4 ms·

It seems like the article doesn't provide an explanation of how the drag ropes contributed to the crash. Did the ropes require them to fly too low?

JasonFruit 4y ago
He lost two of the three during launch, and even if he had kept them, there's no evidence they had any steering effect, and no reason to believe they could have had any. That is, their contribution to the failure of the expedition was increased overconfidence.
mannykannot 4y ago
The drag ropes were causal, but in a complicated way. They did not - and could not - function as intended, which was as a means of flying in a direction significantly different from that in which the wind was taking them, allowing them to navigate towards a specific destination. Without this assumption, it seems unlikely that they would have attempted to do what the flight actually was: a drift in a free balloon over the arctic. After several days, the balloon came down onto the ice (it did not "plummet") as a result of losing gas gradually, with ice accumulation probably being a factor. I have seen a report of the press conference they gave before starting, and it seems painfully clear that they would have all abandoned the attempt if any one of them would have said, out loud, that it was a bad idea.
- paulgb 4y ago
  > I have seen a report of the press conference they gave before starting, and it seems painfully clear that they would have all abandoned the attempt if any one of them would have said, out loud, that it was a bad idea. This sounds very interesting if anyone can dig it up!
  - mannykannot 4y ago
    I will see if I can find it... Edit: I have had no success so far, but other things I have read suggest that my comment should only be applied to Andrée's two companions, while he was attempting to guilt/shame them into going. Edit 2: This is not the source I had in mind, but it gives a sense of what was going on: https://www.damninteresting.com/andree-and-the-aeronauts-voyage-to-the-top-of-the-world/ https://www.damninteresting.com/andree-and-the-aeronauts-voy...
    - paulgb 4y ago
      Thanks, that's interesting! > He addressed his ground crew: “Well, now we have been considering whether the start should be made or not; my comrades insist on starting, and as I have no fully valid reasons against it, I shall agree to it, although with some reluctance. Will you, then, send all hands on shore to begin the work of dismantling the balloon-house?”

JasonFruit 4y ago

He lost two of the three during launch, and even if he had kept them, there's no evidence they had any steering effect, and no reason to believe they could have had any. That is, their contribution to the failure of the expedition was increased overconfidence.

mannykannot 4y ago

The drag ropes were causal, but in a complicated way. They did not - and could not - function as intended, which was as a means of flying in a direction significantly different from that in which the wind was taking them, allowing them to navigate towards a specific destination. Without this assumption, it seems unlikely that they would have attempted to do what the flight actually was: a drift in a free balloon over the arctic. After several days, the balloon came down onto the ice (it did not "plummet") as a result of losing gas gradually, with ice accumulation probably being a factor. I have seen a report of the press conference they gave before starting, and it seems painfully clear that they would have all abandoned the attempt if any one of them would have said, out loud, that it was a bad idea.

paulgb 4y ago
> I have seen a report of the press conference they gave before starting, and it seems painfully clear that they would have all abandoned the attempt if any one of them would have said, out loud, that it was a bad idea. This sounds very interesting if anyone can dig it up!
- mannykannot 4y ago
  I will see if I can find it... Edit: I have had no success so far, but other things I have read suggest that my comment should only be applied to Andrée's two companions, while he was attempting to guilt/shame them into going. Edit 2: This is not the source I had in mind, but it gives a sense of what was going on: https://www.damninteresting.com/andree-and-the-aeronauts-voyage-to-the-top-of-the-world/ https://www.damninteresting.com/andree-and-the-aeronauts-voy...
  - paulgb 4y ago
    Thanks, that's interesting! > He addressed his ground crew: “Well, now we have been considering whether the start should be made or not; my comrades insist on starting, and as I have no fully valid reasons against it, I shall agree to it, although with some reluctance. Will you, then, send all hands on shore to begin the work of dismantling the balloon-house?”