Domestic technical textiles Industry Segment-wise consumption of ...

88010020
Hot air balloon
envelope
Quantity (in Rs crore)
2007-08(E) 2007-08(E)
2-3 nos.
Rs 0.07 crore
approx
Source: IBIS, IMaCS Analysis
The direct imports of envelopes are from UAE, USA & UK. Ballooning fabrics are mostly imported
from UK and USA.
There are no exports of these products from India.
Raw materials
There are two basic fabrics from which balloon envelopes are manufactured - nylon or polyester. In
Europe, nylon fabrics are primarily used for balloons because it is the material that both Carrington
and Luckenhaus make and these two companies provide the fabric for most of the European balloon
manufacturers. American balloonists are more familiar with the choice between nylon and polyester
because a few American manufacturers use polyester.
The nylon balloon envelope is made of nylon multifilament in the denier range of 32 to 200 deniers
which are generally ripstop woven. Ripstop fabrics are woven fabrics whilst using a special
reinforcing technique that makes them very resistant against tearing and ripping. During weaving
(thick) reinforcement threads are interwoven at regular intervals in a crosshatch pattern in the fabric.
The intervals at which reinforcement threads are interwoven are typically 5 to 8 millimeters (0.2 to
0.3 in) apart. Thin or lightweight ripstop fabrics get a 3 dimensional structure due to the thicker
threads being interwoven in thinner cloth. Older lightweight ripstop-fabrics display the thicker
interlocking thread patterns in the material quite prominently, but more modern weaving techniques
make the ripstop threads less obvious.
Advantages of ripstop fabrics are - the favourable weight to strength ratio and that smaller tears and
rips can not easily spread further in the fabric. The fabric (or at least part of it, the top 1/3 for
example) may be coated with a sealer, such as silicone or polyurethane, to make it impermeable to air.
It is often the degradation of this coating and the corresponding loss of impermeability that ends the
effective life of an envelope, not weakening of the fabric itself. Heat, moisture, and mechanical wear-
and-tear during set up and pack up are the primary causes of degradation. These fabrics have a GSM
of 150 to 250. Bandhu Aerospace is importing these fabrics from UK and USA.
Regulations and standards in India / other countries
Director General of civil aviation (DGCA) is the regulatory body for hot air balloons in India.