Competition Ballooning – Minimum Distance
The rule (or information) for this task is set out in Chapter 15 of the Event Rules
This can be one of the most rewarding tasks to fly if it all goes correctly; to fly away from your take off point and, using different winds to return some time later to that same point. This is called ‘the box’ in America and classically flown in Albuquerque where the prize may be a Harley Davison. In competitions there is no such reward! The task data usually describe the arrangements for timing as ‘when the basket first leaves the ground’ (rule 9.18). The minimum set time or distance is usually a time of 20 minutes and the reference point is a target in the centre of the take off field; that is where you aim and not your own take off point.
This task should be set when the wind forecast show predicted winds at different heights such that you can come back to the launch field. This will be a true measure of skill. Unfortunately it has also been set when the winds are very light. In this scenario all balloons try to stay at a height where the wind is slowest, usually just above the ground, drifting slowly away from the launch site with no chance of returning. This often results in a raft of balloons, all touching one another trying to keep equator to equator so that you don’t pop out of the mass. There is little skill in where you end up after the minimum time. If there is no ‘logger’ to electronically mark your position after the minimum time then you will be dropping your marker in the middle of nowhere. I remember this task in Luxembourg where we all drifted over a forest with the all the retrieve crews and observers crashing through the undergrowth below to witness the marker drop. Rule 11 on ground contact states “ …no part of the balloon or anything attached to it may make contact with the ground or water surface or anything resting on or attached to the ground, until the last task has been completed”. If all the balloons are touching one another then theoretically if one should touch the ground (which results in a penalty) then all balloons should be penalised as they are all in contact with each other through their envelope’s touching. I have always envisaged a plot where the UK team would get the lowest ranked pilot in the competition so far to hit the ground just after all the other UK pilots from that country leave the pack! Never tried it!
The other weather condition when this task has been set is in the morning in light and variable winds below 1000 ft. In this situation the balloons drift around the launch field trying to find a wind to take them back over the target after the minimum time. Often in this situation you manoeuvre yourself to descend into a low wind across the target which, by the time you have got into the correct position, will have changed and you have to start again .i.e. manoeuvre yourself back into to a place for the new wind direction – only to find it has changed again. Thus a bit of a lottery. Furthermore when the winds are very light you still have to obey rule 9.21 which states “Within three minutes of his basket first leaving the ground a competitor shall have passed over the boundary of the launch area or shall have climbed to 500 feet above ground level, regardless of the end of the launch period. He shall not re-enter the launch area below 500 ft before the end of the launch period or until after all balloons have taken off, whichever is earlier.” Thus you have an advantage if your launch point is right next to the downwind boundary; you can even get your crew to push the balloon over the boundary! If you were not in such a position you may have to climb to 500ft and potentially fly off in a faster wind and not be able to descend once over the boundary due to the mass of balloons below. In some competitions you will be allocated a launch point so you will feel unfairly treated if your allocated point is in a disadvantageous position, i.e. upwind of the launch field.
As I mentioned at the start, with ideal wind conditions this is a lovely task to fly. As you take off you take note of the wind direction over the launch area and then climb to find a wind direction or several wind directions that will eventually take you upwind of the launch field. Not only do you have to arrive at that point so you can descend into the low level wind across the launch site but you have to make sure that you are not there too early. With several tasks set for that flight (it is usually the first task) you also have to make sure you don’t spend too long getting to the ideal position if it should compromise you on the time limits for further tasks. I remember the British Nationals in Perth in 1991 when this task was set. I took off and climbed up to about 3,000ft through a layer of still air and positioned myself upwind of the target about 3 km away descending into the stiller air to wait the minimum time. With the minimum time approaching I then descended into the ground level wind to take me straight back across the target. An even more spectacular flight was at the World Air Games in Turkey in 1997. It was an evening flight, one task; the forecast winds were for the low level wind to be an Easterly initially with a wind at about 5000ft from the North West and then a wind closer to the ground to develop as a South Easterly. The wind over the unprotected launch site was about 6-8kts making inflation difficult. As it was best to climb rapidly to the upper level wind I elected to take off as soon as possible so there were few or no balloons above me. I asked the Swedish observer if he would like to accompany me and he accepted. We were first in the air with Lindsay Muir following close behind. I initiated a fast climb and at 5,000ft we were still tracking south at about 10kts and not the predicted south east. I looked back and, except for me, Lindsay and a couple of other balloons everyone else stayed in the low level wind that was abating. We continued to climb hoping the wind would come round higher up. As we passed through 9,000ft still doing 10kts an increasingly nervous observer asked me at what height I intended levelling out. I replied stating that it would be at a height that would take me south east. However at 11,000ft and at 14kts I felt that the wind direction was unlikely to change further and maybe that was high enough. This wind would not get us to a point where we could get back to the field. I decided to fly on for 10 minutes so we could descend into a narrow steep valley ahead where there was just the off chance a wind would take us along that to the east so we could pick up the ground wind from the south east back to the field. I conferred with Lindsay and she agreed to the tactic. After 15 minutes we initiated a fast decent from 11,000ft in to the valley now some10kms from the launch field to find no valley wind but a wind from the south-south west taking us straight back to the launch field at about 10kts giving us just enough time to get back before sunset. As though on tramlines we both headed back crossing within 40 metres of the target and coming first and second in the task. The flight had lasted 1hour 15 minutes and I had covered 22km – some minimum distance! Those that stayed low ended up some 5 km away.
A practice Minimum Distance at home
Minimum distance in light winds, World Championships, Schielleiten, Austria 1987 – ground crew following. Uwe Schneider pilot of balloon 28 with Richard Allen as observer. Karin Bareford
Minimum Distance World Championships, Schielleiten, Austria 1987 – balloon ‘raft’ from above Karin Bareford
following. Uwe Schneider pilot of balloon 28 with Richard Allen as observer. Karin Bareford
Written by David Bareford
