NathanCollecting Fabric
After brainstorming for a while, the two of them came up with an idea. Wetzel and Strelzyk soon came up with a clever solution to tackle this dilemma. Their plan was obviously going to drain a lot of their energy but since they had no choice, they had to go through with it anyhow. The two guys rode a car out of Poessneck to other towns so as to get the materials for their escape balloon
Snooping Around
They sneakily bought loads of fabric from different stores in different towns. This was the only way they could avoid any kind of suspicion from the people they bought their materials from. Since they had already done their research and were able to craft a hot-air balloon, getting the material was the only thing left to do. it was finally time to construct.
Crafting The Balloon
The two of them split their responsibilities. They each had independent duties to fulfill in order to keep the escape plan in full swing. Strelzyk had to make the basket and burner for their hot-air balloon, along with a muffler so as to reduce the engine sounds. Wetzel, on the other hand, had to sew the balloon itself. This was not just a regular sewing task.
Could It Fly?
This was no ordinary sewing job. The size and length of the cloth and thread to work with was overwhelming. He ended up spending around two weeks to finish his job. Wetzel used his bare hands to finish his work making use of a manually-operated sewing machine which was about forty years old. They had spent a total amount of about thousands of marks. Was it fly-able though?
Testing It Out
After both completing their individual tasks, there was one thing left to do: test it. They had their testing done in April 1978. This trial was a very dangerous one and they were both quite nervous. How were they going to be able to test this huge creation without alarming everyone? The men would have to make use of a space that was isolated from anyone on land and in the air.
The Tight Location
They could not tell anyone about this project. The way the country of East Germany worked was such that they could not even let their friends know. There was that constant fear of them being a secret police. Anything and everything was a possible suspect. After looking everywhere, the tow finally found a good place to test out their creation.