? The F-22 aircraft that shot the first one down has a service ceiling in upwards of 60,000 feet and I assure you is much larger than any VW you've ever seen. An F-15 that I worked on in the late 70's had a 50,000 ceiling. That was nearly a half century ago. Hell they launch missiles from that altitude as long as a VW.
You do realize that high altitude balloons are only partially filled at launch due to less air pressure at operational altitude. It's a sealed system that's actually pretty high tech as opposed something you'd see at the fair with an open bottom getting hot air stuffed in it.
From WIKI
High-altitude balloon - Wikipedia
"High-altitude balloons or stratostats are crewed or uncrewed balloons, usually filled with helium or hydrogen, that are released into the stratosphere, generally attaining between 18 and 37 km (11 and 23 mi; 59,000 and 121,000 ft) above sea level. In 2002, a balloon named BU60-1 reached a record altitude of 53.0 km (32.9 mi; 173,900 ft)."
Just off the top of my head...
SR 71, U-2, F-35, F-22, F-25, F-15, F-4. SU 34, 27, 47. MIGs 29, 31, 25.
And many long haul airliners that you may have been in at the time. They often hit 42,000.
