FÉDÉRATION AÉRONAUTIQUE INTERNATIONALE

FAI BALLOONING COMMISSION (CIA)

CIA NEWSLETTER
Spring 1998

Table of Contents

  1. Presidents Column by Jean-Claude Weber
  2. About the Job by Jean-Claude Weber
  3. New CIA Delegates
  4. FAI News by Jean-Claude Weber
  5. Baltic Cup '98
  6. A New Future for Federation Aeronautique Internationale
  7. CIA Annual Conference 1999
  8. CIA Hall of Fame
  9. The CIA Event Directors List
  10. Publication of Average Score by Mathijs R. De Bruijn
  11. CIA Badge Procedures by Norman Pritchard
  12. International Observer Registration Scheme by Ron Wiseman
  13. Who's Who in the CIA for 1998/1999
  14. Communications, Airsportsmen and the Internet by Alex Nagorski
  15. Schedule of Forthcoming FAI/CIA Sanctioned Events
  16. 1998 Plenary Meeting
  17. CIA Delegates for 1998/1999
  18. CIA Official Documents
  19. CIA Administration Account
  20. 2nd World Air Games 2001
  21. Contributions Welcome

PRESIDENT'S COLUMN

by Jean-Claude Weber, CIA President

Time to wake up! But before waking up, "I want to take this opportunity to thank you for the privilege of serving as the President of the FAI Ballooning Commission. It is an honour I did not seek, but one which I will perform with dedication to the international fellowship of aerostation. I will always try to the best of my ability to be fair, friendly, professional and diplomatic in this volunteer position." Although these are not my words, but our past President's, I don't think that my using his words for myself in the present and future tense will upset Jacques. In fact, I wonder if these words would not be the perfect promise to be made by all those taking up a position within the CIA.

Jacques, as many of our predecessors, you have written a chapter in the history of aerostation, we all owe you a great debt of gratitude for your selfless and dedicated work.

Some time in the not so distant future, the FAI may stop being NAC "heavy" and begin to "slim down" by finding the ways and means to implement reforms, some of which the Air Sport Commissions have been demanding for years. In particular, ASC are waiting to see whether the Member NACs are willing and capable to change the FAI from a fairly conservative organisation, deriving from the statutory NAC "power base", into a modern, international multi-discipline Sports Federation deriving mainly from its activities. Reality very often precedes the change, and since the early 1990s, the FAI Air Sport Commissions have slowly but constantly gained influence, and today it will be very difficult to stop this process of change.

At the last FAI Council meeting, the delegates (the FAI Vice-Presidents from the member NACs and Air Sport Commissions) approved and endorsed some rather radical measures aimed to bring the FAI in-line with the real world and to give the air sports a good start into the next century. For one, Council decided to relocate FAI to Lausanne in Switzerland, where it is felt that the environment for International Sports Federations is much more favourable and where FAI will benefit from the presence of the International Olympic Committee and a multitude of other International Sports Federations. A second major decision, although not yet fully grasped by all present, was the adoption of FAI's Business Plan, which clearly shows the direction FAI is heading. The Plan makes it clear that in the future FAI must be run according to clearly defined objectives, allocating responsibilities to its respective bodies and making them accountable for their actions and/or inaction. As far as the CIA is concerned, I am very confident that our Commission is well equipped to take up these new challenges and to make the best of them. We are an important part of FAI and precisely because we are, we have a special responsibility to help the FAI and aerostation to achieve its goals. Most of you, and many before you, have helped the CIA and the FAI to a glorious past, now all of us have to help them to a bright future.

In the past few years the CIA has succeeded in firmly establishing and consolidating aerostation as one of the pillars of international air sports. Thanks to the enthusiastic and unfailing contribution of all CIA members, by creating universal and sound standards for our sport (Sporting Code Section 1, Model Event Rules, Internal Regulations, Events Sanctioning Procedures, Jury Handbook, Safety Handbook, Observer Handbook), the CIA is now in the enviable good position to take on such future challenges as Air Sport Competition Development (World Air Games), Advocacy of aerostation world-wide and particularly in “new” aerostation countries (airspace, licensing, environment, competition), youth education and participation, Public Appeal, Public Relations and Publicity. To meet these challenges is our goal; the objectives are to make aerostation the most attractive and rewarding air sport for all involved. This is what we all set out to do, each of us to his best, at home and internationally, and I can assure you that I and the other CIA Bureau Members, the Subcommittee and Working Group Members will work relentlessly to serve and help you and aerostation whenever and wherever they can. Probably some will be left behind, some will require more time to adapt to the “real world”, but I am sure that, in a few years time, all of you will be as proud as I to say “I have been there”.

