FÉDÉRATION AÉRONAUTIQUE INTERNATIONALE

FAI BALLOONING COMMISSION (CIA)

CIA NEWSLETTER
Spring 1999

Table of Contents

1. Congratulations Bertrand and Brian
2. Presidents Column
3. FAI Activities
4. Pilot Profiles
5. CIA Annual Conference 2000
6. 2nd World Air Games
7. International Observer Registration Program Update
8. CIA Administration Account
9. CIA Balloon and Airship Hall of Fame 1999 Inductees
10. 1999 Plenary Meeting
11. Who's Who in the CIA for 1999/2000
12. FAI members, CIA Delegates and Alternate Delegates - April 1999
13. List of Official CIA Documents - as at April 1999
14. Schedule of Forthcoming FAI/CIA Sanctioned Events
15. Contributions Welcome
16. FAI Balloon Commission - Pilot Profile Form

Congratulations Bertrand and Brian

4th May 1999

FAI has now ratified the following Class A (Free Balloons) records:

====================================================

ABSOLUTE RECORDS

Type of record: Distance - 40814 km
Type of record: Duration - 19 days 21 hours 47 minutes

Type of record: Shortest time around the World - 15 days 10 hours 24 min.

SUB-CLASS : AM (MIXED BALLOONS)
SIZE CATEGORY : AM-15 (VOLUME ABOVE 22'000 CUBIC METERS)
CATEGORY : GENERAL

Type of record: Distance - 40814 km
Type of record: Duration - 19 days 21 hours 47 minutes
Type of record: Shortest time around the World - 15 days 10 hours 24 min.
Type of record: Altitude - 11737 m

Pilots : Bertrand PICCARD (Switzerland) - Brian JONES (UK)
Balloon : Cameron Balloons R-650
Course : Chateau d'Oex (Switzerland) to near Dâkhla (Egypt)
Date : 1 - 21 March 1999

___________________________________

At the Olympic Museum in Lausanne, Switzerland, on 19th April 1999, Bertrand Piccard and Brian Jones were awarded the Olympic Order by International Olympic Commission President Samaranch

FAI Secretary General Max Bishop addressed the assembled guests:

Mr President, Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen,

We are here today to honour two great aviators, two outstanding sportsmen and two remarkable human beings. Bertrand Piccard, Brian Jones, we are all proud of you. We feel that we too have taken part in your adventure. We were with you in spirit when you soared up from your Alpine Valley in Château D'Oex, not far from here, when you tip-toed through the narrow Chinese Corridor, when you floundered over the Pacific and when you finally sped over the Sahara to touch down in your balloon, a symbol of late 20th century technology, in Egypt, the cradle of an ancient civilisation that fascinates you, and so many others. We all shared emotions with you: joy and fear, optimism and frustration, doubt, gratitude and the final elation that you described so eloquently. Your balloon, on its three-week voyage round our fragile planet, was a beacon of hope for all the world's peoples, and particularly for its children.

In your characteristically modest and unassuming way, you reminded us that hard work and perseverance pay - that not everything can be obtained instantaneously. You taught us that what some thought impossible could be achieved with patience, skill, courage and dedication. You showed us that, in this last year of a sometimes dark and turbulent century, incredible adventures are still possible, and that these strike a chord in the hearts of people around the world of all ages, inspiring us all to cast aside empty cynicism and set ourselves higher goals.

Your flight was an example of all that is best in the spirit of the Olympic movement, an ideal that we in the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) share. By drifting unobstructed over so many national frontiers you showed these to be insubstantial barriers, dividing people who in reality share common causes and aspirations. By competing with your fellow round-the-world balloon contenders in an open and friendly fashion, you demonstrated fair-play and respect for other competitors. By dedicating your flight to the world's children and establishing your charitable fund "Wings of Hope", you have shown that great sporting achievements should not be selfish acts, but dedicated to others.

This last great aeronautical exploit of the 20th century ranks with the greatest in the archives of the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale, which was founded in 1905 and which, by a happy coincidence, moved its headquarters from Paris to the Olympic Capital, Lausanne, just a few months ago.

