Story by Jonathan Perron-Clow of the FAI Ballooning Commission's Public & Media Relations Sub-Committee

Pilots woke up on the second day of the 23rd FAI European Hot Air Balloon Championship Wieselburg, Austria, to spectacular conditions and light winds. Their skills, patience and endurance were tested over two flights leading to nine tasks.

Competition ballooning relies on flying pilots through a variety of tasks to examine different elements of their skillset. Event Director Martin Wegner (GER) managed to cover a multitude of tasks from the rule book on day two of the European Championship, as improved conditions led to the great flying for which the region is known.

The name of the game was to try to get a result on each task to stay competitive. Winning a balloon competition doesn’t rely on winning the most tasks, but having the best average over the course of an event, especially as the tasks add up.

A pilot drops a marker on day two of the European Championship. Credit: Agata Dominguez

Flight Two: Tasks 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8

Pilots expected, and were greeted, with light winds with a right turn towards the Austrian sunrise as they climbed during flight two and its six tasks. The busy task sheet called for pilots to make a number of calculations before launch to plan out their flight, with tasks that could be flown in any order.

Those calculations began at the briefing and continued as the teams drove off to individual launch sites. At a minimum, the virtual Pilot Declared Goal (PDG) had to be declared before launch with a specific altitude and a minimum distance of 1.5 km from their launch site. They were then expected to fly into one of two targets of a Hesitation Waltz (HWZ) for a gravity drop before heading to a Minimum Distance Double Drop (MDD).

Planning at sunrise before taking off for the six tasks

The MDD requires pilots to drop two markers as close as possible to the target cross, but in opposant quadrants clearly laid out on the ground. Anything other than that gives them a no result, a steep price to pay for missing the target. Bojan Kugler (CRO)’s two markers combined for a distance of 1.25 m from the centre, a remarkable result. Sven Goehler (GER) was second with 3.07 m and Arkadiusz Iwanski (POL) third at 4.11 m. Thirty-four pilots were able to accomplish the feat and get a score on the task.

The pilots continued to another gravity drop, this time in the form of a Judge Declared Goal (JDG). On their way, they needed to finish calculations and declare their Fly On (FON), to be measured based on the ratio of the 3D difference in metres between their mark and the goal and the 2D difference in kilometres between their mark and the declaration point. Not to mention that the declaration point needed to be at least 1.5 km away and at least 1000 feet different in altitude from where they were. Sound challenging enough? Imagine trying to do it all while flying an aircraft! 

While the slow moving winds may have reduced some stress, trying to achieve the best result in this task was not a simple matter. The pilots understood the assignment with a top three of Étienne Mercier (FRA) at 0.57, Bastian Schwarz (GER) 0.72, and Susanna Obieglo (GER) 1.03.

 

The pilots had one final task which would have been slightly more familiar to these top level competitors: pilots had to fly for as long as possible within the outer band of a virtual doughnut for which they chose a centre point. The results were again very impressive given the low wind conditions as Benjamin Cleyet Marrel (FRA) eked out the win with 11,896 m, slightly more than Helmut Pöttler (AUS)’s 11,859 m. Michael Abel (AUS) rounded out the top three at 11,540 m. With visions of doughnuts in mind, a good meal was key after this challenging flight.

Roy Gommer - former FAI Junior World Champion 

“I had some good results on flight two and some not so good,” shared flight one leader Roy Gommer (NED) on his Instagram page. A tough result on Task 7 saw him slip to 8th overall. After the provisional results of flight two, it’s Bastian Schwarz (GER) in the lead followed by podium regulars Stefan Zeberli (SUI) and Dominic Bareford (GBR).

Flight Three: Tasks 9, 10, 11

Pilots and the gathered public were again treated to magnificent weather on the third flight and an early green flag at the end of their second day. Again, they had a busy task sheet with a Hare and Hounds (HNH) to start. A pilot - who is not competing - launches first, with the competitors in hot pursuit. When the "hare", this first balloon, lands, they lay out a cross with the top points going to the pilot who throws the closest. Pawel Sobol (POL) recorded a 0.78 m score to finish first as only 12 pilots were able to chase down the hare and score using a physical marker.

The second task then called upon them to gravity drop at a Hesitation Waltz (HWZ) with two possible targets. Once again, it proved challenging as 36 competitors were able to get their marker within the marker measurement area (MMA). The flight two leader Bastian Schwarz had the best result at 1.97 m.

As of press time, the results of task 11 were still pending.

Balloons fill the skies on day two of the FAI European Championship

Follow the action

Top skills will be on display all week in Wieselburg. FAI will provide extensive coverage of the Championship with regular updates on its website, Facebook, and Instagram.

• Tracking and results
• FAI Facebook
• FAI Instagram
• FAI event minisite
• Organiser's website
• FAI Flickr album

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Spectators in the Mostviertel region enjoy the show

 

Image credit: Agata Dominguez