Competition rules and records for all air sports and aviation are maintained by the governing body for air sports, the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI).

Thanks to Hans Akerstedt, Vice President of the FAI Ballooning Commission for compiling the following information for a request by National Geographic magazine:

CLASS A : FREE BALLOONS

Free balloons are subdivided in four sub-classes depending on lifting gas and other differences. A fifth sub-class is "any other type" but so far we have no such thing. All existing balloons are classified as one of the four below. The sub-classes are the following :

Sub-class AA : Free balloons, not equipped with an airborne heater, which obtain their buoyancy from a lighter-than-air gas, without pressurization of the envelope.
Note: This is commonly called "Gas Balloon" or in USA "Helium Balloon". In USA the most commonly used lifting gas is Helium, but in Europe and the rest of the world Hydrogen is most often used. It has better lift, is cheaper but is highly flammable. Helium is an inert gas.

Sub-class AX: Free balloons which obtain their buoyancy solely as a result of heating air. The envelope may contain no gases other than air and the normal products of combustion.
Note: This is normally called a Hot Air Balloon and is the most common type of balloon.

Sub-class AM: Free balloons which use both a lighter-than-air gas and an airborne heater, without pressurization of any envelope.
Note: AM balloons are also called "Rozière Balloons" after its first constructor, Pilatre de Rozier. The first human to ascend in a balloon 1783. Died in an accident with a Rozière balloon 1785. At that time they used hydrogen in combination with an open flame. Bad habit. Nowadays we use helium instead. This type is mainly used for very long distance flights long ocean crossings and Round-the-World flights.

Sub-class AS: Free balloons which use a lighter-than-air gas and are designed to allow sufficient pressurization of the envelope to affect performance substantially.
Note: This type of balloon is mainly used for research like pollution control and when precise altitude control is needed. This type can maintain a constant altitude for a long time.

Size categories
Each subclass is then divided in 15 size categories. The smallest is size is less than 250 cubic meters ( less than 8828 cubic feet). The largest size category is balloons larger than 22 000 cubic meters (776 923 cubic feet). A standard hot air balloon for pleasure flying or competition is AX-6 or AX-7. Most Round-the-World teams use AM-15.

Now we have 4 main sub-classes, each with 15 sizes, total 60.

There are two categories of records in each size category:

GENERAL CATEGORY: The best performance achieved.

FEMININE CATEGORY: The best performance achieved by a woman. In this category the entire crew must be female.

Now we have 120 different categories of possible records. However some female records are also records in the general category. In the "Lighter-than-air" world it is an advantage to be light.

Types of records
Each of the size categories in the sub-classes shall be subject of the following records: - Altitude, - Distance, - Duration, - Shortest time around the World

So theoretically we could have 480 record types.  In addition we have Absolute Records. These are the best records for any balloon regardless of size Naturally we have only three of these.

As you may understand we would double the number of possible records if we would make a difference between Solo flights and multi-pilot flights.

Atlantic crossings, Around the World flights and other spectacular performances.

Many believe that when the first flight over the Atlantic took place (1978) it therefore became a record. That is wrong. Being the first is not a record as such. A record is something that can be broken by a better performance. Who can possibly make it better than being first?

The first successful Atlantic crossing was made August 11-17, 1978 by Maxie Anderson, Ben Abruzzo and Larry Newman, all USA. They flew from Presque Isle in USA to Miserey, France. They established new world records for Distance and Duration in class AA-8 with 5001 km (3106.3 miles) and 137.05 hours. Both were also Absolute Records at that time. (See National Geographic, December 1978.

The fact that it was the first successful crossing by balloon of the North Atlantic is for record purposes just a curiosity and belongs in the Guinness Book of Records. (In this case I thing Records mean just "for the record" or record in the meaning "a list of notable achievements".) A true record is something that has been controlled in accordance with set rules and that can be broken by a subsequent performance with the same rules and circumstances.

When the FAI ballooning commission (The CIA) was faced with the possibility of someone flying a balloon around the World we got a number of problems.
What constitutes a true "Around-the-World flight?
How do we measure the distance flown?
What will the record be, time, distance or speed?

Obviously a short flight around the North Pole could not count. Likewise we could not demand that the flight path should follow the equator. We needed a definition that would exclude trivial records but at the same time would allow any flight that in the eyes of the man-on-the-street would qualify. Otherwise we would look rather stupid.

The distance calculation was also a problem. Up till then (1980) the distance flown in a record was the straight line (Great Circle) between start and landing. When you have flown halfway around the world this distance starts to decrease and if you land exactly where you took off the distance is actually zero. Not good. We could not change the rules too much as the best existing record for distance was over 8000km.

