Flying Pumpkin (Balloon)

cults3d

Yes it is a little early for Halloween, but... Flying Pumpkin (Balloon) is a Halloween-themed toy/game using motorized fan, mechanical controls, and aerodynamics to "fly" a pumpkin balloon. Yet it doesn't have to be in Halloween colors or fly a pumpkin balloon; any inexpensive balloon will work fine. A video of Flying Pumpkin (Balloon) in action is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w-oBsDO02OI, and cad animation of the fore and aft motion is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JpTSEskWS7g. When I was around six years old, I saw this concept in the vacuum cleaner department at a Sears store which used vacuum cleaner exhaust to "fly" a small beach ball. After months of pleading, my mother stood her ground and refused to allow me to disassemble her vacuum cleaner in order to duplicate this feat (I needed to modify her vacuum cleaner for exhaust capability by cutting just a few holes). Fortunately, only a few years later the "Johnny Astro" toy was introduced, and she presented me with one for my birthday. I really enjoyed this toy, and I had fun designing, printing, building, and testing this version. Even with the availability of miniature helicopters and quadcopters, kids and grandkids truly enjoy taking off, flying, and landing their own pumpkin balloons. And, unlike the helicopters and quadcopters, you simply can't "crash" a pumpkin balloon! As usual, I probably forgot a file or two, or who knows what else, so if you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask; I do make mistakes in plenty. Designed using Autodesk Fusion 360, sliced using Cura 3.3.1, and printed in PLA on an Ultimaker 2+ Extended, and in PLA and PVA on an Ultimaker 3 Extended.