Let me end by paraphrasing G.B. Shaw (although not an aeronaut):

Some men see things as they are and ask, 'Why?' I dream things that never were, and ask, 'Why not?'


ABOUT DOING THE JOB

by Jean-Claude Weber, CIA President

How would you call a CIA President and Bureau leaning back after a Plenary meeting and waiting for the next one to happen without taking any initiative or action? I consider this to be a rhetoric question because I know that it will not happen, but nevertheless it would be interesting to learn a few new names. You have elected a President and a Bureau to look after the world balloonists' best interests, and this is what we will do. Promised.

Being part of the most venerable Commission of the FAI, and having the word “static” as suffix in our activity's name, does not necessarily mean that we have to make these qualities our exclusive priorities. At a time of radical change in the world, how we can make progress and achieve meaningful results depends mainly on our ability to understand our responsibilities, identify our problems, set achievable goals, make people accountable and work hard to make things happen. In this respect, I would like you to know that I am extremely pleased with the composition of the CIA Bureau, whose members are all very dedicated and experienced, understand the importance of their responsibilities and are all prepared to get actively involved in running our Commission to the best of their abilities. As space is limited in this Newsletter, I will limit the scope of this article to explain how I see the CIA's responsibilities and how I plan to handle the CIA's work in the future, what its rights and duties are and how the Bureau members are to exercise these rights and duties. I think it is helpful to re-state some basic principles.

The CIA is a Commission of the FAI and as such is not a legal entity by itself and may exercise its rights, powers and duties only within the scope of the FAI Statutes. The CIA is not an FAI Member but an official element of FAI, responsible only to the FAI executive body (Council) and ultimately to the FAI General Conference. The aims and objectives of the CIA are those defined in the FAI Statutes who also comprise the following powers (and duties):

The (CIA) Bureau's powers and duties are defined in the FAI By-Laws and state (among others in BL 5.4): This provision of the FAI By-Laws has been implemented by the CIA with the CIA Internal Regulations, which state in:

4.1 - President: The duties and powers of the president are laid down in the FAI By-Laws (BL 5.4) (and which comprise the following: To represent the Commission over which he presides)

4.2 - Vice-Presidents: The Vice-presidents shall perform the duties and functions of the CIA President in his absence or as requested by the CIA President.

5.2 - Bureau: The President shall make every reasonable effort to consult with all Bureau members before making decisions on matters arising between meetings.

5.3 The Bureau shall have authority to consider, discuss and make decisions on any matter arising between CIA Plenary Meetings which demand urgent response, and not explicitly reserved to the Plenary Meeting.

That much for the principles.

In order to allow the Commissions to remain operative and to be able to exercise their responsibilities between Plenary meetings, the authors of the FAI Statutes and By-Laws (and the CIA IRs for the CIA) chose to delegate the respective powers and responsibilities to the Commission Presidents, representing their Commission, very well understanding that the FAI Commissions need to have some autonomy and powers to be “run” between Commission meetings. The safeguards built into the system are adequate to allow Commission Presidents to keep the initiative if necessary. If this were not the case, and the Bureau were to withhold any decision for the Plenary only, then the Commissions would probably become insignificant very soon and our activities would certainly suffer from this immobilisation.

Finally, let me tell you how I see the CIA and our “mission”: Basically I consider the FAI and the CIA as SERVICE providers for the aerostation men and woman of the world. Everything we do should stand the test of the single most important question we have to ask ourselves every time we make a decision on any issue:

HOW WILL THIS AFFECT THE BALLOONISTS AND THEIR ACTIVITIES?

If we cannot find that the answer will positively affect the balloonists and their activities, then the issue is not worth being continued and we will not support it and also quite possibly oppose it. None of us is in this “business” for reward (any kind of reward), or because he is on an ego-trip, and the question of “How will this affect me” will simply not be considered. To make my view a little clearer, imagine the CIA as an inverted (top down) pyramid with the CIA President, the Bureau and the Subcommittees at the bottom supporting the whole CIA structure. We carry the load of the activity, and it's not the activity that carries the CIA President, the Bureau and the Subcommittees. The same image goes for the FAI, and we should realise that we can lean on the FAI structure to support the CIA

I hope that you can share the above views with me.


NEW CIA DELEGATES

Since the publication of the CIA Directory in April the Secretary has been notified of two changes of CIA Delegate/Alternate Delegate.

