As part of the Scientist Activity Badge we had an evening of aeronautics.

We had proved at an earlier Pack night that hot air rises, and that the paper spiral that proved this, by holding it over a candle, catches fire very easily. The Cubs were asked to design a colour scheme for a hot air balloon while the Leaders tried out some plastic bags that Hathi had been able to acquire. These were filled with hot air from a hair dryer, which did not work and a paint stripper gun that firstly melted the plastic and then actually got the bag/balloon to rise to the Scutt ceiling.

Hathi had a plan b, which was just as well . . . A long strip of Mylar was folded in half and the edges stuck together forming a long sausage with an open end. This was tested inside and seemed to work, so we all trooped outside and the balloon was inflated and joy unbound it rose into the still evening air, then caught by a passing eddy drifted out of the Scutt compound over the boundary hedge and into the garden of a rather startled neighbour. The Cubs rushed round and knocked on his garden gate and asked politely if they could have their balloon back. "It landed on my head!" was the neighbours only comment.

We tried again with a little less hot air and this seemed to be the answer, several Cubs had a go at inflating it and it only got caught in the trees twice and Aaron, the star, climbed the tree and gave the branch a good shake to loosen the balloon. That Mylar is strong stuff, despite the Cubs fighting over it it survived to fly again. Once it nearly landed on Hathi who thought that it might be a good idea to try and stand up inside it as it dropped to the ground, which with hind sight was not a bright thing to do at all.