Among the records that the FAI has had the honour of ratifying we find :

• Jean Blériot who, in 1909, crossed the Channel from Calais to Dover for the first time.
• In 1910 George Chavez made the first crossing of the Alps.
• In 1927 Charles Lindbergh succeeded in crossing the Atlantic, solo.

• In 1931 a certain Auguste Piccard achieved the absolute ballooning altitude record.

• Then, Chuck Yeager beat the sound barrier in 1947.
• Yuri Gagarin first flew in space in 1961 and Neil Armstrong walked on the moon in 1969.
• The first non-stop unrefuelled circumnavigation of the earth in an aeroplane was Dick Rutan's in 1986...
• And now we can add two new names to the FAI's scroll of honour , to our cavalcade of heroes - round-the-world balloonists Piccard and Jones.

But these are no ordinary heroes. Even in the company of the distinguished names I have mentioned, Bertrand Piccard and Brian Jones stand out for their humility and generosity of spirit, their ability to communicate their feelings to ordinary people, and their determination to help others. The men that you, Mr President, are honouring today, are not only great aviators and great athletes. More importantly they are distinguished ambassadors for our air sports and for the Olympic ideal. Most important of all they are excellent examples for the children of the world to look up to.

On behalf of all air sportsmen and women the world over, I salute you Bertrand Piccard and Brian Jones. This is an honour you richly deserve. We wish you well in the important work of education, encouragement and support of others that lies ahead of you.

REPORT FROM JEAN-CLAUDE WEBER, CIA PRESIDENT

In my capacity as the CIA President, I participated from March 25 to 29 in the FAI Council meetings in Lausanne.

I did not participate in the CASI meetings. During the Council meeting some interesting points were raised and below I will give the essence of the major issues.

As far as FAI membership is concerned, The following FAI members are suspended and may no longer participate in any FAI activity: Bulgaria, Honduras, Iran, PDR Korea, Lebanon, Philippines, Puerto Rico, Thailand, Tunisia, and Zimbabwe. The Virgin Islands NAC has now resigned.

The FAI Officers (Bureau) urged FAI Commissions to increase the number of women active in positions of responsibility in FAI, so as to move towards the IOC target of 20% by 2005.

On a recommendation from the FAI President, The Statutes Committee proposed, and the Council agreed to propose to the General Conference the following Statutes addition:

5.6.4. A detailed agenda shall be prepared…..and sent to all delegates…..at the same time as the notice convening the meeting. The Commission’s plenary meeting cannot make final decisions on items that do not appear on the agenda.

This is a rather radical new provision, although I tend to agree that it is unwise to make final decisions on any issue that the delegates had no or not sufficient time to study. This change also implies that our Subcommittees shall in future strictly stick to their agenda published with the plenary agenda. Any new issue not on the agenda will be sent back to the respective SC for another year. SC chairmen are therefore advised to carefully plan their respective agenda and to transmit all relevant material to the CIA President and Secretary in good time.

Ironically, in addition to the published agenda for this meeting, the FAI President, very much upset by the CIA’s decision not to participate in any CASI meetings, indicated that he was convinced that the CIA’s initiative violated the FAI Statutes. I strongly opposed this view, and no decisions were made in this respect.

Patricia Lamy, FAI PR expert, made a short presentation to Council on how future FAI PR efforts should be co-ordinated. She requests Commissions to encourage their respective media and PR experts to actively support the FAI efforts in this respect. Our Media Working Group and the WAG media expert have been advised that FAI is waiting for their input.

The WAG Co-ordination Committee (WAGCC) managing director, Srecko Medven, gave his report to Council. Everything seems to be on track and the WAGCC are confident that the schedules can be respected. The CIA’s WAG Liaison Officer, Neil Robertson, has good contacts with the Spanish organisers and the WAGCC, and we do not expect any major problems for the planned ballooning events. However, the RSC is reminded that the CIA needs a definite WAG SELECTION PROCESS, to be decided on in March 2000.

The planned activities of the FAI-Organiser Joint Venture (PR & Publicity for the WAG) are well underway, and the AX World Championship in Austria will be prominently featured in this production to be distributed worldwide by specialised TV distributors.

