24th Hot-Air Balloon Championship of the Czech Republic Invitation

On behalf of the Czech Balloon Federation.  Please forward this invitation to pilots within your country.

This summer the Czech Balloon Federation will organize the 24th Hot-Air Balloon Championship of the Czech Republic, open for International Pilots.

  • Dates August 23-27, 2022
  • Location: Jindřichův Hradec.
  • Schedule:  8 competition flights from Wed to Sat.
  • FAI Rules, Balloon Live & WatchMeFly
  • Official Language – English
  • Deadline for Registration is June 30, 2022.

The links before will provide access to detailed event information including registration and entry fee details, competition information, accommodation available, etc.

Event web: https://www.balloon2022.cz/

Watchmefly link: https://watchmefly.net/events/event.php?e=czech2022

We will be grateful for any help in sharing, promoting this event.

Thank you!

Yours Sincerely

2022 Canadian Hot Air Balloon Championship Register now!

motionmailapp.com
2022 Registration for the Canadian Hot Air Balloon Championship

Welcome everyone to the registration platform for the 2021 Canadian Hot Air Balloon Championship.

The Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu International Balloon Festival, with the collaboration of the Canadian Balloon Association (CBA), is proud to announce to Canadian pilots that this year’s Canadian championship will take place in Saint-Jean once again. The competition will begin with a cocktail and the opening ceremony on the evening of June 8th. The first flight should occur on June 9th in the morning. Throughout the weekend, there will be tasks for morning and evening flights as weather permits. The last flight will be on the evening of Saturday, June 11th.  The award ceremony will than take place on June 12th at noon. If there have not been the minimum number of competitive flights and tasks, a Sunday morning flight will take place. All Canadian pilots are welcome.

The full set of rules for the competition will follow. It should be noted that the maximum size of balloon permitted for the competition is 105,000 cubic feet. Competitors are not permitted to carry paying passing during the event.

Accommodations are offered to all competitors residing more than 30 minutes from the Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu airport from June 8th to 12th. All propane for all flights is included for all competitors. To facilitate the participation of those living outside of the region, the comity will help the competitors with chase vehicle rental, crew and more. Details to come. Registration fees are $160.

First to third place winners will be awarded with prize money: first place 4000$, second place 2000$ and third place 1000$.

For security reasons, as necessary for Transport Canada, the information below is needed for all pilots who wish to register.

The event will respect all public health protocols.

All of your information will remain confidential. Please bring all your documents when arriving at the opening ceremony, so we can double check some of them.

Thank you for confirming your interest by completing the form below by May 8th, 11:59 p.m. PT.

Inscription au Championnat Canadien de Montgolfières 2022

Bonjour à tous et bienvenue sur la plateforme d’inscription des pilotes pour le Championnat Canadien de Montgolfières 2022 !

L’International de montgolfières en collaboration avec la CBA est fier d’annoncer à nos pilotes canadiens que le Championnat Canadien de Montgolfières aura lieu à Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu encore cette année. La compétition débutera le mercredi 8 juin avec un cocktail de bienvenue suivi de la cérémonie d’ouverture. Le premier vol se fera le jeudi 9 juin en AM. Durant le week-end (matin et soir) différentes tâches seront à effectuer selon la météo, bien entendu. Le dernier vol aura lieu le samedi 11 juin au soir et l’évènement finira avec une remise de prix sur l’heure du midi dimanche le 12 juin. Dans des circonstances exceptionnelles, un vol supplémentaire pourrait être effectué le dimanche en matinée si le nombre minimal de vols n’a pas été obtenu.

La règlementation complète entourant la compétition sera émise sous peu. Il est toutefois important de noter que le volume maximal du ballon autorisé pour la compétition est de 105 000 pieds cubes. Il sera également interdit durant l’évènement d’effectuer des vols avec passagers.

