PARIS HAS LANDED!!! Epic supra-atmos flight ends

The Register's epic project to launch a cutting-edge spaceplane fashioned entirely from paper and piloted by an intrepid plastic playmonaut - dubbed PARIS* in honour of our favourite socialite and inadvertent porn star - has come to an end. The main balloon payload launch module is now stationary on a hillside above thick …

[Michael H.F. Wilkinson]

Congratulations on a successful launch

even if it did not separate!

The Reg: Taking paper airplanes to unprecedented heights!!!!

[Lottie]

Refreshments

So far it all seems to have gone well. Have an icon beer because I can't get you one in person!

Good show chaps!

[Anonymous Coward]

ToDo: Insert creative title here

Oh no, PARIS is missing!!! I hope teams of boffins around the world are crunching the numbers on their slide-rules trying to find paris and bring her home! Theres never been a paper aeroplane lost in space and it sure as hell isn't gunna happen on our watch!

*Paris, our generations Apollo 13

[Anonymous Coward]

conspiracy theory

I wonder if the Playmonaut has done a Steve Fossett and deliberately turned the transponder off and is now living it large under an assumed identity.

[Harvey Trowell]

So what are we hoping for?

Vulture 1 released but the GPS failed and it's lost forever.

or...

Vulture 1 is found stuck up a tree attached to main payload, is knocked down with a big stick and flies again next month/gets sold on eBay/gets donated to the Smithsonian.

Place yer bets... either way the 1 looks a good shout right now.

[rahul]

PARIS spaceplane disappears...

Yup, it's gone on to introduce humanity to the rest of the universe... congratulations... for what? For the endeavor.

[DZ-Jay]

Man, I missed the excitement :(

Though I've been awake for a few hours (it's early morning on this side of the pond), I just now hit El Reg's site. I've forgotten about the PARIS morning launch, and now it appears I missed it!

So... I'm caught up now, but there's still no news on the Vulture 1 and Playmonaut's whereabouts.

I'm eager to know how it all went, though it appears that it did not go too well. Sorry guys, have a pint or three and relish on the success of the mission: the plane was indeed built and launch, and it hit the ground as warranted; and that's all that counts :)

Cheers!

-dZ.

[Ken 16]

Thick wood?

Not sparse bush?

[Anonymous Coward]

wow this is better than watching the space shuttle return on TV

you can almost cut the excitement with a knife...awesome.

[Adrian Challinor]

The Iberian Triange

They have one in Bermiuda, so we can't they have one in Spain? PARIS, rose to great heights but sadly missing in action. Does this remind you of anyone?

Either that or someone forgot to plug in a new duracell before the flight.

Anyway, did the release balloon really top 81MPH? Maybe the Spanish Police are giving the playmonaut a hard time for speeding. All together now .... "no one expects the Spanish Inquisition".

[John Robson]

Chase car

" G6UIM-9 - info

2010-10-28 11:49:37z

91 km/h 113° alt 851 m

EA/ PARIS Chase Car (APRSIS32)"

91 km/h - on that road?

[Bracknellexile]

If Found...

You guys did remember to put an "If found, please return to Vulture HQ" notice on the side of Vulture 1 just in case it got lost, didn't you?

Didn't you?

[Fluffykins]

Is the frikkin' balloon imaged on Google Maps already?

Just checked out the Tracking map and the corresponding location on Google Maps, where the baloon transmitter says it is.

Look at: http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?hl=en&q=40%C2%B019.89'+N+4%C2%B019.80'+W&ie=UTF8&ll=40.331497,-4.329987&spn=0.0194,0.031457&t=h&z=15

That's not the frikkin' baloon imaged there, slightly southeast, is it?

Conspiracy theory ignition in 5 .......4........3.........2.........<whup whup whup>

[Daniel Evans]

Seeing as we have a car and many people with a map...

Is backseat driving via APRS telemetry permitted?

[Bilgepipe]

When the going gets tough...

Tension mounts as the chase car turns back...

We need a Police Camera Action helicopter providing live video.

[Jon Double Nice]

Playmonaut in the 25th century

It's pretty obvious, the pilot got sucked through a space vortex or whatever and will return at some point in the future just like Buck Rogers or something.

[Anonymous Coward]

Biddy

Biddy biddy biddy

[Anonymous Coward]

Guys you want the M501 to Pelayos de la Presa..

don't they have google maps in that car?

Wonder why they turned around in San Martin del Valdeiglesias??!?!

Roads closed due to UFO sightings?

[TeeCee]

Directions.

"Wonder why they turned around in San Martin del Valdeiglesias??!?!"

Because some disembodied voice asked them to perform a U-Turn and it was indeed possible?

