FÉDÉRATION AÉRONAUTIQUE INTERNATIONALE
FAI BALLOONING COMMISSION
Meanwhile you can contact Hans at:
Tel/Fax +46 8 765 8331
E-mail : hans.akerstedt@mailbox.calypso.net
| 1 | BAREFORD, David | GBR | 18057 |
| 2 | BALKEDAL, Janne | SWE | 16992 |
| 3 | HEARTSIL, Joe | USA | 16730 |
| 4 | ARRAS, William | USA | 16564 |
| 5 | SCHNEIDER,Uwe | GER | 16480 |
| 6 | CLIVER, Harold | USA | 16368 |
| 7 | FINK, Thomas | GER | 16362 |
| 8 | CANNON, Patrick | USA | 16262 |
| 9 | BEAZLY, Brian | USA | 16229 |
| 10 | RUOTSALAINEN, Jouni | FIN | 16007 |
CONGRATULATIONS, STEVE
The event enjoyed near perfect weather with tasks flown on all 5 available mornings, and with the added bonus of two flyable evenings, making 7 competition flights in all. The tasks, brilliantly set by Event Director Les Purfield, are shown on the next page. As the top 10 overall results show (see below), it was a very competitive event, with only 837 points separating the first 6 places at the end of 15 tasks.
The light winds coupled with the late onset of thermal activity made for very long and challenging morning flights. Add some of the most spectacular scenery any where in the world for competitive ballooning and it is little wonder the event was so much enjoyed by everybody who took part - pilots, crews, officials and observers alike.
The event concluded with an excellent Awards Ceremony held in the town centre of Avanos, and a Celebration Luncheon hosted by the CIA in a spectacular cave restaurant on Saturday 20th September.
I should like to conclude by thanking the CIA for appointing me to advise THK on the setting up and running of the event. It was quite a challenge to organise a World class championship in a country with virtually no previous ballooning infrastructure, let alone any experience in event organisation. That it was such an outstanding success is due almost entirely to the dedication and hard work of Isik & Ismail Keremoglu of THK, coupled with the usual professional expertise of Les Purfield and his International team and their ability to move into ‘foreign’ territory and put on a great championships. I very much enjoyed the challenge, and look forward to being involved in the next World Air Games in 2001.
| 1 | Uwe SCHNEIDER | GER | 13151 |
| 2 | Lindsay MUIR | GBR | 12879 |
| 3 | David BAREFORD | GBR | 12620 |
| 4 | Mamoru ENDO | JPN | 12535 |
| 5 | Josef SCHERZER | AUT | 12487 |
| 6 | Mathijs DE BRUIJN | NED | 12320 |
| 7 | Crispin WILLIAMS | GBR | 11472 |
| 8 | Janne BALKEDAL | SWE | 11222 |
| 9 | Paul GIBBS | AUS | 11172 |
| 10 | Masahiko FUJITA | JPN | 10988 |
These will then be included in the agenda which will be mailed in January 1998. Agenda items should include any supporting documentation, and a Position Paper, all of which will be included with the agenda.
RATES
TRAVEL: Venice is easily accessible by air, rail and road. No special travel arrangements are available for delegates.
The hotel has a shuttle service to & from the Airport and to & from central Venice.
PRELIMINARY TIMETABLE, based on 1997 Sub-Committee and Working Group membership, and time requirements as 1997 meetings, or as requested. Any comments to CIA Secrertary.
By the end of December, 1997, I will have moved from the Virgin Islands, my home for many years. New ventures will keep me busy elsewhere. Therefore, the appropriate and honorable course of action is to resign as your President. I believe the FAI Statutes are quite clear on residency and the right to represent. As such, I cannot in good conscience remain as the President while not living in the Virgin Islands. The First Vice President, Hans Akerstedt, understands and has graciously agreed to be the acting President for the remainder of my term. Of course, I will assist as time allows during the immediate transition.
Now I would like to reflect upon nearly two decades in ballooning and almost ten years as a volunteer on the international ballooning political scene. By far the high points, the pleasurable times, greatly outnumber the difficult challenges that arose from time to time. My fondest memory of competition is the great satisfaction the competitors experienced at the end of the 6th World Gas Balloon and 1st World Roziere Balloon Championship in South Dakota, USA. The great Josef Starkbaum stated that new standards in gas balloon competition had been established. And they really had been! Kirk Thomas, Becky Pope, one secretary and myself were elated to hear this as the event took six months of our lives to organize. As for flights, our special shape fleet was on the road constantly for many years. I'll never forget the hundreds of thousands of people cheering as I ascended in Uncle Sam from the stadium in Vilnius, Lithuania before the fall of the Berlin Wall when Lithuania was still part of the Soviet Union. This was some years before I became your President. We had secretly brought the envelope into the country and the balloon was very well received. All sorts of people enjoying our sport is what ballooning is all about for me.
