FÉDÉRATION AÉRONAUTIQUE INTERNATIONALE FAI BALLOONING COMMISSION (CIA) Newsletter  Spring 2000

Table of Contents

1. Presidents Column
2. 2nd World Air Games 2001
3. Rules for Volume Calculation in FAI Sporting Code
4. CIA Annual Conference 2001
5. CIA Balloon and Airship Hall of Fame - 2000 Inductees
6. CIA Directory 2000
7. CIA Administration Account
8. Analysis of Expenses
9. Payments to the CIA
10. 2000 Plenary Meeting
11. Who's Who in the CIA for 2000/2001
12. List of Official CIA Documents - as at April 2000
13. FAI Members, CIA Delegates and Alternate Delegates - April 2000
14. CIA Delegates for 2000/2001
15. Schedule of Forthcoming FAI/CIA Sanctioned Events
16. Contributions Welcome

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PRESIDENT’S COLUMN

By Jean-Claude Weber, CIA President

Good morning FAI

Just back from the FAI Council meeting, I think it is appropriate to use this column to give you the latest news from FAI.

For the first time since taking part in FAI meetings (mind you, that’s 25 years), I experienced something like collective concern, not to say apprehension. What has happened? Many of us, delegates, FAI Vice-Presidents and FAI Officers had that strange feeling that something important might happen at this meeting.

The meeting started quietly enough at the usual pace, and the same routine seemed to set in until the Secretary General announced that he would present a somewhat different and unorthodox report this time. And his report and address* definitely did not disappoint those listening. It is a lengthy report and I will quote his closing words only, because I feel that they are all important and also that the CIA has something to learn here:

“ Ladies and Gentlemen, the time has come finally to decide on the future direction of the FAI. We must take our responsibilities seriously and take steps to ensure that the structure of FAI’s decision-making and management is reformed in such a way that the Secretariat is capable of handling the important work that lies ahead. Many of the decisions you will take today and tomorrow will give an indication of the way in which you want FAI to develop.

You must decide whether you wish FAI to continue as a congenial international club of like-minded people meeting occasionally in pleasant locations to exchange views, and paying taxes (often late) to maintain a minimum level of basic secretariat support services. Or do you wish FAI to be a business-like, and business-oriented organization, willingly taking up the competitive challenges of our (sometimes harsh) modern world, and pursuing ambitious, commercially viable projects, led by professional business people who are used to setting and achieving goals and who can be held personally responsible for their performance?

Either choice has its attractions. But choose you must. Because we can no longer continue conducting major projects like the World Air Games or the Great Balloon Race with the ethos, expertise and resources of a small town Rotary Club - and apparently sometimes without the whole-hearted and committed support of the majority of members.

If your ambition for the FAI is limited to preserving a glorious historical tradition and running a small office, then I think that I, for one, would prefer to revert to my original FAI role of national delegate, enjoying the privileges without the frustrations. I have no wish to continue working for an organization that combines professional ambitions with an amateurish way of doing business.

My report this year has been rather unorthodox, and you may feel critical. But I make no apology for that. I think you will appreciate that we have reached an important cross-roads. We should not continue stumbling blindly. We should take a look around us, study the map, check the compass, and then set off resolute, determined and united down one route or another. On your wise decision-making depends the future survival and good health of the FAI . There are more than the usual number of important issues on your agenda today. I very much hope that you will weigh carefully what I have said and make the right decisions.”

Now, if you think that this report was enough to shake the VPs out of their lethargy then you are wrong. It needed another very courageous report to do that, and it came from Larry Sanderson (US), Chairman of the FAI Business Development Committee. He took his frustration a little further and resigned on the spot from his chair, but not without having presented the FAI Council with a motion that would, if adopted, definitely change the structure of the FAI. And, surprise, the motion below was adopted without any major dissenting views voiced (or at least not out loud):

FAI COUNCIL RESOLUTION 26 MAY 2000

• Council requests the President, in consultation with the Secretary General, to appoint a working group with responsibility to develop recommendations for structuring FAI to meet the competitive challenges of today’s economy.

• The committee is charged with evaluating the reports of the Business Development Committee and the Secretary General.

• The committee is to prepare specific proposals for structural changes and the required statute and bylaws changes that will be necessary to ensure FAI’s long term success.

As I wrote this, a mail from the FAI President with the following message popped up on my screen:

WORKING GROUP FOR FAI RESTRUCTURING RECOMMENDATIONS

At its meeting in Lausanne on 25/26 May 2000, the FAI Council requested that the FAI President establish a working group to address the questions of FAI’s future organisation structure. The mandate (attached as Annex 1) refers to three independent reports concerning FAI’s organisation structure that were presented to Council on the 25^th of May.

The working group shall present its recommendations to the General Conference in Linköping, Sweden, 24^th - 30^th September, 2000. The group’s core recommendations and proposed Statutes changes must be included in the General Conference agenda. Agenda distribution time limits create a practical deadline for the group’s work to July 20, 2000.

