Apex Balloons can manufacture nearly any possible special shape hot air balloon. Please email Jon Radowski with any requirements or design suggestions you may have. Appendage shapes are relatively simple, but even complex shapes can be tackled with a methodical approach and our attention to even the smallest details.

The following balloon, "Nailed!", is Jon's personal fun system, a 42,000 cubic foot Ultralight envelope with nail appendages added on (approx. 3,000 cubic feet inside the appendages). It is constructed of lightweight 1.3oz silicone ripstop in the top 3/4 and regular weight Aerostar Diamond Weave nylon in the bottom three panels. Total weight is 92.5 lbs in the bag, as measured on an airline baggage scale. It weighed 80 lbs without the nail - and that figure is high because of the heavy fabric used in the bottom three panels. If using 1.1oz calendared ripstop in the bottom half, weight can be kept way down for easy handling and painless traveling.

Photo ©2006 Mike Shipley

3D computer aided design was used to calculate the curvature of the appendages where they met with the envelope. Cutting patterns and the oblong appendage base lines were developed from the computer model. This ensured perfect positioning and straightness of the nail appendages when sewn to the envelope.