cellphone coverage. Helikites range in size from 1 meter (gas volume 0.13m3) with a pure helium lift of 30g, up to 14 meters, (gas volume 250m3) able to lift 117 kg. Small Helikites can fly up to 1,000ft altitude; medium-sized Helikites, up to 3,000ft altitude; and large Helikites, up to 7,000ft altitude. Classification A Helikite is a new type of tethered aerostat with its own official classification, distinct from any type of balloon. The US Customs classifies a Helikite as "other non-powered aircraft", while the British Civil Aviation Authority's Air Navigation Order has created its own classification of "Helikites" as distinct from "kites" and "balloons". Customs authorities classify the Helikite as a type of kite because of the considerable positive aerodynamic uplift in wind. Operation Helikites are used for aerial photography, lifting antennas, radio-relay, advertising, agricultural bird-control, position marking, and meteorology. The military also use Helikites as jungle marker balloons, for lifting radio-relays, and raising surveillance equipment. 45m3 Desert Star Helikites flown from Rapid-Response Helikite Launch Trailers are used by British Telecom to lift 4G base stations to supply cellphone coverage for emergencies, temporary events and blackspot areas. After various sea-trials by Norwegian and British oil-spill response organizations, they determined that Helikites were the only compact aerostat capable of reliably operating at sea for this purpose. For this reason, small rapid-response surveillance Helikites are part of the emergency oil-spill response system of Scandinavia and the UK for operations in the Arctic Ocean. Due to their stability, Helikites are capable of successfully operating non-gyrostabilised cameras.. The British Army military Helikite surveillance system has 34 m³ volume and lifts a lightweight gyro camera with both E/O and IR capabilities. The US surveillance Helikites are 75m³ and carries a larger gyro camera system and targeting equipment. These aerostats outperform a conventional aerostat of twice the size. These Helikites can lift surveillance equipment above the range of small arms fire, effectively making Helikites unassailable to most common threats. The smallest Helikite ever made was of just 0.028m³ (1 cubic ft). It flew well despite its tiny size. The largest Helikite made so far is 250m³ (8,750) cubic ft which has a net helium lift of 117 kg. This has been used by the Max Planck Institute for flights up to 7,000ft for cloud droplet research, flying from ocean research ships steaming across the Atlantic. See also Kite types References External links Kites Balloons (aeronautics)