Home >> Hobbies >> Aviation

How to Make a Blimp Bag

A model blimp is tons of fun, even more so when you make it yourself. There are various types of experiments that you can do to mobilize your blimp once it is complete, but first you will need the main part of the blimp: the bag. You'll need some specialized material for the actual bag itself, but once you have it, adding accessories and making it fly will be a lot of fun.

Things You'll Need

2 pieces of oval 36-inch long by 24-inch wide 1.5 ml metalized nylon material
Tube of silicone
Sewing machine
Standard auto tire inflating valve

Instructions

- 1
  Spread a flattened bead of silicone around the entire edge of one piece of the nylon using your finger as an applicator. The bead should be about ¼ inch thick. It does not have to be precise, but you must move on swiftly before the silicone actually dries.
- 2
  Use your sewing machine to sew the edges together around the entire oval. Use a zig zag stitch. On the center bottom, leave a ½-inch gap in the material.
- 3
  Push the auto tire valve inside the 1/2-inch gap. You can seal the bag air tight by spreading a thin bead of the silicone along the outside of the material over the tire valve. This area needs to be air tight, so make sure every little nook and cranny have been coated in silicone.
- 4
  Allow the blimp bag to dry overnight. It should be in a warm, dry area. Once it is completely dry, you can use the tire valve to inflate it and start working on the rest of the body of the blimp.

Aviation