Jenneke her reward.

 

Last night Sanne made a trainingflight with the PH-OOL. On the field the prepared training could be put in the bin. The wind had chanced much more than expected by the meteorologist. So.. Change of plans. During the flight she practiced descending from 600 feet (approx. 200 meter) to ground level in 1 go. 

The tough part is that you see the ground coming closer and so need to find the precize control between keep descending but not that fast that you will touch the ground. 

This movement can come in handy when you come to a target at a higher level and need to descend fast to throw a marker from a lower altitude (and therefor more precize) at the target. 

 

Besides this training this flight had a second goal. Jenneke had backed us for 35 euro and our reward for that was that we would give the wish to the wind. Throwing it in little pieces of paper from the basket in the air. 

Check the video Sanne made from this on our facebook page.

Jenneke we truly hope your wish will come true. 

 

Do you like to support us to, check out www.crowdsport.nl. You always get a nice reward for backing us. 

Ballooning as a sport??

 

When you see a balloon in the summer you don't think about it as a sport. It is relaxation, tourism, fun.... Yet it is possible to make a competition with hot air balloons and it isn't as easy as it seems.

 

You can only steer a balloon by using different air layers. So we try to execute the different tasks as good as possible by using different wind directions at different heights in the air. By climbing or descending (by heating or cooling the balloon) you can look for a different layer of air and make the balloon change direction.

 

Ballooning, and also competitions, can only be done in the first few and the last few hours of the day. So that means early in the morning and late in the afternoon/evening. During the Ladies europeans in September there will be a briefing for the pilots and their crew around 5.00 am and 5.00 pm.

A championship exists of multiple flights in connecting days. A week of early rising and late nights. 

 

During the briefings the teams get information about what tasks they need to execute during the coming flight. They also get the latest meteorological information. Together with the team tactics will be discussed.

 

In a flight you may get multiple tasks. What tasks you need to do is set out in a tasksheet. De tasks can be set to be flown in order or in any order. Sometimes there are end of scoring periods set to tasks. 

 

A formula 1 competition can not be won with a touringcar and in competition ballooning that is sort of the same. 

 

The balloons that are used during the competitions are smaller than the ones you see in the air in the summer. Only 1 or 2 people can go in the basket and they are formed like a drop. De size and shape of these balloons make that they react faster to heat and cold and can ascend and descent faster. They are also called 'racer'.

 

More information about the different tasks in a next post...