AUSTRALIA

BELGIUM

FAI NEWS

report from Jean-Claude Weber, CIA President

FAI COUNCIL

The FAI Council meeting, attended by the CIA President, was held in Paris on May 28/29. Some major issues were on the Agenda and all were settled without any noteworthy opposition.

FAI will immediately relocate in Lausanne/Switzerland
Although there was some discussion among delegates about the utility to move from Paris, the majority voted to relocate FAI in Lausanne. As a consequence, the next CIA Plenary meeting will therefore be held in Lausanne and not in Paris. Other bidders were Vienna, Geneva, Monaco and Paris (although the French NAC had omitted to submit a formal bid)

Spain will host the 2nd World Air Games (2001)
After Turkey had withdrawn their bid, the delegates had to decide between Austria and Spain. The evaluation of the bids by the FAI WAG Co-ordinating Committee and the presentations by both bidders were very professional but did not really make a difference. What seemed to influence the delegates was the fact that Spain allowed for a more flexible approach leaving the commissions more leeway in organising their own events.

The FAI Business Plan was adopted
The FAI draft Business Plan, presented by Larry Sanderson (FAI Business Development Committee President) and Prof. Dr. William Sproul (FAI's special consultant), was adopted by the delegates without much of a discussion. The document, presently analysed by CIA 1st VP Marcus Haggeney, will be the subject of an in-depth discussion by the CIA Bureau before the next CIA Plenary. However, it is already now very obvious that the Plan will drastically and favourably change the way FAI is conducting its business.

Rules for Advertising at FAI Sporting Events
The rules as presented were adopted. Air Sport Commissions are invited to implement the rules at all Sporting Events, with such modifications or addenda as they decide to apply for their events. This means that the CIA will have to include these rules into its events sanctioning procedures and that EPAS will have to conduct contract negotiations with all potential event organisers. The rules are very simple and the document may be obtained from the FAI offices or from EPAS.

FAI Awards (CIA relevant)

The MONTGOLFIER DIPLOMA:
To David Bareford (UK), best sporting performance in Hot Air Ballooning, and to Mark Sullivan (USA), contribution to the development of Ballooning

The DE LA VAULX MEDAL:
To Stephen FOSSETT (USA), for his Absolute Ballooning Records (distance and duration) in 1997

The SANTOS-DUMONT GOLD AIRSHIP MEDAL:
To Mucky Busemeyer (Germany) for his significant contributions to the development of airship technology

The PAUL TISSANDIER DIPLOMA 1997:
To Alex Nagorski (Canada) and Barbara Moreton (UK)

FAI Committees
Alex Nagorski resigned from the PR Committee
J.C. Weber was elected to the Statutes Committee

FAI MEMBERSHIP

The following members were suspended or resigned: Belarus, Bulgaria, Cuba (resigned), Georgia (resigned), Honduras, Korea (P.D.R.), Kuwait, Malaysia (resigned), Puerto Rico, Thailand, Tunisia, Zimbabwe.

New members with ballooning activities: Pakistan (as of Jan. 1999) and Hong Kong where the name changes to "Honk Kong China Aviation Club Ltd", where the flag will be the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) flag and the anthem to be used will be that of the People's Republic of China.

CASI

CASI met on the 27th May, and the CIA's representative Don Cameron and president J.C. Weber attended. The meeting, chaired by President David Cole (UK) tabled the CIA motion (S1 Vs GS priority) presented by Don Cameron. It was agreed that the CASI Bureau would look into the matter and re-present the motion for discussion at the next CASI meeting in October. The general feeling of the CASI members was that the CIA motion was anti-constitutional and therefore did not have a chance to pass in CASI. However, it was interesting to note that the Commission Presidents on CASI favoured a more thorough discussion of the motion, outside of CASI, and obviously in the FAI Statutes Committee. The idea to devolve the Sporting Code rule making rights entirely to the Commissions seems to have taken on.

COMMISSION PRESIDENTS GROUP

No Environmental Codes of Conduct were ready or presented. This seems to be (wrongly) a low priority issue with the Commissions

Implementation procedures for Transfer of Rights Agreements and Advertising Rules The President presented his ideas regarding the procedures. He seemed to favour a procedure where, if the Commission and the event organiser have negotiated no contract, the latter automatically retains all the rights. I was surprised to learn this as the rules clearly indicate the contrary. The FAI Officers will further study the matter. But in the mean time, the Commissions were invited to start negotiations with all potential event organisers.

It was agreed that in the future Commissions will be charged for FAI medals and diplomas for their sanctioned events. This is actually of little concern to the CIA but seems to be a big problem for CIAM (Aeromodels) who need several thousands a year. The total FAI budget for medals is around 40,000 US$.

