FÉDÉRATION AÉRONAUTIQUE INTERNATIONALE
FAI BALLOONING COMMISSION (CIA)
ANNUAL CONFERENCE - Bern, Switzerland March 2001
CIA ASSISTANCE TO ORGANISERS OF THE COUPE AÉRONAUTIQUE GORDON BENNETT.
The CIA and FAI owns and controls the Coupe Aéronautique Gordon Bennett. This is one of the most prestigious CIA events. By its nature the organisers have less than one year to organise the event. Therefore the CIA should do more to help the organisers and the participants.
To avoid the same work to be done every year by different organisers, the CIA could help by issuing and maintaining information that have to be used in almost every race.
The rules for the race are simple in comparison to other events. The number of competitors is small. The aims of the race should be attractive to sponsors and the general public. The race has a great PR potential that is not fully used at present. One reason is that the organisers are fully occupied with preparations for the race.
The proposals below are to some extent based upon the discussion between pilots and officials after the 44th Coupe Aéronautique Gordon Bennett in Belgium 2000.
Proposal 1.
The CIA through its delegates should prepare a standard landing form and witness report in the languages of the countries where landings could be foreseen.
Proposal 2.
The CIA through its delegates should prepare a standard pamphlet in the languages of the countries whose borders may be crossed by the ground crew during the race. The pamphlet should contain information about the race for the different custom and police authorities. It should also include contact addresses to Aero Clubs and CIA delegates who could assist the participants
Proposal 3.
For the 44th Gordon Bennett in Belgium, the organisers had prepared a very useful handbook containing important national rules for ballooning in each country of the competition area. This handbook should be used as a guide to produce a simplified guide outlining the main differences of the rules for ballooning in the countries to be overflown during the race.
Proposal 4.
Live or delayed tracking has been discussed for some time. It has been used successfully during races mainly in the United States but also in Europe. The CIA should seek the means to assist the organisers in the use of tracking equipment for this race. This assistance could be to appoint CIA officials with the responsibility to design the system using available equipment and to operate the system before and during the race.
The CIA has been offered the use of equipment owned by Gerald Stürzlinger. Additional equipment may be available from other sources. Tests are going on in Sweden. If the CIA is satisfied that it is realistic, tracking on the web (CIA or organiser) could be performed already during the coming race in Germany.
The financial involvement could be to cover the costs for additional equipment and for travel and hotel costs for the CIA official.
If successful this exercise could be helpful to future organisers when seeking sponsors. This way the entry fees could be kept at an acceptable level in the long run a fund for equipment updating could be built up.
Friday, 22 December 2000
Hans Åkerstedt
CIA Delegate, Sweden
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