Pilot Declared Goal

Competition Ballooning – the Pilot Declared Goal

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

Though this is the first rule in Chapter 15 it is not the easiest as it is up to you to interpret the wind direction and not the competition director, which is the case for the judge declared goal (JDG).

The task data includes more information than the JDG. Method of declaration means when and where you have to declare your goal or goals. The usual choice is between submitting your goal reference on a piece of paper to your appointed observer or to a box at the signals point. With the new FAI loggers used with events without observers then you also have the choice of entering the coordinates straight into the logger. It will record the time you enter the data. The second choice is when; the information will either state “before the green flag” or in cases where you can declare at your balloon to the observer or into the logger then “before take-off”0.  One always has to remember the time element. The task information may spell out the time the green flag will be raised but often it is after the competition director (CD) gets to the launch field and makes a last minute assessment of the conditions though he will give an indication when the green flag is likely to go up or may state a ‘not before’ time. On an evening flight one often has to wait for the wind to die down. During this time you have to decide on your goal or goals and not leave it to the last minute, even if you have to keep changing your mind.  It is usual for a few pilots to get together and confer; this will happen between countrymen in an international competition. If the declaration is at the signals point you have to remember how long it may take you to get there as on some launch fields and with 100 competitors it may be a long way.  Some spread out launch fields may have two signals points to make it easier. If the declaration is before take-off you may have the advantage of observing the first balloons off (if some are keen to get going) and see if that reinforces your goal decision. You then have the opportunity to redeclare before you take off if there has been a sudden wind change. On evening flights you will often see balloons drifting off at various angles from the launch site and it may not be useful, together with a delay in launching may mean you don’t get to your PDG before end of scoring should the wind drop off.

You are usually given just one goal to declare but should the winds be variable then you may have two and occasionally three. “Goals available for declaration” is usually all valid goals but if it is a logger event where officials have been allocated to several pre-defined goals these are the ones you have to choose from . Minimum and maximum distances is self-evident. Minimum distances are usually 1-2 kilometres and maximum may be anything from 5km to unlimited.

This leaves deciding where to set the goal!  At the briefing you will be given meteorological information and hopefully up to date piball data. You will need to check whether the piball information is given as winds to or winds from and whether it is degrees true, grid or magnetic; at present in the UK the magnetic variation is virtually nothing so you don’t have to add or subtract if you want to get it into your desired format.  In an ideal task the winds between ground and the gradient wind (i.e. that at 2,000ft) should differ by more than 20 – 30^o. As a rule of thumb you want to try and find a goal about 10 degrees off the 2000ft wind towards the ground wind.  So if the ground wind is 140^o/5kts and the 2,000ft wind 170^o/15kts then chose a goal on about 160^o. On morning tasks the situation is easier as the winds are a lot more stable and predictable. You may also be given a PDG before another task such as a JDG so in that case it is best to place your goal along the same track. Evening winds are a lot less predictable and may veer or back between briefing and take off. At times there may be no ‘steerage’ at all with the winds in one direction all the way up. They may also be gusting near the ground. You are often left on the launch site waiting for the winds to moderate. In those situations it is very helpful for you to obtain up to date piball information either from a fellow pilot with wind reading equipment or you purchase your own. With winds that are gusting you will need to send off several piballs to average the likely trajectory you will take and then set your goal or goals along that track; if you have two then put one either side at 2-3^o either side or half that of the maximum change in your piballs. It is even more challenging when the wind is slowly turning during he evening.  In that situation you may want to declare your goal close to the minimum distance so that should the wind change after your submission then you will limit the damage that the change makes.

Once declared you may want to take off fairly early so you are in the winds that you have set your goals in. Remember that the other pilots may have or likely to have chosen different goals so don’t follow anybody with confidence.

The FAI logger. Picture by Nienke Bos

A PDG in Saga, Japan. The highway department actually make the nice T to aim for. The yellow marker can be seen on the road towards the camera.

Crispin Williams, Andy Holly, Mike Howard and Rick Vale conferring on goal selection at the British Nationals 2012 – Picture David Bareford

Written by David Bareford