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The 11th International Model Balloon Meeting in Brigachtal(Germany) 11th - 13th October 1996 by Michael Bölling
Once again Brigachtal, a small village in the Black Forest region, which lies in the south-west of Germany, was the destination of many pilots of radio controlled hot air balloons. To attend the meet, 35 pilots and their families came from all over Europe; countries including the Netherlands, France, Luxemburg, Switzerland, Autria, Sweden and Germany. As well as attending the meet for competion flying it was a prime opportunity for the balloon enthusiasts to talk about new techniques in building model balloons and also about their previous adventures. Their prayers to the weather god were answered and so after some rainy and windy weeks the weather suddenly became calm and friendly on the first day of the meet. You might ask yourself how a model balloon can be controlled and what kind of competions are held. Let me start by describing the construction and the control of a model balloon in brief.
A model balloon is basically identical to manned balloon execpt for that the pilot is controlling the balloon from the ground with a radio control unit. The balloons’ size differ between 30 m³ (1000ft³) and 250 m³(8000 ft³), but the standard size is 80 m³. A 'small' balloon such as this is around 6 to 8 meters (20 to 26 ft) high and has a diameter of 4 to 6 meters (14 to 20 ft). The burners which have the power of 100.000 kcals, are controlled by magnetic valves and nearly all pilots use double burners. With another magnetic valve the pilot lights can be closed for the landing. A realsing mechanism makes it possible to drop a marker for competition purposes, so the pilots’ control of model balloons is similar to the ‘real thing’. The balloons usually fly in an height of less than 50 m (150 ft) over the ground and pilots follow them on foot. This is the reason why most pilots prefer calm wind conditions - in high winds such a competion could easily turn into something of a marathon!
The envelopes are made from orginal balloon fabric (new or re-used from old envelopes) and come in a variety of shapes: smooth shapes, bulbous or even special shapes such as a pinguin, a cube and even some of Andre Heller’s fantasy shapes, all of which are cold inflated with miniature infation fans. The baskets are made of cane with leather trim and there is a stainless steel frame for the burner. The fuel cylinders are fitted with a special head consisting of liquid outlet for the main burner and a vapour outlet for the pilot light. Up until now there are no liquid pilot lights, but this is certain to change in the near future. For a maximum safety the cylinders have a pressure release vale, which opens at 18 bars.
Model balloon competion flying is comparable to manned balloon competions with fox-hunts and fly-ins. Another good competition is to fly as close as possible to the middle line of a marked road and to release a marker by radio control. If the balloon does not have a releasing mechanism the pilot can land the balloon as close to the target as possible and the first touch down counts for the competion. The distances are measured and so after a few tasks a winner can be found. I think it is just as difficult to fly in a model contest as to fly in a manned balloon contest, because firstly, by not having the view from the basket it is more difficult to judge the best place for dropping the marker and secondly, by flying only at very low level, making use of differing wind directions in different altitudes is very difficult.
After a joyful evening of discussing the enthusiasts were up early for a Saturday morning fox hunt. After a flight of 2 km (1.5 miles) which lasted half an hour, the winner landed only 1 meter from the fox. The weather was so good that the organizer decided to get the refuelling system to the launch site so the balloons could get refueled quickly and fly for a second time that morning. The task for this flight was to get close to a target line, a road. The wind was increasing so the balloos had a fast but good flight.
After lunch, during which discussions were held why one had failed to win or why one burner jet is the better than others, the models were refueled and prepeared for the second fox hunt. Five minutes after the fox had taken off, the other competitors were allowed to start. The first 10 balloons got close to the fox, but the others, who had waited 10 to 15 minutes before launching drifted off the fox’s path, because the wind suddenly changed and so for these pilots the hopes of winning were soon dashed.
At 8 o’clock in the evening the crazy group went for a night flight in a small valley which is free of houses, powerlines and any other obstacles. The sight was overwhelming. The balloons switched on their burners and the landscape became a unreal world of shing mushrooms. The wind was very light and so controlling the balloons was very easy. One balloon slowly drifted down the valley to return a few minutes later to its original start place. The balloons were glowing in their finest colours with the yellow flame from the burner. This is due to the new burner jets which have 8 little holes instead of only one which is normally used.
The Saturday ended back in the restaurant with a video seccion. A film from the last meet was shown. It was filmed from a camera which was fixed inside the basket of a model balloon. Afterwards an informative film about the dangers of propane and hydrogen was shown.
Early Sunday morning saw yet another competion. Helium balloons were released to check the wind direction and a track for for the goal was selected. Unfortunatelly the wind changed after the balloon were inflated so no one was able to reach the target. The winds were calm and a wonderfull long flight was had, during which the model balloons were visited by their ‘big brothers’ which had launched in a nearby town. Before lunch time the pricegiving was held with everyone celebrating the fact that the meet was a total sucess. The winner was Englishman Chris Andrews who lives in France. He was followed by Rainhard Stolp from Germany and third Bertram Rosat from Switzerland. Every competitor received a painted glass disc showing the local area with, of course, a balloon as a souvenir of the meet. A hononary prize was given to 75 year old Erich Hinz who has attended the meet regulary over the past 11 years. His balloon is shown on the glass disc. The pilots returned to their hometowns with the feeling in mind that they have found new friends all over Europe and that they have taken part to one of the most impressive and most eventful model balloon meetings ever.
If you like to come to the Brigachtal Model Balloon Meet, which is held in October or if you would like information about radio controlled balloons please contact me at:
Michael´s Homepage | Model Balloon Catalog | Picture Homepage |
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