The lowest time for me was the night the telephone rang from the Coupe Gordon Bennett headquarters in Switzerland to inform me that there was a problem in Belarus. Two good friends were dead. I never quite had the same enthusiasm after that week and I'll never forget having to call John Stuart-Jervis' wife Caroline or speaking with Alan Fraenckel's family. To this day I miss those guys terribly.
As for the FAI Ballooning Commission (CIA), we are like any ordinary, large, international and diverse family. We have our great moments of affection and happy relationships and we have our disputes and our disagreements. I have always made every effort, either as President of the Rules Subcommittee or as CIA President, to work toward fair and just compromises, though I haven't always succeeded. But as "head of the household," I did not back away from difficult situations. Conflict is a normal part of life, and as long as people come to the table in good faith, problems will be resolved. I still believe that courteous and honest discussion can help solve most problems. Life is too short and for so many people our sport is too much fun and too important for anyone to dwell on the negative or to be destructive.
There are so many fine people in our sport. There are those who work tirelessly, without much recognition, all for the benefit of competitors and record setters who sometimes forget to say thanks. The FAI Ballooning Commission is most fortunate to have the present Bureau. Hans Akerstedt is a pillar of honesty and truth who only wants the best for our sport. He has been a wonderful First Vice President. Neil Robertson is a true gem and I will miss our almost daily conversations. And both Darryl Stuart and Mathijs DeBruijn have been strong and supportive influences looking out for your interests. As for other dedicated volunteers, Jean Claude Weber works harder than any volunteer I know. He was an excellent Presidential advisor and a great friend and ambassador of ballooning. And then there are organizers like Mark Sullivan and competition directors like Les Purfield and Jacques Bernardin. And finally there are creative individuals like my partner Kirk Thomas, who worked endless hours for the benefit of the FAI Ballooning Commission and its sports men and women. I also must express my sincere gratitude to Barb Butler and Becky Pope for all they've done for the CIA, and to Max Bishop and the FAI Secretaeriat for thier support to the commission.
There are also those who have gone before all of us and have given their time, expertise and advice. Volunteers like past President Karl Stefan, Sabu Ichiyoshi, Nigel Tasker, Horst Hassold, and of course the late Alfi Feltes should be recognized. As well as all those that space will not allow me to remember and recognize. Thanks for your inspiration and example.
As I told you all when elected, I would not stay nearly as long as Karl Stefan. A different leadership style, just like new faces and new ideas in any organization, can be beneficial for the FAI Ballooning Commission. I'm sure my successor will do a terrific job with your support, and I wish the next President all the bests.
Finally, I wish you all a very happy, joyous and peaceful holiday season. My hope and desire is that you give your best and work together to promote our sport in harmony and co-operation. Thank you all for the memories.
For the past eighteen months, the world has experienced the development and placement of very large tethered or captive gas balloons. These huge systems are capable of carrying thirty paying passengers to heights of 150 meters. These envelopes are nearly 25 meters in diameter, with a volume of 5500 m3 and filled with helium. The gondola is attached to an underground winch which can be radio controlled by an on-board operator. The balloon remains inflated 24 hours per day and some manufacturers claim they may be operated in wind speeds up to 35 km/hour. These balloons are literally flying banners and are very attractive to advertisers since they can be seen for a 20 kilometre radius on a clear day. These balloons cost in the range of US $1 million installed, and the average cost per passenger appears to be about US $15. So far, most countries have certified these systems as fairground or carnival rides and not aircraft. This is an interesting development and approach, but the fact remains that these giant captive balloons do promote the sport of ballooning.
Finally, this past year the skies around the globe seemed to be rather crowded with a variety of around-the-world manned balloon flight attempts. From Morocco with Virgin’s Richard Branson and his team to Switzerland and the Breitling team’s dramatic launch in the Alps to the Midwestern plains of the USA and Steve Fossett’s take off from an athletic stadium in St. Louis. It was Steve Fossett, in his Solo Spirit, that captured the world’s attention for nearly a week as he manoeuvred his Rozier system across ocean, desert and dangerous terrain to make it half way around the world before landing in India. The news media and the public are becoming educated and extremely interested in these record attempts. To many, it is the last great adventure to accomplish as an air sportsman. And the skies are going to be even more crowded during the next “season”. Another balloon team is reportedly preparing for a launch in Australia with an outer space-like balloon flight in the stratosphere. Dick Ruttan and colleagues are also constructing their system for an attempt and there are up to two more serious ventures in various stages of development.
So, in advance I’d like to express my gratitude to all Aero Clubs for any assistance they can provide to these teams. This past year, there was very good co-operation which, in the end, promotes ballooning and the FAI. During this next season the world’s eyes will be even more focused on the FAI and its oldest air sport.