Par ailleurs, il nous fait plaisir d’offrir une chambre d’hôtel (du 8 au 12 juin 2022) aux participants qui résident à plus de 30 minutes de l’aéroport de Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu. Le propane sera payé par l’organisation. De plus, afin d’encourager la participation des gens « de l’extérieur », l’International de montgolfières souhaite faciliter le processus des participants lors de la location de véhicule, des équipiers de poursuite et bien plus. Des détails suivront sous peu. Enfin, les frais d’inscription de 160,00 $ sont requis pour participer à la compétition.

Des bourses totalisant $7 000.00 seront remises aux gagnants des première, deuxième et troisième places..

À des fins de sécurité et en conformité aux exigences de Transport Canada, les informations ci-dessous sont nécessaires pour tous les pilotes désirant participer à la compétition.

La tenue de l’évènement sera en respect des normes sanitaires en vigueur émis par la santé publique.

Toutes les informations fournies de votre part resteront confidentielles.

Merci de confirmer votre intérêt en remplissant le formulaire ci-dessous d’ici le 8 mai 2022, 23 h 59, heure de l’ouest.

CBA AGM notice February 27,2022

On behalf of the Canadian Balloon Association, I am pleased to provide the documentation for the upcoming Annual General Meeting which will take place on Saturday, February 26 at 10 a.m. MST. All members in good standing who have renewed their membership will receive a Zoom link to attend this meeting which will take place virtually.
Attached please find:
1) The draft minutes from the 2021 AGM
2) The draft agenda for the 2022 AGM
3) The nomination form for CBA Board
4) The nomination form for the CBA Awards
5) A proxy form for the AGM
Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions or to submit any of the relevant documentation.
Jonathan
——
Au nom de l’Association canadienne montgolfière, ça me fait plaisir de vous partager la documentation pour l’assemblée générale annuelle qui aura lieu le samedi 26 février à 10 hHNM. Tous les membres en règle qui ont renouvelé leur membership recevront le lien Zoom pour participer à la réunion qui prendra place de façon virtuelle.
Veuillez trouver les éléments suivants en pièce-jointe :
1) L’ébauche du procès-verbal de l’AGA de 2021
2) L’ébauche de l’ordre du jour de l’AGA 2022
3) Le formulaire de mise en candidature pour le CA de l’AMC
4) Le formulaire de nomination pour les prix de l’AMC
5) Un formulaire de procuration pour l’AGA
N’hésitez pas à me contacter si vous avez des questions ou pour soumettre la documentation pertinente.
Jonathan
Jonathan Perron-Clow
Secretary / Secrétaire
Canadian Balloon Association / Association montgolfière canadienne

FAI Balloon Live Sensor – Special sale until November 28, 2021

FAI Balloon Live, the new generation logging, live tracking and live scoring project for balloon competition, was started in 2018 as a follow-on project to replace the existing Balloon Competition Loggers.

First, we have to announce that as of January 2022, these old competition loggers will not be available anymore for renting due to the age and wear of the devices. This marks the final completion of a very successful project in competition ballooning.

The good news is that after some intensive testing in 2020, a large number of events used the new FAI Balloon Live system very successfully in 2021. That’s why we can now completely switch to Balloon Live and use it in local, national and international events in the future.

FAI Balloon Live has 3 main parts:
  • The Balloon Live app is the logger and tracking app, available on iOS and Android.
  • Watchmefly.net is the main Balloon Live website for managing competitions and tracks.
  • Finally, the Balloon Live Sensor (BLS) closes the gap of the Balloon Live App running on many different phones and the need for precise GPS and barometric measurements. This is done using an external sensor that connects to the app.
The availability of the Balloon Live Sensor was an important milestone in the overall project. Over 500 devices have been sold in a special sale event in 2020. In 2021, many competitions have used them on a local, national and even international level. The Balloon Live app and sensor have also been approved to be used in FAI CAT1 events.
 

To make sure everybody has a chance to own a Sensor and be able to fly his favourite competition somewhere around the world (or even the next Worlds in Slovenia), we are happy to offer the device for the best possible price during this second and final Special Sale event.

The delivery of the devices is unfortunately not expected before late summer 2022. As the electronic market is in a very special state at the moment, some components have up to 1 year lead time. Therefore we need to launch the sale and thereby allow Flymaster, new partner of Volirium (Flytec Balloon), to order the components in sufficient numbers as soon as possible.

