The DHL Balloon, in Singapore, was the world's second largest

tethered helium balloon A tethered, moored or captive balloon is a Balloon (aircraft), balloon that is restrained by one or more tethers attached to the ground so it cannot float freely. The base of the tether is wound around the drum of a winch, which may be fixed or m ...

. It was inflated in 2006, and closed and dismantled in October 2008.

History

The

DHL DHL (originally named after founders Dalsey, Hillblom and Lynn) is a multinational Import-Export Expert Company, founded in the United States and headquartered in Bonn, Germany. It provides courier, package delivery, and express mail service, ...

Balloon was first located on Tan Quee Lan Street in the

Downtown Core The Downtown Core is the historical and downtown centre of the city-state of Singapore and the main commercial area in Singapore excluding reclaimed lands with two integrated resorts such as the Marina Bay Sands, one of the most expensive buil ...

of Singapore, near the New 7th Storey Hotel and

Bugis MRT station Bugis MRT station is an underground Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) interchange station on the East–West (EWL) and Downtown (DTL) lines, in Bugis, Singapore. The station is located underneath the junction of Rochor Road and Victoria Street. Vario ...

. Launched at a cost of $2.5 million, the DHL Balloon was a joint venture by Aerophile Balloon Singapore Pte Ltd and Vertical Adventure Pte Ltd, and took one year to plan. The project was sponsored by global

courier A courier is a person or organization that delivers a message, package or letter from one place or person to another place or person. Typically, a courier provides their courier service on a commercial contract basis; however, some couriers are ...

freight In transportation, cargo refers to goods transported by land, water or air, while freight refers to its conveyance. In economics, freight refers to goods transported at a freight rate for commercial gain. The term cargo is also used in ...

and logistics company

DHL Express DHL (originally named after founders Dalsey, Hillblom and Lynn) is a multinational Import-Export Expert Company, founded in the United States and headquartered in Bonn, Germany. It provides courier, package delivery, and express mail service, ...

which received exclusive advertising space on the balloon. The business partners involved in the project worked with the

Urban Redevelopment Authority The Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) is the national urban planning authority of Singapore, and a Statutory boards of the Singapore Government, statutory board under the Ministry of National Development (Singapore), Ministry of National De ...

(URA),

Singapore Land Authority The Singapore Land Authority (SLA) is a statutory board under the Ministry of Law of the Government of Singapore. SLA optimises land resources for Singapore's social and economic development. History The SLA was formed on 1 June 2001 when the ...

and

Singapore Tourism Board The Singapore Tourism Board (STB) is a statutory board under the Ministry of Trade and Industry of the Government of Singapore, tasked to promote the country's tourism industry. History The board was first established on 1 January 1964 and ...

to allow public advertising on the balloon, and arranged to

lease A lease is a contractual arrangement calling for the user (referred to as the ''lessee'') to pay the owner (referred to as the ''lessor'') for the use of an asset. Property, buildings and vehicles are common assets that are leased. Industrial ...

the site at a cost of more than S$1 million over two years. Prior to this project, large advertisements in public areas were not allowed in Singapore. S$800,000 was spent priming the ground for the balloon and another S$60,000 to purchase the

helium Helium (from ) is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol He and atomic number 2. It is a colorless, odorless, non-toxic, inert gas, inert, monatomic gas and the first in the noble gas group in the periodic table. Its boiling point is ...

. On 19 April 2006, 40 crew members took 12 hours to inflate the French-made balloon, which took its first passengers in May 2006. The DHL Balloon was operated by Singapore Ducktours, a company which also offers city tours on its

amphibious vehicle An amphibious vehicle (or simply amphibian) is a vehicle that works both on land and on or under water. Amphibious vehicles include amphibious Amphibious cycle, bicycles, Amphibious ATV, ATVs, Amphibious automobile, cars, Duckboats, buses, truc ...

s. By September 2007, more than 150,000 people had ridden on the balloon, 70% of whom were

tourists Tourism is travel for pleasure, and the Commerce, commercial activity of providing and supporting such travel. World Tourism Organization, UN Tourism defines tourism more generally, in terms which go "beyond the common perception of tourism as ...

. Up to 1,000 people rode the balloon each weekend and its usage was the highest among all of Aerophile's balloons. The DHL Balloon's lease on its site on Tan Quee Lan Street expired in August 2008 and URA terminated the lease as the site was to be used for the new Downtown line's

. Singapore Ducktours considered three alternative sites: Beach Road near Park View Hotel,

Clarke Quay Clarke Quay is a historical riverside quay in Singapore, located within the Singapore River Planning Area. The quay is situated upstream from the mouth of the Singapore River and Boat Quay. Etymology ''Clarke Quay'' was named after Sir Andr ...

near Novotel Clarke Quay Hotel, and

Gardens by the Bay The Gardens by the Bay (GBTB) is an urban park spanning in the Central Region, Singapore, Central Region of Singapore, adjacent to the Marina Reservoir. The park consists of three waterfront gardens: Bay South Garden in Marina South, Bay East ...

at Marina Bay but was told by the authorities that these sites were unavailable. Other plans included relocating the balloon to

Kuala Lumpur Kuala Lumpur (KL), officially the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur, is the capital city and a Federal Territories of Malaysia, federal territory of Malaysia. It is the largest city in the country, covering an area of with a census population ...

