Originally Posted by
Baldeep Inminj
I am somewhat confused. I am reading and hearing on the news that this balloon is steerable, and is currently ‘hovering’ over Montana.
This is simply not possible if this is indeed a balloon. Balloons, by definition, have no form of propulsion, they drift with the wind and always have zero airspeed, with their groundspeed being the wind speed at their location and altitude. They therefore cannot steer - it is physically impossible to steer something with zero airspeed. I know hot air balloons can be ‘guided’ by changing altitude to take advantage of varying wind speed and direction, but they are still just drifting with the wind.
If this device is indeed steerable, and is now hovering over Montana despite prevailing westerlies at it’s location, it is not a balloon, it is an airship. This then directly contradicts China’s assertion that is a balloon that has drifted off course.
Lots of daft theories in the R&N thread about how it's being remotely controlled from Beijing so that it overflies as many secret military installations as possible.
After all, drones can be piloted from halfway across the world - ignoring the fact that the latter have wings, flying controls and an engine.
