Maximum Distance

Competition Ballooning – Maximum Distance

The rule (or information) for this task is set out in Chapter 15 of the Event Rules

This task like in the Minimum Distance Double Drop has limited scoring areas. Thus, a marker right at the limit of the maximum scoring area and just in will get you 1000 points while a marker a mere millimetre the other side of that line may get you less than 50 points; the challenge or frustrations of limited scoring areas. Planning for this task should be quite simple. One draws a line from the Common Launch Point (not your launch point) to the farthest point in the scoring area depending on the task. This identifies the point you need to head for once airborne. This point is more easily identified both on the map and in the air if the area has a sharp corner at that point. I have flown to the furthest point on a maximum distance where that point is a gently curving road with no clear maximum point. This is where your ground crew may be able to help. If time allows, they can get to that point and using a GPS with the co-ordinates of the Common Launch Point entered as the ‘Go To’ mark walk up and down the boundary to find the closest point. They can also describe how clear the boundary is. As mentioned before, the tarmac surface of the roads is usually defined as out so the marker has to drop on the verge as close to the maximum distance as possible. You hope that the area has been researched by the competition officials before setting the task. A high hedge or overhanging tree does not help. On one occasion I was faced with a barn and just a narrow pavement before the tarmac and, as I was approaching at about 8 kts, had to throw the marker forcefully backwards so that it hit the wall and slid down onto the pavement.

Though the point may be well defined your planned low level approach to that point may well take you away from the line you have drawn and possibly outside the scoring area (see figure 1). In this situation, you have to be assured that the wind will bring you back. It will be helpful to make one of a few dummy approaches, if time and distance allows, before you get there to test the wind.  Staying high and keeping within the scoring area risks the marker drifting outside when you reach the point.

Figure 1: Maximum Distance.

On occasions the maximum distance task may be set with multiple areas which diminish in size as they get further from the common launch point. In the example (figure 2) the last area is just a field. You have to judge as you pass over the first scoring area whether the winds will allow you to get to the further scoring areas and whether they will also allow you to manoeuvre accurately to place your marker when you get there. On a warm sunny morning, you may well find the winds start to pick up and gust making the approach to the last field more difficult.  Always remember that a reasonable score is better than a no score.

Fig 2: Maximum  distance with diminishing scoring areas.

The maximum distance has also been set as a virtual task using electronic loggers. In this situation, the boundary may well be intersections of grid lines and you will be scored by logger points and there is no marker throwing. With the FAI loggers, you may be told to mark your maximum distance point in the logger before you leave the scoring area (Maximum Distance). Practice with the loggers beforehand helps; I remember getting to the maximum distance point only to press the wrong button and by the time I had realised I was out with no score.

Figure 3: Approaching a maximum distance

Written by David Bareford