Platform Prototype 1

This is the first platform structure that I tested and can be found at http://tinyurl.com/yl33a53
It's made using foam core presentation board because it's light weight but also got enough strength to hold objects. Before testing the structure to see if it lifted my camera components, I tested to see how many balloons were required to lift the structure. I had 4 19inch foil helium balloons at the time and this wasn't enough to lift the platform. Because of this I then attached 5 ordinary latex balloons along with the 4 foil balloons and there was enough lift in this.

After this I then tried to attach the components to the platform to take some test shots. But there was not enough lift from these balloons. I then had a thought!!!

I thought that if i attached a propeller to the platform I could generate a little extra boost to the lift the camera into the air. This didn't work.
If the camera was taken out of the platform and a couple of balloons were let loose, then the propeller idea worked and lifted the balloons into the air. This has got me wondering whether using lots of balloons to lift the camera is the right way to go, or whether to use a mixture of balloons and a propller!!