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INFCU1 - My First HAB Flight (by infaddict)
For Christmas 2014, a good friend of mine bought me a Raspberry Pi and I immediately searched the web for projects I could use it for. Skipping past the usual (and boring) media servers I found several mentions of “High Altitude Ballooning” and “Near Space Flights” and was immediately hooked. What I found mentioned electronics, radio, coding and much more which really appealed to the techy side of me, so I thought I'd give it a go. This page tells the story of my journey from complete novice, to still being a novice but having launched (and recovered) my maiden HAB flight. I won't attempt to replicate or replace all the existing excellent advice already available, but will add my own tips based on my experiences.
Where to start
If you're reading this, you've already found the U.K. High Altitude Society (UKHAS). Their website has a ton of useful information, most of which is in the wiki and I used this site extensively for research. Secondly I strongly recommend visiting the IRC channel #highaltitude to speak with UKHAS members and ask questions. Everybody is really friendly and without them I would've made many mistakes. Thirdly, I found Dave Akerman's website a great resource too and Dave is often on IRC giving advice. Some of the most useful links I found as a novice are shown below:
https://ukhas.org.uk/general:beginners_guide_to_high_altitude_ballooning