Johor Bahru Johor Bahru, abbreviated as JB, is the capital city of the Malaysian state of Johor. It is the core city of Johor Bahru District, Malaysia's second-largest district by population and the second-largest district economy. Covering an area of ...

in Malaysia. Terminating the venture would cost the company S$1.2 million. Unable to find a suitable site at which to continue operations, Singapore Ducktours dismantled the DHL Balloon in October 2008.

Ride

Passengers could ride the DHL Balloon and have a view of Singapore's Central Area, including the central business district,

Suntec City Suntec City is a major mixed-use development located in Marina Centre, a subzone of the Downtown Core in Singapore, which combines a shopping mall, office buildings, and a convention centre. Construction began on 18 January 1992 and was comple ...

, Marina Bay,

Orchard Road Orchard Road, often known colloquially as simply Orchard, is a major -long road in the Central Area, Singapore, Central Area of Singapore. A famous tourist attraction, it is an upscale shopping area, with numerous internationally renowned de ...

and

Little India Little India (also known as Indian Street, India Bazaar, or India Town) is an Indian people, Indian or South Asian sociocultural environment outside India or the Indian subcontinent. It especially refers to an area with a significant concentra ...

, and could see Indonesia and Malaysia. Standard flights to typically lasted between seven and ten minutes and higher level flights to lasted up to 13 minutes.

Features and specifications

The DHL Balloon measured in diameter and was filled with 6,500 cubic metres (8500 cu. yd.) of helium. It was certified as an aircraft. It was one of only fifteen similar balloons around the world in cities including Paris and Hong Kong made by

Aerophile Aerophile SAS is a French company specialized in building and operating tethered helium balloons. Formed in 1993 the tethered gas balloons operate as tourist attractions around the world. The company has sold more than 60 balloons in 30 countri ...

. As the balloon was

anchor An anchor is a device, normally made of metal, used to secure a vessel to the bed of a body of water to prevent the craft from drifting due to wind or current. The word derives from Latin ', which itself comes from the Greek (). Anch ...

ed to the ground with a metal

cable Cable may refer to: Mechanical * Nautical cable, an assembly of three or more ropes woven against the weave of the ropes, rendering it virtually waterproof * Wire rope, a type of rope that consists of several strands of metal wire laid into a hel ...

, it was only able to ascend and descend vertically. It was approved by the

Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore The Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) is Singapore's civil aviation authority and a statutory board under the Ministry of Transport of the Government of Singapore. Its head office is located on the fourth storey of Singapore Cha ...

to ascend to a maximum altitude of , or around 48 stories. Flights to either were offered. It could accommodate a maximum of 29 passengers in its

gondola The gondola (, ; , ) is a traditional, flat-bottomed Venetian rowing boat, well suited to the conditions of the Venetian lagoon. It is typically propelled by a gondolier, who uses a rowing oar, which is not fastened to the hull, in a scul ...

Piloting

The balloon, which flew between two and six times an hour, was operated by a pilot within the gondola. A hydro-electric

winch A winch is a mechanical device that is used to pull in (wind up) or let out (wind out) or otherwise adjust the tension (physics), tension of a rope or wire rope (also called "cable" or "wire cable"). In its simplest form, it consists of a Bobb ...

system controlled take-off and landing. As a safety measure, the balloon was not flown when there was

lightning Lightning is a natural phenomenon consisting of electrostatic discharges occurring through the atmosphere between two electrically charged regions. One or both regions are within the atmosphere, with the second region sometimes occurring on ...

, rain, or when the

wind speed In meteorology, wind speed, or wind flow speed, is a fundamental atmospheric quantity caused by air moving from high to low pressure, usually due to changes in temperature. Wind speed is now commonly measured with an anemometer. Wind spe ...

exceeded five

knot A knot is an intentional complication in Rope, cordage which may be practical or decorative, or both. Practical knots are classified by function, including List of hitch knots, hitches, List of bend knots, bends, List of loop knots, loop knots, ...

s on the ground as measured by an

anemometer In meteorology, an anemometer () is a device that measures wind speed and direction. It is a common instrument used in weather stations. The earliest known description of an anemometer was by Italian architect and author Leon Battista Alberti ...

Maintenance

A crew of six pilots worked in rotation with one on duty at any one time. They conducted routine checks daily, weekly and every three months on the balloon and its equipment. The helium was replenished every four to six months and engineers visited the balloon each year to conduct an inspection.

Notes

References

External links

{{Commons category, DHL Balloon, Singapore
Uniquely Singapore: DHL BalloonSingapore Ducktours
2006 establishments in Singapore 2008 disestablishments in Singapore Buildings and structures completed in 2006

Balloon A balloon is a flexible membrane bag that can be inflated with a gas, such as helium, hydrogen, nitrous oxide, oxygen, or air. For special purposes, balloons can be filled with smoke, liquid water, granular media (e.g. sand, flour or rice), ...

Downtown Core (Singapore) Individual balloons (aircraft) Tourist attractions in Singapore