The FAI President presented his proposal for the future Promotion of Air Sports (TV and PR). Under this plan, the Commissions would have to contribute financially to the production of a promotion feature, and in return get a part of the revenues generated by the TV rights. This is still a plan and it will need thorough consideration and discussion by the CIA.


BALTIC CUP '98

Results of the Premier Sporting Event which took place in Sigulda, Latvia , May 1998
.PILOTNATIONALITYPOINTS
1Csaba MOLNARHungary7973
2Jerzy CZERNIAWSKIPoland6090
3Jolanta MATEJCZUKPoland5430
4Valerij MACHNORILOVLithuania4813
5Gunars DUKSTELatvia4473
6Romanas MIKELEVICHIUSLithuania4292
7Sandis KALEJSLatvia4202

A NEW FUTURE FOR FEDERATION AERONAUTIQUE INTERNATIONALE

FAI News Release

The Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI), the world governing body for all kinds of sporting aviation and air and space records, is to move to a new headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland, in a few month's time. The FAI Council, meeting in Paris, selected Lausanne from a strong list of bidders, including Geneva, Monaco and Vienna.

FAI President Eilif Ness of Norway, commenting on the decision, explained that there were several reasons for the decision to move to Lausanne:

The forthcoming move forms part of FAI's strategic Business Plan, also adopted by the FAI Council, which aims to position FAI for the new millennium as a modern, business-like federation, well placed to serve the needs of its members and in the mainstream of the world sporting movement.

Details of the precise date of the move and of FAI's new contact address will be released later in the year.


CIA ANNUAL CONFERENCE 1999

In view of the change of location of the FAI, the 1999 CIA Annual Conference will now take place in Lausanne (3rd to 6th March 1999), but detailed arrangements and information about hotels will not be available until the Autumn Newsletter.

CIA HALL OF FAME

Anthony Smith (United Kingdom) named to CIA Hall of Fame.

Anthony Smith will be inducted into the Hall of Fame during the annual Corn Palace Balloon Rally on 20 - 21 June 1998.

Vincent Lunardi (Italy) named to CIA Hall of Fame.

Vincent Lunardi will be posthumously inducted into the Hall of Fame during the annual Corn Palace Balloon Rally on 20 - 21 June 1998.


THE CIA EVENT DIRECTORS LIST

The CIA has approved the setting up of an official CIA EVENT DIRECTORS LIST for use by the organisers of international balloon events. The idea was discussed in the Scoring Working Group of the CIA Rules Subcommittee, and their recommendations were submitted to the CIA Plenary Meeting in March 1998.

The list has two objectives:

The use of the list by event organisers will not be mandatory, nor is it mandatory for Event Directors to have their name on the list. The list is simply to provide important and beneficial information for event organisers.

All CIA officials are invited to introduce the list in their countries so that event organisers can contact potential Event Directors for their events.

All CIA officials are also asked to encourage potential Event Directors in their countries to send in a resume of their qualifications and experience so that they may be included on the list, provided they meet the minimum standards, which initially are:

A senior official in this context is Event Director Chief Scorer or Safety Officer.

To be included in the list potential Event Directors should send their details (name, nationality, address, telephone and fax numbers, email address plus resume of experience) to either:

or: The names of all applicants who meet the criteria will be included on the CIA EVENT DIRECTORS LIST which will be published by the CIA and be made available on the FAI/CIA web site.

PUBLICATION OF AVERAGE SCORE

by Mathijs R. de Bruijn, FAI/CIA Scoring Working Group Member

One of the items discussed in the FAI/CIA Scoring Working Group was the publication of the average score of pilots during a competition. Usually only the total score and individual task scores are published. Although it is very clear who is winning, it is difficult to see how the winning competitor's performance compares with other performances in other competitions. Also for the general public and media the total score is just a figure and difficult to interpret. Furthermore countries making ranking systems based on scores also have difficulties dealing with the total score as input in the ranking system.

The following proposal is trying to solve some of these shortcomings. It is therefore suggested that additional to the present publication method the average score be published using the following formula

CPP = Competitors Average - Overall Competition Average + 500

CPP (Correct Pilot Performance)

During a competition generally the total average lies somewhere between 500 and 600 because of several factors. Mainly formula three but also other factors sometimes boost the competition average to well above 500 making it more difficult to compare one competition with another. Therefore this correction factor is applied. We realise that not all differences are mathematical correctly adjusted, but still a good workable result is reached with a simple method. The Scoring WG therefore suggest that organisers, directors and scorers start publishing their scores from now on in this format. We suggest a publication format like:

Rank Competitor Country CPP Total Task1 Task2 Task3 aso....
1 104 BAREFORD, David .U. Kingdom 819 18057 997 996 904 683
2 92 BALKEDAL, Janne Sweden 769 16992 806 500 941 692
3 1 HEARTSILL, Joe U.S.A. 756 16730 856 473 828 500

A more detailed information on this subject can be seen on my home page:

http://home.t-online.de/home/mathijs.db/homepage.htm
We would like to emphasise that this is not a new scoring formula, but only a different presentation of the present scoring system.