Speaking In Rio de Janeiro, the site of the FAI's 90th Annual General Conference, the FAI President, Mr Eilif Ness (Norway), declared: "The World Air Games is no longer a dream - it is a reality." The 1st World Air Games, held in Turkey in September, had attracted unexpectedly high numbers, with 3000 participants. Of the 60 countries that sent teams to the World Air Games more than 20 were over 50 strong. The biggest teams (in descending order) were from Russia, Poland, Germany, Ukraine, France, Spain, USA, Turkey and Italy all of which had teams more than 100 strong. Several countries were participating in an FAI event for the first time ever (e.g. Moldova) or after a long absence (e.g. Iran). No previous air sport event had ever had such high participation. The World Air Games were now one of the world's biggest sporting events, after theOlympic summer and winter games.
Mr Ness, unanimously re-elected FAI President for a 4th term, announced that Austria, Poland, Spain and Turkey had submitted bids to organise the 2nd World Air Games, probably to be held in 2001. A decision on location and dates would be made at the FAI Council meeting in Paris on 28/29 May 1998.
Full details of all FAI/CIA awards available to CIA Members are to be found in
Chapter 10 of the Internal Regulations.
Nominations
for
Montgolfier Diplomas (Hot Air, Gas, Rozier, Service)
and
Santos-Dumont Gold Airship Medals
and
CIA Hall of Fame
should be
submitted to the FAI Office in Paris to arrive no later than
3th January 1998
| COUNTRY | DELEGATE | ALTERNATE |
| ALGERIA | FELLA, A | |
| ARGENTINA | MAZZINI, G | HERRMANN, C |
| AUSTRALIA | STUART, D | WILSON, R |
| AUSTRIA | GRUBER, W | STARKBAUM, J |
| BELARUS | FIRSAKOV, A.A | OBLASOV, W.P. |
| BELGIUM | SAX, J | DE COCK, P |
| BRAZIL | NENOV, J | THORNTON, J |
| BULGARIA | ASPARUHOVA, O | |
| CANADA | LOCKYER, G | NAGORSKI, A |
| CHILE | MARDONES, V | VALENZUELA, V |
| CHINA | LEI, W | LIU, L |
| CHINESE TAIPEI | HSIA, J.S.C | |
| CROATIA | MIKLOUSIC, D.T. | OSTOJIC, D |
| CZECH REPUBLIC | HONIG, A | OLIVA, T |
| DENMARK | VINTHER, J | SORENSEN, H |
| EGYPT | FARGHAL, N.A. | |
| FINLAND | PAKARINEN, E | OLLIKAINEN, J |
| FRANCE | VILLEY, T | ROUX DEVILLAS, O |
| GERMANY | HAGGENEY, M | SCHNEIDER, U |
| GREECE | KOTZAGERIDIS, M | |
| HONG KONG | ANDREWS, W | HANLON, M |
| HUNGARY | MESZAROS, B | HIDAS,S |
| INDIA | GUPTA, V | |
| IRELAND | O'NEILL, C | McCORMACK, T |
| ITALY | CISARO, E | |
| JAPAN | ICHIYOSHI, S | KAKUDA, M |
| KAZAKHSTAN | YUTMAN, A | BOGOULIAEV, G |
| KENYA | MARSHALL, C | LISSIMORE, M |
| KOREA | LEE, S-J | JIN, S.K. |
| LATVIA | DUKSTE, G | SKUTA, J |
| LITHUANIA | KOMZA, R | NOMEIKA, A |
| LUXEMBOURG | WEBER, J-C | SAUBER, C |
| NETHERLANDS | DE BRUIJN, M | |
| NORWAY | NORDBY, T | |
| POLAND | CZERNIAWSKI, J | |
| ROMANIA | IONESCU, M | |
| RUSSIA | OPARIN, G | SHIFRIN, D |
| SLOVAK REPUBLIC | SANTA, M | BREZAN, J |
| SLOVENIA | SIMONIC,I | VIPOTNIC, N |
| SOUTH AFRICA | WESTWORTH, A | |
| SPAIN | NOGUERA, R | GONZALEZ, A |
| SWEDEN | AKERSTED, H | STENER, B |
| SWITZERLAND | BURKARD, J | HORNI, C |
| TURKEY | KEREMOGLU, I | TEKIN, A |
| UKRAINE | NIKOLAEV, A | KARNAUOV, V |
| UK | CAMERON, D | PURFIELD, L |
| USA | WALLACE, M | CUTTER, S |
| VIRGIN ISLANDS | THOMAS, K | |
| YUGOSLAVIA | STOSKOVIC, M | |
| TOTALS | 49 DELEGATES | 35 ALTERNATES |
The intent is to include on the list ALL meetings: Sanctioned/non-sanctioned; open/invitation; competition/fiesta/other, and a form is attached for completion and return to the CIA Secretary. If possible, please return these forms by 31st December 1997 with details of your 1998 meetings, so the list can be distributed with the Agenda mailing in January 1998.
Thank you for your co-operation.
This Newsletter is published by the CIA Secretary on behalf of the CIA Bureau. It is available to ANY interested party on request to the CIA Secretary, who would be happy to add new names to the mailing list.
All information is believed to be correct at the time of publication, but no responsibility can be taken for any errors, omissions etc.
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