{"id":932,"date":"2019-12-06T00:01:18","date_gmt":"2019-12-06T00:01:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ukcompetitionballooning.com\/?page_id=932"},"modified":"2019-12-04T22:22:27","modified_gmt":"2019-12-04T22:22:27","slug":"elbow","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/ukcompetitionballooning.com\/index.php\/elbow\/","title":{"rendered":"Elbow"},"content":{"rendered":"
[vc_row gap=”20″ equal_height=”yes” content_placement=”middle”][vc_column css=”.vc_custom_1575220154122{border-top-width: 2px !important;border-right-width: 2px !important;border-bottom-width: 2px !important;border-left-width: 2px !important;padding-top: 50px !important;padding-bottom: 50px !important;border-left-color: #dd3333 !important;border-left-style: solid !important;border-right-color: #dd3333 !important;border-right-style: solid !important;border-top-color: #dd3333 !important;border-top-style: solid !important;border-bottom-color: #dd3333 !important;border-bottom-style: solid !important;}”][vc_custom_heading text=”Elbow” font_container=”tag:h2|font_size:30|text_align:center|color:%23dd3333″ use_theme_fonts=”yes” css=”.vc_custom_1575220049291{padding-right: 25px !important;padding-left: 25px !important;}”][vc_separator color=”juicy_pink” border_width=”2″ el_width=”20″ css=”.vc_custom_1575220022153{margin-bottom: 15px !important;}”][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1575220287201{padding-right: 25px !important;padding-left: 25px !important;}”]15.11\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 ELBOW (ELB)<\/strong><\/p>\n

15.11.1\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 Competitors will attempt to achieve the greatest change of direction in flight.<\/p>\n

15.11.2\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 Task data: (If no markers are used)<\/p>\n

a.description of track point “A”
\nb.description of track point “B”
\nc.description of track point “C”<\/p>\n

15.11.3\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 Task data: (if observers and markers are used)<\/p>\n

a.description of point “A”, “B” and “C”.
\nb.minimum and maximum distances from “A” to “B”.
\nc.minimum and maximum distances from “B” to “C”.<\/p>\n

15.11.4\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 The result is 180 degrees minus the angle ABC. Greatest result is best.<\/p>\n[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Competition Ballooning – Elbow
\nThe rule (or information) for this task is set out in Chapter 15 of the Event Rules<\/p>\n

As it says on the tin, the\u00a0simple\u00a0aim\u00a0of this task is to make as great a change of direction\u00a0as\u00a0possible.\u00a0The remaining information just relates to how far you have to fly each leg to score; usually 2-3 km but in light winds can be 1km.\u00a0At the briefing you need to draw circles indicating the minimum and maximum distances of the first leg. The length of that first leg will depend on whether, once you have achieved the minimum distance, that direction can be improved by flying further or you start to deviate towards the\u00a0intended\u00a0direction of\u00a0your\u00a0second leg.<\/p>\n

It is almost always set during the morning flight when\u00a0the change in wind with height is maximal.\u00a0The overnight inversion often produces very light winds near the ground that are over 90o<\/sup>\u00a0from those aloft.\u00a0\u00a0Where this task fails is if everyone achieves the maximum 180o<\/sup>\u00a0i.e. flies back in the exact opposite direction of the first leg. Results are then reliant on the accuracy of measurement.\u00a0In the 1989 World Championships in Saga, Japan,\u00a0well before\u00a0GPS and electronic loggers it was a case of flying back across your previous track and dropping a marker in the middle of a field. Then trying to measure the exact location with tape measures and compass bearings ended up a bit of a lottery. It was no better in the World Championships in Hungary in 2010 when we did have electronic loggers.\u00a0\u00a0Results of the top 30 pilots were all within 1 degree; accuracy was measured to two decimal places and a pilot achieving 179.85o<\/sup>\u00a0received about 750 points. 179.85o<\/sup>\u00a0rather than the perfect 180o<\/sup>\u00a0would occur if the position of your\u00a0logger\u00a0point was recorded as\u00a04 metres\u00a0before or after\u00a0crossing\u00a0the exact line of\u00a0your previous outward track, well within the accuracy of the GPS measurement.\u00a0\u00a0As you may imagine competition pilots are not exactly enthused at losing a potential 250 points because of measurement\u00a0inaccuracy; this situation has not been fully resolved yet.\u00a0This is why the competition director\u00a0should\u00a0be assured that 180o<\/sup>\u00a0is not attainable when setting the task and that the greatest change of direction is due to skill and not due to the accuracy of measurement.\u00a0\u00a0The ideal situation is where there is most change in direction at an intermediate height and not between ground and the highest altitude you are allowed to fly; all competitions have a\u00a0maximum\u00a0altitude e.g. 10,000ft\u00a0for the competition area\u00a0and any flight above that incurs penalties. This situation occurred in the World Championships in Battle Creek in 2012 where the greatest change was between the wind at\u00a01,420ft\u00a0and one at\u00a0a height of 5,000ft. The skill then was to fly for 2km at exactly 1,420ft with change of direction lost at altitudes only 20-30ft above or below that and then to repeat it at 5,000ft.<\/p>\n