Find all further details and the order form onballoonlive.org/sensor-sale. The deadline for this final special sale is November 28.

The FAI Balloon Live Team is looking forward to a new and exciting competition season.

 
Best regards,

Claude Weber, 1st Vice-President
FAI Ballooning Commission

40th anniversary of balloonist Ben Abruzzo’s Pacific crossing

For 12 November 2021

Fortieth anniversary of balloonist Ben Abruzzo’s record-breaking Pacific Ocean crossing


Lausanne, Switzerland, for 12 November 2021It is 40 years since American ballooning pioneer Ben Abruzzo set an FAI absolute ballooning world record for distance, while becoming – along with his team – among the first to cross the Pacific Ocean in a hot air balloon.

The 8382,54km flight, which Abruzzo made just a few years after his historic 1978 journey across the Atlantic Ocean, began on 10 November 1981 in Nagashima, Japan, and ended four days later in Covello in the US.

The 1981 Pacific crossing
Flying in an experimental Raven balloon called the Double Eagle V, Abruzzo was accompanied by fellow balloonists Larry Newman – one of the men who crossed the Atlantic with him in 1978 – and Ron Clark, as well as restaurateur Rocky Aoki, who part-funded the flight.

While their crossing in the helium-filled balloon was successful, they were forced to crash land in northern California due to difficulties including stormy weather and the balloon being weighed down by ice accumulated during the trip.

Fortunately, however, no one was injured in the incident. In recognition of this flight, Abruzzo was awarded the 1981 FAI De la Vaulx medal, which is presented to holders of absolute world aviation records. This was his second FAI award after being chosen to receive a Montgolfier Ballooning Diploma in 1978.

Ben Abruzzo’s life as a balloon pilot
Ben Abruzzo was born on 9 June 1930 in Rockford, Illinois, about 144km from Chicago. He served with the US Air Force from 1952 to 1954 and began his career as a balloon pilot in the early 1970s.

In 1972, he was one of the team of enthusiasts who launched the World Hot Air Balloon Championships in Albuquerque, New Mexico.  This event precipitated the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta, now the largest ballooning event of its kind in the world.

In 1977, Abruzzo and Maxie Anderson decided to try to cross the Atlantic Ocean in a helium gas-filled balloon called the Double Eagle.

However, they were forced to abandon the attempt after being blown off course and ditching three miles off the Icelandic coast. Undeterred, the two adventurers joined forces with fellow pilot Larry Newman for a second attempt in the black and silver Double Eagle II balloon the following year.

Their six-day flight from Presque Isle, Maine to the village of Miserey in France was triumphant, despite a number of tense moments, including having to jettison all non-essential equipment to stay airborne off the Irish coast. It netted the team the FAI absolute ballooning world records for distance and duration.

Together with Anderson, Abruzzo then went on to win the 1979 FAI Gordon Bennett long distance gas balloon race. But just a few years later, he and his wife Patty were sadly killed when the Cessna plane Abruzzo was piloting crashed near Albuquerque on 11 February 1985.

Abruzzo’s incredible contribution to the world of air sports is commemorated at the Anderson-Abruzzo Albuquerque International Balloon Museum (AAAIB Museum) in Albuquerque. The AAAIB Museum is also home to the FAI Ballooning Hall of Fame, into which Abruzzo was inducted in 1995.
 
Notes for editors:

Record files:
https://www.fai.org/record/2326
https://www.fai.org/record/10457
https://www.fai.org/record/10466

Photos:
Images : https://flic.kr/s/aHsmX3KBY3
FAI logo: bit.ly/FAI_logo
FAI media corner: www.fai.org/media


CONTACT

Faustine Carrera
Communication Manager
communication@fai.org

New dates for 2021 Canadian Championship

Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, April 20 2021 – “The International Balloon Festival, with the support of the CBA, is officially moving the Canadian Hot Air Balloon Championship back. This move is required due to existing interprovincial travel limitations which directly affect the participation of pilots across the country as well as due to the ongoing restrictions in place until June 24. The community’s health and safety is at the heart of the organization’s interests. Choosing to push it back was therefore an obvious necessity given the current context.” The new dates for the event are August 19 to 22 2021.


Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, le 20 avril 2021 – L’International, avec le soutien de la CBA, reporte officiellement le championnat canadien de montgolfières. Les raisons qui obligent cette remise sont les limitations de transits interprovinciaux qui impactent directement la participation des pilotes de tout le pays ainsi que le maintien des encadrements actuels jusqu’au 24 juin. La sécurité et la santé de la communauté sont au cœur des intérêts de l’organisation. Choisir de reporter la compétition était donc un choix évident dans le présent contexte ». Les nouvelles dates de l’événement sont du 19 au 22 août 2021.

FAI webinar: Loggers in air sports. Case study of the CIA balloon live app

REMINDER – 21 April 2021 @ 16:30 CEST / 14:30 UTC

FAI webinar: Loggers in air sports. Case study of the CIA balloon live app

This is a kind reminder to let you know that the deadline to register to the FAI webinar is this Sunday 18 April.

So please, REGISTER NOW if you haven’t done so.

We are delighted with the interest shown so far in this event and we thank all of you who have already registered.

DESCRIPTION
Loggers have become essential devices for pilots, event organisers, competition officials and members of the public. As technology progresses, so too do the expectations of the air sports community, particularly regarding mobile apps, live-scoring and live-tracking. This webinar focuses on the eco-system around these loggers, in particular the development, logistics and in business.

Join this webinar to:

  • Learn from 10 years of experience with Balloon Competition loggers: the rental system, customs & logistics aspects and the financial success for FAI/CIA
  • Discover the state-of-the-art logger app ‘Balloon Live’ and the surrounding eco-system: Balloon Live Sensor, software, features, technology
  • See how it is embedded within the vision of a wider scoped project
  • Find out how the FAI Ballooning Commission (CIA) implemented it in its community
  • Gain insight into the commercial and financial elements of this project
  • Get inspired: how could parts or aspects of the FAI Balloon Live technology be used in other sports?
  • Share knowledge: talk to the business and technical leaders behind FAI Balloon Live and discuss the challenges
  • Connect with other Commissions Officials and engage in discussing best practise

FAI BALLOON LIVE
CIA Vice Presidents Marc André and Claude Weber, both active as event officials in numerous Cat1-events, developed FAI Balloon Live to be more than just a device to replace traditional loggers. With a mobile app and an additional sensor box it guarantees a constant and equal quality of the position (GPS) and altitude (GPS and barometric) measurements while allowing for state-of-the-art user interface. Additionally, the live transmission of the data opens a lot of new possibilities for live scoring and live coverage of the competition.

Along with the release of the app, watchmefly.net was updated to provide the Cloud infrastructure for Balloon Live. A new WatchMeFly Comp Centre allows event organisers and competition officials to manage all the flights, tasks and Balloon Live logger data in real time.

SPEAKERS
Marc André is leading the technology development of the FAI Balloon Live project. Based in Switzerland, he is an electrical and information technology engineer. He has founded several startup companies and is currently working as Principal Engineer in the medical device industry. He has been active within CIA since 2007 and is particularly involved in the gas balloon competition Coupe Aéronautique Gordon Bennett. He is chair of the CIA Scoring Working Group.

Claude Weber is leading the project from the conceptual, financial and communication side. He lives in Luxemburg and is chair of the CIA New Technology Subcommittee. Being part of the CIA scene since 2003, he has been involved in organizing and directing international events for the past 20 years. Trained as a mechanical engineer, he works as a teacher and IT project leader in education in Luxembourg.

PROGRAMME
> Presentation of FAI Balloon Live
> Questions & Answers

DATE, TIME & DURATION
> 21 April 2021 @ 16:30 CEST / 14:30 UTC
> 60 min
> Zoom

REGISTRATION
> Deadline: Sunday 18 April
> Register now

CONTACT
Faustine Carrera
Communication Manager
communication@fai.org