CIA BADGE PROCEDURES

by Norma

The qualifications and requirements for CIA Sporting Badges are detailed in the FAI Sporting Code Section 1. Silver and Gold badges are awarded for different levels of the four aspects of balloon flying - Altitude, Distance, Duration and Precision. Diamond Awards can be added to Gold Badges for higher levels of attainment for Altitude, Distance and Duration flights.

Each NAC or Balloon Federation monitors individual achievements and makes the standard FAI application form available to it's members. Each application, accompanied by the appropriate fee, is submitted by the candidate to the FAI Secretariat who in turn will pass it to the CIA for verification and certification.

The CIA Records Review Sub-Committee after reviewing each application keep a register of successful applications giving each an index number. The information is passed to the CIA PR & Development Sub-Committee who make the necessary arrangements for the design, procurement and delivery of the badges to the NACs concerned.

Currently eight Gold Badges have been awarded, four of them with 3 Diamonds, two with 2 Diamonds and one with 1 Diamond. Additionally five Silver Badges have been awarded.


INTERNATIONAL OBSERVER REGISTRATION SCHEME

by Ron Wiseman, Observer Subcommittee Chairman

Announcing a new opportunity for the more experienced observers in your nation !!

They can attain the status of a “Registered Observer” -- and become listed in the Registry of International Observers.

The purpose of the International Observer Registration program is to develop a Registry of International Observers for class AX. Those observers who qualify to be listed in the Registry will be known to have a higher level of proficiency in observing and exhibit the positive aspects of observer traits and behaviours. This Registry can be used by organisers of CIA First Category Sporting Events as a prime source for selecting excellent observers to staff the event. Also organisers of any CIA Premier Sporting Event may wish to access this Registry for their event.

The program consists of two criteria that must be completed successfully by an observer to qualify for registration: a subjective assessment and an objective assessment. The subjective assessment is a positive recommendation from the Chief Observer in the nation where the observer lives. The objective assessment is a demonstration of a higher level of proficiency in observing by successfully completing an open book proficiency evaluation or by providing a record of successful observing in First Category events and major regional / national or international events over the last four years.

The process is started by the observer who completes the 'Application Form' and forwards it to the Chief Observer for a recommendation with all the necessary paperwork. The Chief Observer will complete the recommendation and forward the application packet to the Registrar for consideration. After successful registration, the observer is notified of the “Registered Observer” status and is allowed to include the initials, R.O. , after his or her name to indicate this special status.

The registration is valid for a period of 3-4 years before it expires (all expirations are on December 31 in the third year after registration). When the registration period expires, the observer may choose to renew the registration for another term by requesting a new recommendation from the Chief Observer.

During the period that an observer is registered if there is circumstances or behaviour involving the observer that is considered unacceptable, it may cause the observer's status to be revoked. Feedback from any senior scoring official of an event will start a review process that has been set up to handle this type of situation.

The International Observer Registration program, developed by the Observer Subcommittee over a two year period of time, received approval from the CIA delegates in Plenary Session at the March meeting in Venice, Italy. It is administered by a Registrar under the auspices of the CIA Observer Subcommittee.

There are three documents that cover this program: the 'Handbook' which explains the program fully, the 'Application Form' to be used for making application, and the 'Proficiency Evaluation' which is the recommended way to demonstrate a proficiency in observing. The most current version of the these documents are available on the internet at the CIA web-site: . Advise any interested observer to obtain the documents from there if they have access to the internet. If they don't have access, have the observer contact the Chief Observer. A set of printed documents was sent in early May to each Chief Observer (or CIA delegate) of the 51 nations that are currently members of the CIA.

One of the positive features built into this program is the ability it gives each Chief Observer to have control over the registration process for observers from their nation and apply their nation's standards and priorities to the process. While the program is international in scope and administered by a Registrar, the Chief Observer needs to provide the recommendation for the observer before he or she can be considered for registration. The Chief Observer of the nation is very important to this program because they are in control of the recommendation process. In this way they can play an important role in maintaining quality in the pool of registered international observers from their nation.

