Due to safety reason morning flight (14.08.2021) is CANCELED!

Due to given wind situation and for safety reason I was forced to cancel task 27. Unfortunately, at that time some pilots were already in the air, which created an unfair opportunity for them to take-off a second time, even with prolonged start period and the permission for the second take-off.

Due to these circumstances and following rule 8.2.1, I decided to cancel the whole flight.

ED

Dear Taichiro Yamashita,

The rule 6.13 GPS-LOGGER FAILURE says

6.13.1   Reported malfunctions are considered failures only when they can be reproduced after flight. When a failure is found, the officials may ask the competitor to provide his GPS equipment to substitute the missing track information.

Your mentioned problem with BLS could not be reproduced. Furthermore, this failure (when the loggermarker is automatically dropped without touch) occurred neither before nor afterwards in this flight or during the rest flights on this event.

In addition to the written above, the rules says:

6.13.3  An electronic mark recorded by a competitor’s GPS-equipment can only be used if the equipment has been approved by the Director before the flight or specific rules under Section II have been followed. Otherwise the competitor will be scored to his nearest electronic mark of the official logger, nearest physical mark or landing position, whichever is best. A score to a track point will not be made.

OziExplorer waypoints are not proper substitute for BalloonLive App dropped marker, as they can have produced any time, even after the flight.

Considering the rules, analyzing the situation and discussing with the Chief scorer, I come to conclusion, not to accept your complaint.

Event director

Eugenijus Komas

After some discutions with safety and meteo I made decision to prolong launching period till 19:30. Event director

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/65h6tjdr0td4pwp/AAA477ddPZDUxq7dsmGNkum9a?dl=0

The actual version of The Balloon live app is 1132

The actual version of The Balloon live senor is 4017

The results will be published at this link: http://julius.lt/juniors2021/RESULTS.HTM

Calculation method of Penalties of Red PZ No. 3 (Road S5) infringement.

Map of the Dolsk area:

• In png format;

General Briefing notes with corrections made on General Briefing.

Please find attached The PLT file of PZ3 - Motorway. 

All penalties for PZ3 will be calculated against this PLT file.

Coordinates of the Refueling place are - 0728 / 4449 (parking place in front of the Akwawit pool and hotel.

Organizers provides gas only for one training flight!

August 08th (Sunday)

17:00 - 19:30  Check-in
17:30 - 20:00  Gas refueling
18:30               Training flight *

August 09th (Monday)

05:30               Training flight *
09:00 - 14:00  Check-in
12:00 - 15:00  Gas refueling
15:00 - 17:00  General briefing
18:00               Opening ceremony and dinner

August 10th (Tuesday) - August 13th (Friday)

04:30 - 05:15  Morning coffee
05:15               Briefing and competition flight
08:30 - 11:00  Gas refueling
17:30               Briefing and competition flight
20:30 - 22:30  Gas refueling

August 14th (Saturday)

04:30 - 05:15  Morning coffee
05:15               Briefing and competition flight
TBA                  Event debriefing
17:30               Closing ceremony

------- in case there is a need of Reserved flight -------

TBA                 Gas refueling
17:30               Briefing and competition flight

TBA                 Closing ceremony

* Be informed that organizers provide a gas only for the one training flight only.

THE OFFICIAL COMPETITION MAPS:

Map of the main competition area:

• In jpg format;
• in ozf4 format;
• in rmap format;

Map of the Dolsk area:

• In jpg format;
• in ozf4 format;
• in rmap format;

Dear Competitors,

I would like to inform you that FAI gave us GREEN LIGHT to use BLS system during our event. It means that all of you must prepare yourself for this.

First of all, you need to find a mobile phone or tablet especially for that purpose (I DO NOT recommend using your main mobile device) and install BalloonLive app.

Secondly, those of you who do not have Balloon Live Sensor, must find one and bring it with you to Leszno (ask your Balloon federation or pilots who can have it).

It's highly recommended to read and watch everything you will find on BLS website - www.balloonlive.org. Please check the latest BLS firmware version (current version is 4.17) and if needed update it. Instructions on how to do that are on the BLS website.

I also want to recommend you to watch the video on ENB of Conawindra competition - https://www.watchmefly.net/events/event.php?e=cano2021 It is very short but quite informative.

We are planning to have a short BLS introduction session after the General briefing where Julius Venskus, one of the creators of this system, will show you how to use it and answer your questions. 

Meanwhile, we will set a practice flight in the system for training purpose, which you can use during a flight at home.

Some tips after the several testing events :

1. Prepare a proper holder for your mobile device. Keeping it in your pocket is not a good choice;

2. Uninstall all unnecessary apps from your mobile device;

3. Always keep your phone connected to a charged power bank;

4. Be sure that Balloon Live app is up to date.

Event director

Dear pilots,

I just want to remind you about FAI sporting licenses. Before arriving to Leszno you must be sure that your FAI sporting license is valid and is on the FAI database. Twenty one of you still have no valid licenses. 

Event director

Dear pilots,

Time is running and our event getting closer and closer. Today I want to overview the situation with flight logging during the championship competition flights. As you probably know, CIA introduced the Balloon flight tracking system with a Flight sensor, the Balloon live app, and the Watchmefly.net portal. In my opinion, this system is much better than FAI loggers in many aspects. Along with standard features, it lets measuring and scoring teams provide results much faster. Pilots have more time to packing balloons because it's not needed to rush to come back to the competition center with loggers and report forms. It is possible to share your track with your crew and friend live.  However, even that I already used this system on two events, one of them was the Lithuanian championship and had no really serious problems, I can't use it on this event yet. Officially system is not approved by FAI and until it's done it is not allowed to use it on FAI sanctioned events. After some discussions, we agree that I will prepare the rules for both (Balloon Live and FAI loggers) options and if FAI does not approve  BL, I will use FAI loggers instead. FAI authorities promised me to make the conclusion on that matter ASAP, and I believe that it will happen during the next month. 

Meanwhile, I would like to suggest you start preparing yourself for the usage of the Balloon Live system. Read and watch all documentation and videos. Download the app and play with that to be more familiar with it. Buy or rent a phone, which would be specially dedicated for usage with the Balloon Live app and tracking sensor and compatible with European GSM network; buy power bank; make tests flight with full set and make sure that it's convenient for you to use it during the flight.  Later, the Chief scorer and lead developer of the Balloon Live app Julius Venskus will publish more recommendations on how to properly set the system and give you some advice on how to use it. I also plan to make a session before the first competition flight where you will be able to ask questions about Balloon Live. 

Best regards,

Eugenijus Komas

Event director

BALLOON LIVE PILOT RESOURCES:
IOS App Store
Android App Store
www.balloonlive.org
FAI Balloon Live On Facebook
BLS User Manual
BLS Quick Reference Guide
BLS Latest Firmware

Watchmefly.net knowledge base

Email: support@balloonlive.org

The Official Rules