We finally decided to separate distance flights from Around-the-World flights. For distance records over long distances we now allow the track to be split up in several legs ant the total distance will be the sum of the legs. In order to avoid problems with old records we ruled that each leg must be at least one half Earth radius (3185.5km / 1979.378miles) and the average of the legs used must be one Earth radius (6371km / 3958.756miles).

We then tried to define what an Around-the-World flight would be. In short the flight has to cross all meridians and has to be of a length that as a minimum is equal to half the equator length. This is just a theoretical minimum but we needed to allow deviations from the equator and we needed to allow flights on only one hemisphere as this is most likely to happen due to meteorological laws. We also needed to allow the track to be "tilted" in relation to the equator.

If you care to study further, here are the full rules about Around-the-World record.

4.8.3. AROUND-THE-WORLD RECORDS

4.8.3.1 The record shall be the shortest time around the World in a single flight.

4.8.3.2 After the flight the pilot must choose:

i) a selection of position check points which need not be the same as those which are selected to claim a distance record under 4.8.2 and need not conform to its distance limits.
ii) Two circular caps on the surface of the earth. The radius of each cap must be 3335.85 km (30 degrees of great circle arc), and each cap must enclose one of the poles, not necessarily at its center.
iii) A meridian which shall be the Start and Finish Line

4.8.3.3 The position check points and the great circle arcs joining successive check points must lie outside both circular caps, although parts of the flight may pass inside. The track must cross all meridians after crossing the Start line and before crossing the Finish line.

4.8.3.4 The start time is the time of the last check point at or before crossing the start line, and the finish time is the time of the first check point at or after crossing the finish line.

4.8.3.5 The around-the-world record is established when the balloon crosses the finish line.

4.8.4 DEFINITIONS AND EXPLANATIONS

4.8.4.1 The radius of the earth is defined by the Sporting Code (GS 7.3.1.1) as 6371.0 km for the purpose of converting angles to distances.

4.8.4.2 The Great Circle Distance between two points is the shortest arc of the great circle passing through the two points.

4.8.4.3 A typical arrangement of requirements of 4.8.3 is shown in the diagram. The cap must enclose the pole and the great circle arcs joining the check points pass outside it. The actual track of the aerostat must cut all meridians, but may pass inside the cap.

_________CAP (solid dark line)
. . . . . . . . ACTUAL TRACK (dotted or thin line)

4.8.4.4 A check point is an identifiable point where it can be proved the balloon passed over or through. If many check points are available those used for calculation may be selected according to rules 4.8.2 and 4.8.3 to the applicants best advantage.

Airships follow the same general principles but there are only 10 size categories. As a compensation they have a fifth type of record - speed.

CLASS B : AIRSHIPS

Class B airships shall be divided into four sub-classes each containing ten categories according to size. The sub-classes are the following:

Sub-class BA: Airships which obtain at least 80% of their static lift from a lighter-than-air gas, and which are not included in sub-class BR.
Note: Also called "Blimp"

Sub-class BX: Airships which obtain their static buoyancy solely as a result of heating air. The envelope may contain no gases other than air and the normal products of combustion.
Note: This is a "Hot Air Blimp".

Sub-class BR: Airships which obtain at least 80% of their static lift from a lighter-than-air gas, and in which the complete outer envelope is formed by a rigid framework.
Note: This is the "Zeppelin Type", but there has been many more manufacturers than Zeppelin.

As with balloons there is a fourth class, "Any other".

Hans Akerstedt
Sveavagen 19B
S-181 60 LIDINGO, Sweden
Tel: +46-8-765 8331, fax: +46-8-767 8331
Email: hasse.akerstedt@telia.com

There are a number of criteria and rules involved in attempting and setting aviation records. Below is a list of the FAI Sporting Code sections relative to setting world records, and more specifically going around the world in a balloon. The rules most applicable to flying a balloon around the world is part of Sporting Code Section 1 - Aerostats (Balloons) Chapter 4 - World Records, items 4.8.3 and 4.8.4.

To get more detailed information check these other sections:

• Sporting Code General Section
  • Download the complete document and see the following:
  • Chapter 6 - World Records
  • Annex A - Definitions
  • Glossary of Terms and Abbreviations 
• Sporting Code Section 1 - Aerostats (Balloons)
  • Download the complete document and see the following:
  • Chapter 2 - Classifications
  • Chapter 4 - World Records
  • Annex 1 - Balloon and airship record claims