Balloon Pong Guide to:
Map Folding by Joe Zvada
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In partnership with the BFA HACD, Joe Zvada will be contributing articles to Ballooning on competition. A simultaneous post on BalloonPong. com will accompany each article offering further info, video, and photos of the month’s topic. Visit BalloonPong.com anytime for competition event coverage, educational articles, and entertaining videos throughout the year.
et’s start at the beginning: the objective is to fly to a predetermined target. Sounds easy enough, but you’re just floating if you don’t know where you’re going. Here’s a hint, look at your map. The answers are right there on that beautiful piece of topography. But it’s not going to do you any good crumpled up behind a tank or left in the truck. Treat your map with respect and it will return the favor by guiding you to where you want to be, the target. Truth be told, a solid flight plan is beneficial for any balloon flight. Leaving the ground with a plan is good practice for all. It starts with a quality fold. 1) First, identify the flying area. It’s
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generally in the center of the map, but not always. At the Nationals in Longview flying is centered over the city during the first few days then moves to the airport south of the city for the weekend. In this scenario a re-fold would be necessary for the location change - preferably before you are in flight. 2)The most important reference on the map are the grid lines used to plot points on the map. In briefing you’ll use these lines to plot fixed targets. In flight you might use them to plot the track, the aircraft’s current location, or a pilot declared goal. It’s important to make sure that both latitude and longitude numbers appear in the main fold of the map. If a map doesn’t have www.bfa.net