balloon.

As I recall from my days as a "range rat" working on an Advanced Range Instrumentation Ship (ARIS) the Skyhook couldn't be used on very windy days. Even on calm days it would take multiple passes to snag the box. My fellow workers and I used to bet on how many passes it would take.