The Air Sport Commission Presidents Group met to discuss the FAI-Organiser Agreement, the eventual WAG uniform sanction-fee system, the proposed statutes modifications re. ASC agenda items, and the proposed CASI guidelines for organisers in the case of accidents at FAI events. This document, to be published shortly by the FAI Secretariat, is highly recommended reading for our Safety SC, EPAS and all event organisers.

The Council took note of the Lausanne Declaration on Doping in Sport adopted by the World Conference on Doping in Sport in February 1999 (document available from your NAC).

On behalf of the Royal Aero Club of the UK, David Cole proposed making provision for the reasonable expenses of members of International Tribunals to be met from FAI funds. This proposal, deemed quite reasonable but to no real affect for the CIA, was rejected by Council after CASI introduced a proposal to increase the FAI appeals fee to CHF 2,000. Only very few Council members voted with me against this proposal which will very probably drastically reduce the numbers of appeal to the FAI. The original UK proposal did not seek to reduce the numbers of appeals (and the cost and workload for the FAI), but simply tried to make sure that in future tribunals no member would be absent for economic reasons. This was, in my view, not properly understood by CASI, and we certainly share the blame for this decision because the CIA had no representative at this CASI meeting.

However, the consequences for the CIA will be minimal, because in a private meeting with the CASI President, it was agreed that exclusively CIA Bureau members or delegates would handle future appeals concerning ballooning matters.

The next meeting of the CIA Council will be an extra one taking place during the General Conference in Limassol in October.

International Observer Registration
Program Update
by Ron Wiseman

At the present time, there are 70 observers who have attained the status of a "Registered Observer" -- and are currently listed in good standing in the Registry of International Observers. In addition, six observers have their application on hold while they complete the qualification process; and another observer is in the process of submitting his application. The 70 registrants represent the 18 countries of Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, Ukraine, United Kingdom, and United States.

This Registry may 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 choose to access this Registry for their event. The observers listed in the Registry are known to have a higher level of proficiency in observing and exhibit the positive aspects of observer traits and behaviours.

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.

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 these documents is available on the internet at the CIA web-site: <http://www.fai.org/ballooning>. 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 of the country.

More information can be obtained from the Registrar of the International Observer Registration program:

LIVING

Mr. Alfred ECKERT

Alfred Eckert has been a prominent German gas balloonist since 1953 and is known for his colourful personality and his high quality collection of ballooning antiques and memorabilia as well as for his flying exploits.

Born in 1916, Mr. Eckert spent his earlier years as a painter, photographer, publisher and graphic designer in Augsburg, Germany. He made his first balloon flight in May of 1953 and earned his gas balloon license in May of 1955 (he got his hot air balloon license in 1983).

He earned the German Free Balloon Golden Achievement Medal no. 11 in 1957 and the FAI Montgolfier Diploma for the year 1959.

Some remarkable flights of his were:

• 1959: Landed on a glacier and was rescued by aircraft.
• 1960: Crossed the English Channel from Lydd, UK to Brágge, Belgium in 4 hours, 15 minutes.
• 1990: Made his 1000^th gas balloon flight on October 27, 1990. Total of 3590 hours & 55,198 km.
• 1998: Made his 1020^th gas balloon flight together with Jojo Maes (1213) and Helma Sjuts (1118).

Mr. Eckert also created the famous Balloon Museum in Gersthofen, Germany (just north of Augsburg and close to the club launch site). The majority of the exhibits are from his personal collection. The museum opened in 1986.

As an author, Mr. Eckert has written six books on ballooning and has been the publisher and editor of the bi-monthly magazine "Der Freiballon" since 1976. His books are:

• Am Himmel Ohne Motor (To the Heavens Without Engine), 1975
• Ballon Museum Gersthofen, 1985
• Im Blauen Wind (In the Blue Wind), 1987
• Im Ballon, 1987
• 1000 mal voll Gas am Himmel (1000 Times To Heaven Full Of Gas), 1990
• Mit dem Malblock um die Welt (Around the World With Paint-box), Exhibition catalogue 1991

Charles Green was born in London, UK on January 31, 1785. He came to ballooning in an unusual way. While experimenting with a device he had built for making gas to light his house, Mr. Green discovered that the final stages of the process created almost pure hydrogen gas, which he tested in small toy balloons.