Normally the Chief Observer of the nation makes the recommendation and forwards the application to the Registrar; however if there is no currently appointed Chief Observer (or the applicant is the Chief Observer), then the CIA Delegate shall act in place of the Chief Observer for handling these duties. It is requested that if the CIA Delegate has little or no involvement in competitive ballooning in the nation, the delegate consult with a leader in the competitive ballooning community prior to making the appropriate recommendations.

The Registrar appointed to administer the International Observer Registration program is:

If you have any questions, or want something explained after reading the documents, please e-mail, fax, or write Ron Wiseman. He will be very willing to help you or answer your questions. It is a new program. It has been well developed, but if there are any errors or problems, they will be reviewed and corrected as necessary.

There is a place for this type of program for the more experienced and travelled observers of your nation. Some nations have already responded with plans they are considering to incorporate the obtaining of a 'Registered Observer' status as the highest level in their nation's observer program. In addition , there has been a request to expand this program to make provision to incorporate the BX class of observers too.


WHO'S WHO IN THE CIA FOR 1998/1999

The many changes from 1997/1998 are shown in italics italics

CIA President Jean-Claude Weber (LUX)
CIA 1st Vice President Marcus Haggeney (GER)
CIA 2nd Vice President Mathijs de Bruijn (NED)
CIA 3rd Vice President Hans Akerstedt (SWE)
CIA Secretary Neil Robertson (GBR)
. .
Record Review Subcommittee Chairman Karl Stefan (USA)
. .
Observer Subcommittee Chairman Ron Wiseman (USA)
. .
PR & Development Subcommittee Chairman Darryl Stuart (AUS)
- Event Planning Advisory Service Stella Roux Devillas
- Logo & Products Working Group Becky Pope (USA)
-LTA Education Working Group Marcus Haggeney (GER)
- World Air Games Working Group Neil Robertson (GBR)
. .
Rules Subcommittee Chairman Les Purfield (GBR)
- AX Working Group Les Purfield (GBR)
- AA/AM Working Group Mark Sullivan (USA)
- BX Working Group Neil Robertson (GBR)
- Statutes, By-Laws & Sporting Code WG Don Cameron (GBR)
-Scoring Working Group Masashi Kakuda (JPN)
. .
Safety Subcommittee Chairman Bengt Stener (SWE)
. .
Jury Board Chairman Hans Akerstedt (SWE)


COMMUNICATION, AIRSPORTSMEN AND THE INTERNET

by Alex Nagorski, FAI Internet Working Group

Communications: the exchange of thoughts, ideas and messages by speech , signals, writing.

Considering the global nature of Airsports and the Internet, a partnership is a natural way of reaching individuals and organisations. In the last three years the FAI, most commissions, many of the aeroclubs and individual airsportsmen have adopted the Internet as an effective tool for ongoing communications, distributing information and documents, and publishing event articles and results in a timely manner. No longer do we have to wait for FAI mailings, magazines or newsletters to get information.

For those using e-mail for bureau, and committee work, they can accomplish much throughout the year rather than a flurry of activity before or after annual meetings. The people keep in touch regularly, reach out to others using e-mail and the resulting improved communications fosters more co-operation, friendships and new ideas. If one looks at the annual meetings of any airsport or aeroclub, there are a number of people who seem to be the driving forces within the groups, to solve problems and move the organisations ahead. They are visible and often the spokespeople at meetings. Recognising the ease of use of the electronic mail and the benefits of ongoing open communications lines, these same movers and shakers are now operating very successfully on the Internet.

A recent survey of the CIA directory by Secretary Neil Robertson, produced the following results:

. Total Email Percentage
National Aero Clubs 77 33 43%
Balloon Federations 35 17 49%
CIA Delegates 49 23 47%
CIA Alternate Delegates 37 19 51%
All other entries 76 40 53%
TOTALS 274 132 48%

The usage numbers continue to move upwards but of concern are the people that are getting left behind. Are they not interested? Can they get personal access to the Internet? Unfortunately, those not “wired in” miss an ever increasing amount of activity. Some may be fortunate to catch up at the annual meetings while others wonder what happened?

With almost half of the people listed above accessible by e-mail it is time the others, especially the CIA Delegates, got access to e-mail personally or through someone else so they could be part of the activity. Some of the benefits of Internet access and e-mail are:

As Eilif Ness, the FAI President, said in his January Airsport magazine article, “FAI is undergoing great changes. One such change is our information system. The advent of the Internet and the establishment of the FAI Web Pages have opened new possibilities of a magnitude that we can only fantasise about. True, there are many people without access to Internet, but they are about to be outnumbered by those who have."