[Anonymous Coward]

Leaking news.... reached 89,590ft

KJ4ERJ-AP>G6UIM-9: I'm seeing 89590 at the hightest. Quite respectable.

KJ4ERJ-AP>G6UIM-9: And contrary to my earlier suggestion, the tracks antics at the+

KJ4ERJ-AP>G6UIM-9: peak may have signaled a release and loss of weight. Where/when+

KJ4ERJ-AP>G6UIM-9: was it supposed to trigger?

G6UIM-9>KJ4ERJ-AP: we thought 85 at most

G6UIM-9>KJ4ERJ-AP: we should have had a plane release at around 55

KJ4ERJ-AP>G6UIM-9: I'll check the track back there and see if there's any anomalies

G6UIM-9>KJ4ERJ-AP: not a reliable trigger so any sign of a release would be good

KJ4ERJ-AP>G6UIM-9: The track from 50-60K feet is a steady 300-400 feet per beacon+

KJ4ERJ-AP>G6UIM-9: climb rate. No sign of release in that range at least.

G6UIM-9>KJ4ERJ-AP: worth looking elsewhere if you would please

KJ4ERJ-AP>G6UIM-9: Working on an altitude vs time graph now. I'll keep you posted.

{snip}

KJ4ERJ-AP>G6UIM-9: constant ascent rate, I don't think the release occurred.

G6UIM-9>KJ4ERJ-AP: that was our thinking thanks for the help

KJ4ERJ-AP>G6UIM-9: Ascent actually slowed at about 9:00 and 12-13K feet. It was+

KJ4ERJ-AP>G6UIM-9: climbing about 150 feet per point and slowed to about 100 after+

KJ4ERJ-AP>G6UIM-9: that.

KJ4ERJ-AP>G6UIM-9: My graph doesn't account for missing points (ie I didn't scale the+

KJ4ERJ-AP>G6UIM-9: Climb delta by the time interval), so please excuse the spikes. I+

KJ4ERJ-AP>G6UIM-9: just noticed them and figured out what they probably mean.

KJ4ERJ-AP>G6UIM-9: Correction, replace 12-13K feet with Meters. Didn't even know my+

KJ4ERJ-AP>G6UIM-9: own scale.

[Anonymous Coward]

To be Continued...

2010-10-28 12:36:36 UTC: 2E0JXE>G6UIM-9: you driving away from it?

2010-10-28 12:50:40 UTC: KJ4ERJ-AP>G6UIM-9: Your balloon was hitting most of Spain while flying.

2010-10-28 13:27:28 UTC: G6UIM-9>KJ4ERJ-AP: alt in metres on that chart?

2010-10-28 13:27:31 UTC: G6UIM-9>KJ4ERJ-AP: cool

2010-10-28 13:27:33 UTC: G6UIM-9>KJ4ERJ-AP: got payload

2010-10-28 13:27:35 UTC: KJ4ERJ-AP>G6UIM-9: Yes, meters.

2010-10-28 13:27:52 UTC: KJ4ERJ-AP>G6UIM-9: Three Cheers! Intact? Plane still on board?

dun dun duhhhh....

[Anonymous Coward]

...continued

2010-10-28 13:43:15 UTC: G6UIM-9>KJ4ERJ-AP: plane released not a scratch

2010-10-28 13:43:33 UTC: KJ4ERJ-AP>G6UIM-9: Plane released now, or in flight?

2010-10-28 13:45:58 UTC: G6UIM-9>KJ4ERJ-AP: in flight

2010-10-28 13:46:18 UTC: KJ4ERJ-AP>G6UIM-9: And the Plane is recovered? From where?

2010-10-28 13:47:52 UTC: G6UIM-9>KJ4ERJ-AP: plane not recovered yet

So Vulture_1 is MIA... Now just holding out for a squawk from the beacon, as it seems the GPS has not functioned (no internet or no gps). If they can find it Steve has got his work cut out to triangulate the beacon... wondering how long the batteries will last on it....

[Matt_payne666]

so, did it fly?

its missing, but any indications as to if the thing flew, or just hurtled to earth in the manner of a stone???

[Ralph B]

90,000 feet?

That'd be the stratosphere rather than space proper though, wouldn't it?

Well done all the same. And the acronym still works.

[Bill B]

Goat track

Yup, watching the car chase and i reckon they have a sat nav in there just about to direct them up a goat track.

Black helicopter 'cause they may need that to get them off the mountain

[Graham Dresch]

Reconstruction

Whatever the outcome, we deserve a full Playmobil reconstruction.

[Blofeld's Cat]

Reconstruction

With a blow-by-blow commentary from the Playmonaut.

[Kay Burley ate my hamster]

How very negative!

Well done guys, a successful launch, and from the GPS data quite a flight (balloon or wing). Can't wait for the recovery and the stills from the on-board time-lapse camera.