He made his first ascent on July 19, 1821 from St. James Park in the George IV, Royal Coronation Balloon which was filled with coal gas, the first time such a gas had been used in manned ballooning. Though coal gas had less lifting power than hydrogen, is was much cheaper and also readily available in every major city.

He became a professional balloonist and had made 200 ascents by 1835, including many night ascents with fireworks attached to the bottom of his car. He returned to serious aeronautics in 1836 with a thrilling flight from England to Germany in the Royal Vauxhall Balloon (later renamed the Nausau). This flight introduced the idea of flying all night as well as the invention of the trail rope to act as ballast and to facilitate landing.

By the time Mr. Green retired in 1852 he had logged more than 500 flights. He died from heart failure at the age of eighty-five on March 26, 1870.

WHO’S WHO IN THE CIA FOR 1999/2000

The changes from 1998/99 are shown in italics

Note new status for EPAS and World Air Games WG, and new Working Groups for PR & Development SC and EPAS

CIA DELEGATES FOR 1999/2000

Please remember that the names of CIA Delegates and Alternate Delegates for 1999/2000 have to be approved by the FAI General Conference in October 1999. Names have to be submitted by NATIONAL AERO CLUBS 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.

1999

• 14th World Hot Air Balloon Championship, Bad Waltersdorf, Austria, 28 August - 5 September 1999 (Category 1)
• 43rd Coupe Gordon Bennett, Albuquerque, USA, 30 September - 9 October 1999 (Category 1)
• 7th Coupe d’Europe and 10th World Ladies Cup, Mainfonds, France, 29 July - 1 August 1999 (Category 1)
• Mobilux Trophy ‘99 & World Honda Grand Prix, Bourscheid, Luxembourg, 4 - 8 August 1999 (Category 1)
• Sendai Hot Air Balloon International Championship, Sendai, Japan, 19 - 25 October 1999 (Category 1)
• 8th Akwawit Balloon Cup, Leszno, Poland, 15 - 19 September 1999 (Premier Sporting)
• The Cup of Prominent Russian Aeronauts, Velikie Luki, Russia, 5 - 12 June 1999 (Premier Sporting)
• 5th Years Balonmanie Praha, Prague, Czech Republic, 16 - 19 June 1999 (Premier Fiesta)
• 4th Petrogaz Olympus Trophy, Mount Olympus, Greece, 18 - 22 September 1999 (Premier Fiesta)

2000

• 7th World Hot Air Airship Championship, Schielleiten, Austria, 1 - 10 September 2000 (Category 1)
• 12th European Hot Air Balloon Championship, Luxembourg, 2 - 12 August 2000 (Category 1)

2001

• 2nd World Air Games, Seville, Spain, June 2001 (Category 1)

2002

• 15th World Hot Air Balloon Championship, Chatellerault, France, August 2002 (Category 1)

PILOT PROFILE                                                          AS AT ____________________ DATE

1. PERSONAL DATA

First name _____________________ Last name _______________________ Sex ____________

Date of birth ___________________ Country of birth __________________________________

Country of citizenship ______________________ City of residence ________________________

Education _______________________________ Profession ______________________________

Married: yes/no _______ Children: number/ages _______________________________________

2. SPORTING CAREER

Number of years in ballooning ____________ Flight hours (ballooning) _______________

Aerostat normally flown (make, size) _________________________________________________

Sponsor (if any) __________________________________________________________________

Championship results in the last 3 years _______________________________________________

I expect to participation in the following national/international events in 1999, 2000 & 2001:

_______________________________________________________________________________

3. PERSONAL STATEMENT

Please answer the following questions (on a separate sheet) and add any other personal information you consider relevant.

a) Please explain what ballooning means to you (maximum 3 sentences)

b) Why you want to participate in the World Air Games (maximum 3 sentences)

Signed ________________________________ Name (print) _____________________________

Email address ___________________________________________________________________

Please include a photograph of your self when returning this form. A head and shoulders shot suitable for media use.

Return to : Kirk Thomas, CIA Media Expert, Bewley Court, Lacock, Chippenham SN15 2PG, England

Fax: +44 1249 730074, Email: Kirk.Thomas@pobox.com

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