It is important to remember that for Delegates and committee members, the CIA activity is not a week long job in March, but rather a year long commitment to channel information and communications between you, the country you represent and the international community. What better way then to use the Internet as a tool!!

Wanted:
If the balloon federation in your country has an official Web page, can you please send the address to Alex Nagorski (alex.nagorski@ualberta.ca) so it can be linked to the CIA Web page?

How to use the CIA Web Home Pages.

If you have any suggestions, or find problems please contact alex.nagorski@ualberta.ca

SCHEDULE OF FORTHCOMING FAI/CIA
SANCTIONED EVENTS

1998

1999

2000

2001


1997 PLENARY MEETING

The full minutes of the 1998 Plenary meeting were distributed in April to CIA Officers, Delegates, Chairpersons of Subcommittees and and Working Groups. The minutes (without appendices) can also be found on the FAI Web pages.

The Plenary Meeting was attended by 25 voting Delegates + 3 voting Alternates + 1 Proxy = 29 votes, 11 other Alternates and 32 Observers.

For those who do not have easy access to the minutes, here are some of the highlights not covered elsewhere in this newsletter.

Past President Jacques Soukup was appointed a CIA President of Honour

The following Jury Board recommendations were accepted

The Observer Subcommittees proposed Observer Registration Scheme should go ahead on a trail basis

The Rules Subcommittee proposal to 'not accept any Sporting Code changes that have not been passed through the proper channels for presentation to the Plenary' was approved.

The FAI announced the formation of a new discipline - Simulated Flying. Any persons interested should contact Masashi Kakuda and the CIA Point of Contact for the FAI Simulated Flying Group.

A motion from Don Cameron 'That it be CIA Policy that the Sporting Code governing ballooning be under the responsibility of the CIA' was approved. The effect of this motion would be that Section 1 would take precedence in the event of conflict with any other part of the Sporting Code, and would have to be approved by the FAI to become effective.

The following motions from Jean-Claude Weber were approved:


CIA DELEGATES FOR 1998/1999

Please remember that the names of CIA Delegates and Alternate Delegates for 1998/1999 have to be approved by the FAI General Conference in October 1998. Names have to be submitted by NATIONAL AEROCLUBS to the FAI Secretary General by 15th August at the latest.

It is the responsibility of each individual country to make sure this is done if you wish to be represented at the CIA next year.


CIA OFFICIAL DOCUMENTS

as at April 1998

NAME OF DOCUMENTVERSIONEFFECTIVE
DATE
A. FAI POLICY - MANDATORY
FAI Statutes 98 edition October 1988
FAI By-Laws 98 edition
Sporting Code, General Section 96 edition + amendments January 1998
Sporting Code, Section 1 1/98 January 1998
B. CIA POLICY - MANDATORY
Internal Regulations 1/95 March 1997
AA Model Event Rules - Free Gas Balloons 3/98 March 1998
- Coupe Gordon Bennett 1/93 October 1993
AM Model Event Rules - Rozier Balloons 3/96 March 1996
AX Model Event Rules - Category One Events 2/98 April 1998
- Premier Sporting Events 5/98 April 1998
- Match Flying Events 1/97 (draft) August 1997
BX Model Event Rules - Hot Air Airships 12/98 April 1998
Jury Members Handbook
(including Application Form)
5/96 June 1996
Category 1 Event Sanction 5/96 March 1996
Premier Sporting Event Sanction 5/96 March 1996
Premier Fiesta Meeting Event Sanction 5/96 March 1996
C. CIA ADVISORY - RECOMMENDED
Uniform Observer Handbook 3/95 March 1995
Safety Officer Handbook 1/98 March 1998
Competitions Operation Handbook V.2/1 (draft) Feb 1997
Event Sanctions Introduction 5/96 March 1996
D. CIA INFORMATION - INFORMAL
Observers Glossary 2/95 March 1995
CIA Policy Manual 5/98 March 1998
Calculation of corrected Absolute Altitude 2 Dec 1997
CIA Directory (MS Access 2.0) 1998/1999 April 1998
Safe Handling of Propane 1/96 March 1996
Hot Air Airship Events
- Notes for Scoring Officials
1/96 March 1996
International Observer Registration
- Handbook
10/97 March 1998
International Observer Registration
- Proficiency Evaluation
10/97 March 1998
International Observer Registration
- Application Form
10/97 March 1998
CIA Newsletter . Spring & Winter
CIA Jury Board Newsletter. Yearly
E. OTHER CIA DOCUMENTS
CIA Plenary Meeting Minutes 1998 meeting .