Have a pint!

[Anonymous Coward]

I think....

...that they've already stopped for at least one, possibly more :)

[Paul 37]

I'm willing to bet...

....that when the plane is retrieved from the tree there's a PlayMobil ape piloting it

[Dr. Mouse]

Where are they going?

They seem to have got lost in San Martin de Whateveritis, turned round, then decided to go for a joy ride, completely forgetting where they are aiming for. By my reckoning they should have turned left about 3 miles ago.

They been at the celebratory vino a little early? Or just as good at navigating as my mother (who often mixes up left and right, and has thrown the map out of the car window on the motorway before)?

[Anonymous Coward]

lee

I bet they're in the lee of the hill so no APRS signal is getting to the repeater.

This APRS thingy looks interesting. Much better than my shoddy GPS over GSM plaything...

[nordwars]

Are you guys lost?

I guess we can't see locked gates from our satellite view. Cos it definitely looks like you turned around when you were going the right way!

[Wize]

I think...

...they were stopping for petrol, looking at street view.

[Graham Bartlett]

How unusual

Someone rode Paris to her highest point but didn't deploy their payload? I image that doesn't happen very often.

[kneedragon]

?googlemaps data

I must be reading the info at google wrong, because it seems to say that the little green men have cunningly stashed the paris transponder in the chase vehicle, and for some time, forgot to switch it off.

Where is the BOFH these days? Not taking a junket in the s of Spain by any chance?

[Matthew Smith]

Just missed Transformador

If the ballon had kept its SE heading for a few more miles, it would have reached a point on the map called 'Transformador'. That would have made a fun ending.

Well done all concerned.

[Tim #3]

More refreshments?

At this rate they'll be in no fit state to perform a bit of mountain rescue on our intrepid aviator.

BTW, anyone got any ideas for the next mission yet? It'd be nice if it involved a bit of rocketry this time.

[Blofeld's Cat]

Congratulations

Looking forward to the write up and photos once the current recovery operation and "Beagle 2"-style search for "Vulture 1" is over.

Here's to "Vulture 2"!

[Tom 7]

Congratulations

on the successful launch of the plastic reinforced with paper vehicle!

[Bilgepipe]

Moving

The balloon seems to be moving slightly. Has it been picked up by a hungry bear? Or Bigfoot? Perhaps the plastonaut is wandering around the trees in a daze following his epic trip.

[james 68]

we want pics...

or it didnt happen

[MaXimaN]

Chase car on the move again

...presumably having done all of the chasing and scooped up the payload (and PARIS, possibly).

http://aprs.fi/?call=G6UIM-11,G6UIM-9&mt=hybrid&z=10&timerange=3600

Did PARIS fall from the heavens? We must know!

[Kurgan]

Balloon payload recovered?

I can see from the map that the main payload has been recovered!

Now we want photos!

[Thorsten]

Plane was released

2010-10-28 13:43:15 UTC: G6UIM-9>KJ4ERJ-AP: plane released not a scratch

2010-10-28 13:43:33 UTC: KJ4ERJ-AP>G6UIM-9: Plane released now, or in flight?

2010-10-28 13:45:58 UTC: G6UIM-9>KJ4ERJ-AP: in flight

2010-10-28 13:46:18 UTC: KJ4ERJ-AP>G6UIM-9: And the Plane is recovered? From where?

2010-10-28 13:47:52 UTC: G6UIM-9>KJ4ERJ-AP: plane not recovered yet

2010-10-28 13:48:15 UTC: KJ4ERJ-AP>G6UIM-9: ah, so "no scratches" is on the launch mechanism and balloon+

2010-10-28 13:48:15 UTC: KJ4ERJ-AP>G6UIM-9: payload?

Hmm... with the GPS transmitter apparently not working on the plane, this could be a lengthy search!

[Anonymous Coward]

This is brilliant

A really great alternative to work. Posted as Anon Coward because whilst my job may be as much fun as a guillotine testers, does at least pay the liquid refreshments.

[Adrian Challinor]

So when you say "PARIS has landed"

can we read that as a little tiny bit of journalistic exaggeration?

What you mean is "PARIS had been released, but we don;t know where it is"

[multipharious]

Intentional GPS Sabotage!

Perhaps our intrepid Playmonaut is just happy staying in PARIS for as long as possible.

Great show! Please reward yourself with more brandy, more pints, and well...more brandy!

[Anonymous Coward]

I know where PARIS is!

It's slipped through a warp in time to the planet of the apes!

I bet that right now, our intrepid Playmonaut is holding back the simian hordes with a cry of "Get your hands off of PARIS, you damned, dirty apes!!'

Since we aren't getting telemetry, I think a Playmobil recreation (perhaps with a melted Statue of Liberty souvenier in the background) is in order!!