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Lot 66
HIGH ALTITUDE BALLOON FLIGHT. Extensive archive of material related to Julian Nott's work toward high altitude balloon flight.
4 December 2019, 13:00 EST
New YorkSold for US$2,550 inc. premium
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HIGH ALTITUDE BALLOON FLIGHT.
Extensive archive of material related to Julian Nott's work toward high altitude balloon flight.
Lot includes:
1. 7 of his working notebooks, some dated, approximately 1977-1984, used extensively.
2. Folder labeled "Dener Cabin" and featuring 5 sets of printed plans depicting a design for a high altitude pressurized cabin and 4 pages of manuscript notes with drawings, 1980.
3. Folder labeled "Hangar First Version / Bruce Blake / The One That Failed," and featuring a number of drawings, plans and notes for a fabric pressurized hangar, 1984.
4. 2 folders labeled "1984 Envelope—Trans Australia" and "Trans-Australia Flight Data," the first including notes, plans and drawings toward development of the envelope of the Wilson Endeavor in which he flew across Australia; and the second folder containing printed flight data, 1984.
5. 3 printed plans, one of which is a duplicate, each folded, being designs for Nott's first pressurized hot air balloon capsule which he used for his Daffodil II flight across India in which he broke the ballooning altitude record, 1973.
6. Group of 20 294 x 400 mm drawings, being designs for various aspects of a balloon, some labeled Daffodil II, 1979. Possibly an update of the 1974 balloon.
7. Folder labeled "Heat Ballance of Pumpkin Balloon," including copies of notes as well as annotated computer printouts.
8. Group of 5 drawings on tracing paper, 410 x 295 mm, depicting a pressurized cabin holding two people and a pumpkin balloon, no date.
9. Folder titled "1985/86—Attempts to design large AP envelope. / 1984 Pumpkin Construction," containing mainly notes, but with some plans and drawings toward the construction of a pumpkin balloon, 1984-1986.
10. 2 folders labeled "Historic India / Aug. Travel," and India Historic," the first containing notes and some drawings, the second containing mainly notes and correspondence, 1973-1974. Nott works toward his first pressurized hot air balloon cabin and the flight of his Daffodil II across India.
An amazing archive that provides a detailed picture of the effort and expertise required for Nott's considerable high altitude achievements. His reasoning for pursuing high altitude is best summed by Nott himself in a November 18, 1986 article in the New York Times: "As you can see at this moment," he said, gesturing toward the hilly New Jersey landscape below him, "we have very little idea where we'll be able to land. That's a challenge of hot-air ballooning that one doesn't have in long-distance gas (helium-filled) balloons. In gas balloons you simply go up high and float until you get where you're going. Down here, there are steep hills and forests all around us and very few potential landing spots. The sun is setting. We have propane fuel enough to keep the balloon aloft for only another 50 minutes. We'll get down safely, of course, but the sport is in figuring out how. Accuracy in Plotting Course. By contrast, one can chart the destination of a long-distance balloon flight very accurately," Mr. Nott continued, "because the speeds and directions of winds at high altitude can be forecast with some precision. Just two months ago, three Dutch balloonists flew from Newfoundland back to the Netherlands, and they plotted their course across the Atlantic so perfectly that they managed to land within a 20-minutes' drive of their homes."
Lot includes:
1. 7 of his working notebooks, some dated, approximately 1977-1984, used extensively.
2. Folder labeled "Dener Cabin" and featuring 5 sets of printed plans depicting a design for a high altitude pressurized cabin and 4 pages of manuscript notes with drawings, 1980.
3. Folder labeled "Hangar First Version / Bruce Blake / The One That Failed," and featuring a number of drawings, plans and notes for a fabric pressurized hangar, 1984.
4. 2 folders labeled "1984 Envelope—Trans Australia" and "Trans-Australia Flight Data," the first including notes, plans and drawings toward development of the envelope of the Wilson Endeavor in which he flew across Australia; and the second folder containing printed flight data, 1984.
5. 3 printed plans, one of which is a duplicate, each folded, being designs for Nott's first pressurized hot air balloon capsule which he used for his Daffodil II flight across India in which he broke the ballooning altitude record, 1973.
6. Group of 20 294 x 400 mm drawings, being designs for various aspects of a balloon, some labeled Daffodil II, 1979. Possibly an update of the 1974 balloon.
7. Folder labeled "Heat Ballance of Pumpkin Balloon," including copies of notes as well as annotated computer printouts.
8. Group of 5 drawings on tracing paper, 410 x 295 mm, depicting a pressurized cabin holding two people and a pumpkin balloon, no date.
9. Folder titled "1985/86—Attempts to design large AP envelope. / 1984 Pumpkin Construction," containing mainly notes, but with some plans and drawings toward the construction of a pumpkin balloon, 1984-1986.
10. 2 folders labeled "Historic India / Aug. Travel," and India Historic," the first containing notes and some drawings, the second containing mainly notes and correspondence, 1973-1974. Nott works toward his first pressurized hot air balloon cabin and the flight of his Daffodil II across India.
An amazing archive that provides a detailed picture of the effort and expertise required for Nott's considerable high altitude achievements. His reasoning for pursuing high altitude is best summed by Nott himself in a November 18, 1986 article in the New York Times: "As you can see at this moment," he said, gesturing toward the hilly New Jersey landscape below him, "we have very little idea where we'll be able to land. That's a challenge of hot-air ballooning that one doesn't have in long-distance gas (helium-filled) balloons. In gas balloons you simply go up high and float until you get where you're going. Down here, there are steep hills and forests all around us and very few potential landing spots. The sun is setting. We have propane fuel enough to keep the balloon aloft for only another 50 minutes. We'll get down safely, of course, but the sport is in figuring out how. Accuracy in Plotting Course. By contrast, one can chart the destination of a long-distance balloon flight very accurately," Mr. Nott continued, "because the speeds and directions of winds at high altitude can be forecast with some precision. Just two months ago, three Dutch balloonists flew from Newfoundland back to the Netherlands, and they plotted their course across the Atlantic so perfectly that they managed to land within a 20-minutes' drive of their homes."