Rule One: Fly the Balloon! by Joe Zvada/balloonpong.com
I
mproving your flying skills will produce larger point gains then any other improvement you can make. Learning the newest mapping software, for example, won’t gain you much if you can’t consistently fly to a target. For most, flying skills are not something that can be parked on a shelf for months without collecting a little dust. Engaging in a constant state of practice and improvement will keep you sharp in the sky. The second you think you’ve mastered the craft is the second you’ll start losing points because of poor flying performance. For the purposes of this article I’m going to focus on a specific routine of basic flying maneuvers I hone in on when either flying a new balloon or knocking the rust off after a long layoff from flying. This season I flew a number of different balloons, and I gained a newfound appreciation for the need to refresh the basic skills that make for effective competitive flying. I refer to it as dialing it in, and the key to the process is an intense focus on the intricacies of flying as a way to identify the smallest of pilot errors like over-burns or overvents. Level Flight I know I’m rusty when I can’t seem
42 Ballooning
to keep the balloon level; it is the first skill I dial in on. I start close to the ground using frame of reference cues to know when I need to burn. Then, I move to altitude for practice without the frame of reference, relying more heavily on instrumentation to achieve level flight. Through repetitious practice, the goal is to be able to fly level without using much focus on either the ground or instrumentation instead relying on instinct gained through the practice. This allows my brain to focus on other things like task planning or traffic avoidance. Controlled Descent A well-executed descent into a target can be the difference between throwing from two feet above the ground and 200ft above the ground. The points difference in such a scenario can be staggering. The goals I place on my descent control are two fold; first, safely transition the airspace and stop the descent without any risk of colliding with others or the ground; second, to stop the descent without an over burn that will send the balloon rocketing back up into the sky. The finesse of a proper controlled descent and flare is all the difference in your final score. It is not all about falling fast either. All too often you see pilots descend too fast into the lower wind and cut left of the www.bfa.net
target. Knowing your optimal descent rate for the situation will help you time when to descend into that lower wind that will take you to the target. Controlled Ascent Ascents are tricky because they are the hardest maneuver to reverse once you’ve started it. I practice ascents of varying speeds and altitudes so I can comfortably ascend 200ft or 2000ft without over-burning and ascending too fast or busting through my desired altitude. I often use double burners to initiate an ascent and single burner to keep the ascent going. Find what you are most comfortable with and practice it. Quick Corrections The combination of the three basic flight maneuvers described above culminate for me in what I think is the most useful maneuver available to competitive pilots, the quick correction. Approaching the target you notice the balloon sliding left of the goal. A quick jump up a couple hundred feet to grab some right wind is necessary to stay on track. It must be done fast, but under control in order to make the correction and arrive back down low over the target. When I can perform this maneuver with proficiency and accuracy I know I’ve knocked all the rust off and have dialed in the balloon. These skills may seem basic, but being able to trust the foundations of your skills to fly the balloon accurately, safely, and comfortably will free your mind up to focus on other aspects of a competition flight. There are a million variables in a balloon flight; eliminate some of those factors by knowing exactly what you can expect from your balloon and your own skill set.
Nov/Dec 2015
Ballooning 43