The next\u00a0strategic decision to consider\u00a0is whether to do the high leg first or low leg. As mentioned, the overnight inversion\u00a0produces the greatest change of\u00a0direction and as the sun comes up the left on the ground will disappear so, usually, the greatest change in direction occurs at the beginning of the flight. However\u00a0ground features\u00a0are\u00a0important\u00a0to consider. There\u00a0is no point doing the low leg first if the flight path takes you straight towards a sensitive area with a height restriction of 2,000ft. The situation may arise where by flying the high leg first the wind takes you towards a deep valley where the\u00a0valley\u00a0wind\u00a0offers\u00a0an even greater change in direction than the ground wind\u00a0at the take off site. The other factor to take into account is the speed of\u00a0the\u00a0wind. I remember dropping down into a valley in Luxembourg expecting a wind at right angles to my present track to find that there was no wind at all, or what there\u00a0was would take me nowhere fast; each task usually has a scoring period meaning you have to complete it within a certain time.<\/p>\n

Finally\u00a0you have to take the speed of the wind into account during the transition from the first leg to the second leg.\u00a0 If the greatest directional change is between ground level and a wind at height and there is a fair wind at both altitudes then the balloon will take time to turn as it ascends or descends. This can take\u00a0up to\u00a01km and you have to predict when you are halfway through your turn as that will be the best position to drop your marker of mark your logger point.\u00a0\u00a0The balloon always appears to take longer to turn ascending than descending and this can be exacerbated by the balloon \u2018tracking\u2019 i.e. distorting in shape such that its momentum takes it\u00a0straight on rather than in the\u00a0direction of the wind.\u00a0\u00a0Having said that the balloon does not track if it starts out at nil velocity so if the wind near the ground is calm or you\u00a0climb from take off to do\u00a0the high leg first,\u00a0then the turn onto the higher wind direction tends to be tighter.\u00a0Most importantly, as\u00a0you drop your marker or record your logger point,\u00a0 mark\u00a0it on your map.\u00a0 You can then draw\u00a0circles\u00a0centred on that mark indicating\u00a0minimum and maximum distances you\u00a0can fly the second leg\u00a0for\u00a0your next scoring point.\u00a0As the turning point reduces the difference in change of direction between the legs it is best to fly the maximal distance allowed before achieving your scoring point to minimise that effect.<\/p>\n

With all that theory\u00a0I have flown an\u00a0elbow\u00a0with a score of close to 0o<\/sup>\u00a0<\/sup>i.e. I ended up flying straight on. I did my low leg first and then went up in search of a change in wind\u00a0direction. I found the greatest change\u00a0was\u00a0with a wind only 20o<\/sup>\u00a0to the left of my first track at 4,000ft but after 10minutes found the wind had changed slowly towards my previous track. I change height again and found a wind direction\u00a030o<\/sup>\u00a0to the right so headed out on that. This wind then\u00a0changed\u00a0\u00a0to\u00a0the left so by the time I had reached my maximum distance I was back on the same track I had had during the first leg.\u00a0 You might think you cannot get worst than 0o<\/sup>\u00a0but you can also\u00a0end up\u00a0infringing\u00a0distance limits\u00a0and receiving penalties for flying through PZs etc.!<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Elbow.\u00a0British Nationals, Ludlow.\u00a0High leg first to use valley effect from Brimfield to Burford.\u00a0Black circles to show minimum distance of legs.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The low leg.\u00a0World\u00a0Championships ,\u00a0Battle Creek, USA.\u00a0 2012\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Karin Bareford<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The High leg.\u00a0World Championships, Debrecen,\u00a0Hungary\u00a0 2010.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 David Bareford<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Written by David Bareford[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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