15.14 SHORTEST FLIGHT (SFL)
15.14.1 Competitors will attempt to achieve a mark or valid track point close to the reference point within a set scoring area(s).
15.14.2 Task data:
a.description of scoring area(s)
b.reference point
15.14.3 The result is the distance from the mark or best valid track point to the reference point. Smallest result is best.
Competition Ballooning – Shortest Flight
The rule (or information) for this task is set out in Chapter 15 of the Event Rules
As you can see the wording is almost identical to that of the Maximum Distance task; the difference is whether you are placing your marker at the closest point within the scoring area or at the farthest (maximum) distance. The reason that this task is called the Shortest Flight rather than ‘Minimum Distance’ is because the name had already been allocated to the task where you have to drop your marker closest to the launch point.
The shortest flight has a limited scoring area like other tasks such as the Minimum Distance Double Drop and Maximum Distance. Thus, a marker right at the limit of the minimum 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 closest point in the scoring area. 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.
Figure 1: Teams preparing for a flight at the Nationals 2016
Written by David Bareford
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