All the above documents are available on disk from the CIA Secretary or the FAI in Paris, or on the FAI Web Pages - http://www.fai.org where various down-loading options are offered.


CIA ADMINISTRATION ACCOUNT

for the year to 31st December 1997, in Swiss Francs

INCOMESFEXPENDITURESF
BALANCE B/F 1.1.97 30724 . .
DONATIONS 1772 OFFICERS EXPENSES 3522
SANCTION FEES18552 SUNDRIES 6489
SALE OF TIES 45 PURCHASE OF TIES 4981
WAG MANAGEMENT FEES 11569 PURCHASE OF BADGES 1015
SALE OF BADGES 1038 PURCHASE OF PATCHES 4802
PROTEST FEES 243 BALANCE C/F 31.12.97 43154
TOTAL 63943 TOTAL 63943

for the period 1st January 1998 to 19th May 1998, in Swiss Francs

INCOMESFEXPENDITURESF
BALANCE B/F 1.1. 98 43154 CIA DIRECTORY 2166
DONATIONS 1120 . .
SANCTION FEES 7302 OFFICERS EXPENSES 2368
SALE OF TIES 922 . .
SILVER BADGE 150 BALANCE C/F 19.5.98 48114
TOTAL 52648 TOTAL 52648

TABLE OF DONATIONS

PILOTSDONATION (US$)
1 - 2550
26 - 50100
51 - 200200
201 - 500300
501 - 1000400
1000+500

PAYMENTS TO FAI/CIA

All payments up to US $500 in value, and this inlcudes all Donations, can be paid to the FAI/CIA Account by Credit Card using the form below. All payments over US $500, and ALL Sanction Fees should be paid by Bank Wire Transfer with the following remarks:

FORM FOR USE WHEN MAKING PAYMENTS TO FAI/CIA BY CREDIT CARDS

To: Federation Aeronautique Internationale
93 boulevard du Montparnasse, 75006 PARIS, France

We hereby authorise you to debit our credit card as follows:

NUMBER _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

EXPIRY _ _ _ _

TYPE OF CARD ____________________________________________

SUM TO BE DEBITED _____________________________________

REASON FOR PAYMENT ___________________________________

NAME ON CARD ___________________________________________

SIGNATURE _____________________ DATE _________________


2nd WORLD AIR GAMES 2001

FAI News Release

ANDALUCIA TO HOST SECOND WORLD AIR GAMES IN JUNE 2001

After a tense and closely-fought, but good-humoured contest between three well-qualified bidders, the 2001 World Air Games have been awarded to Spain by the Council of the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale, meeting recently in Paris.

The successful bid, put forward jointly by the Real Aero Club de Espana (RACE) and the Federacion Aeronautica Espanola (FAE), calls for the 2nd World Air Games to be held on 10 sites centred on Seville in Andalucia in June 2001.

None of the proposed sites is more than 3 hours drive from Seville, ensuring a cohesive, unified Games. The grand Opening Ceremony will be held in Seville, and the Closing Ceremony at the new motor racing circuit in Jerez de la Frontera.

The Andalucian Games will include:

There are also projects for various cultural and popular events within the framework of the Games. Extensive media coverage is planned, ensuring that TV stations around the world will have easy access to pictures, and that sponsors will therefore find it attractive to give support to the Games.

The budget for the event runs to several million dollars, only a small part of which will be covered by entry fees. Substantial financial and material support has been pledged by Spanish government authorities at national, regional and local level.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has been informed about the award of the Games to Spain, and FAI has pledged to work closely with the IOC to ensure that there is no clash of interests.

Spain promises outstanding weather, un-congested airspace, good infrastructure and a big welcome from friendly local people. It is already clear from the front page treatment given in the Spanish press and TV to the announcement of the Games that the event will have a big impact in Spain, giving a great boost to the air sport movement there.

The FAI is confident that Andalucia 2001 will anchor the World Air Games firmly in the regular international sporting calendar, alongside the Olympics and comparable large scale events.

Regular up-dates will be mailed to all subscribers. Further information on the World Air Games is available at the following website: http://www.fai.org/wag/


CONTRIBUTIONS WELCOME

The CIA Newsletter is published twice yearly by the CIA Secretary on behalf of the CIA Bureau. It is the only WRITTEN document to be distributed to ALL concerned with the CIA. It is open for the distribution of any suitable articles or material to everybody listed in the CIA Directory and contributions are welcome. The next edition will be mailed in November, and the deadline for submission is 31st October 1998

All information is believed to be correct at the time of publication, but no responsibility can be taken for any errors, omissions etc.