The President has reviewed the qualifications, experience and availability of the persons suggested for participation in the working group and has appointed seven working group members. In order to achieve maximum efficiency, a core group of three persons will be responsible for the conceptual work, with an additional group of five persons to provide input and serve as reference group. The appointed working group is:

Core group:

Wolfgang Weinreich,	FAI 1st Vice President
Alvaro de Orleans Borbon,	Vice President for Spain
Larry Sanderson,	President, FAI Business Development Committee

Reference group:

Robert Clipsham,	Vice President for Canada, Finance Committee member
Hideo Hirosawa,	Vice President for Japan, Finance Committee member
Ulf Abrahamsson,	Vice President for Sweden
Olivier Burghelle,	President, Hang- and Paragliding Commission
B.J. Worth ,	President, Parachuting Commission

The group will work under the guidance of the FAI President and in consultation with the Secretary General, and will be supported by the resources of the FAI Secretariat in terms of communication and publication.

If I have chosen to dedicate so much space to this topic, it is because I strongly believe that the FAI is about to change for the best and that you, because you are an important part of it, should know about it and take an active role in it. What will come out of all this remains to be seen, but the CIA and all other air sports must make sure that this important initiative, sent on the road by the FAI Council, does not get bogged down in the unfathomable ways of our  NACs who will have the final word at the next FAI General Conference. So, please get in contact asap with your NACs and your FAI Vice-Presidents, and make sure that they get the right message from all of us. We have much to win and nothing to loose.

I am aware and sorry that because of these important developments in the FAI, many other CIA topics have to be left untouched today and here. I will however try to inform you as soon as possible through our mailing lists.

In the mean time, all the best and a successful season.

JC Weber, President.

* Should you wish to have a transcript of the Secretary General’s report to the FAI Council, drop me a line at jcweber@pt.lu or ask your NAC’s FAI Vice-President.

CIA BALLOON AND AIRSHIP HALL OF FAME
2000 INDUCTEES

LIVING

Mr. Karl STEFAN, USA

Born July 28^th 1916 in Omaha, NB. Officer, pilot, engineer and balloon pilot and LTA engineer.

Officer in U.S. Navy from 1935. Graduated U.S. Naval Academy 1940. Pilot (aeroplanes and helicopters). Master degree (Aero-Engineering) University of Minnesota 1945. Research and Development Administrator U.S. Navy. Retired 1960.

LTA engineer for the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR). Research Engineer for “The Balloon Works”, “The Tyler Airship Company” and “The ILC-Dover projects“.

Karl Stefan made his first gas balloon flight 1956 and his first hot air balloon flight 1961.

On 9^th June 1971, Karl Stefan set a new World Altitude record in class AX8 with 9,506 meters (31,189 ft). His research before that flight was made available to fellow aeronauts in a report, “Performance Theory For Hot Air Balloons”, published in ballooning magazines and LTA-symposiums. He also helped other pilots set altitude records, both in gas and hot air balloons.

From 1979 Karl Stefan was the US delegate to the FAI International Ballooning Commission, CIA. He was Vice President from 1981 to 1983 and for many years also member of a number of sub-committees. He has been the chairman of the CIA Records Review Subcommittee since 1989.

For a record period of 10 years, from 1984 to 1994, Karl Stefan was the President of the CIA. During this time he was a very active, able and popular president. He initiated the present structure of the CIA with several subcommittees doing the work under his leadership between the annual plenary meetings. He also initiated the CIA Newsletter through which important information was circulated to aeronauts around the World.

Karl Stefan was awarded the Montgolfier Diploma for the year 1971.

POSTHUMOUS

ROBERT BROTHERS, FRANCE

Anne-Jean Robert, (aîné, the elder). 1758-1820.
Marie-Noël Robert, (cadet, the younger). 1760-1820.

The Robert brothers were skilled mechanical constructors. They helped professor Jacques Alexandre César Charles build the first usable hydrogen balloons. Charles knew about the work of Cavendish, Black and Cavallo, and realised that hydrogen would make a suitable lifting agent. The problem was to find a airtight and light gas container. The brothers had found a method to dissolve rubber in turpentine. This mixture was used to varnish the silk used to construct the envelopes of the balloons. (The silk was red and white but when rubberised, the white parts changed to light yellow.)

August 27, 1783 Professor Charles and the Robert brothers publicly demonstrated a 35 m³ hydrogen balloon - a rubberised silk sphere. This was the first free flight by a gas balloon. The balloon was launched from Champ de Mars, Paris. It quickly rose to high altitude and landed in Gonesse (15 km NE Paris) where scared villagers attacked the ”monster from space”.

December 1^st, 1783. The younger brother, Marie-Noël Robert, accompanied professor Charles on the first human flight in a gas balloon. The ”charlière” contained 380 m³ hydrogen and was launched from "Le jardin des Tuileries" in Paris at 13.45. They landed in Nesle-La-Vallée after a 2 hour 5 minute flight covering 36 km.

July 15^th, 1784. Both brothers together with Collin-Hullin and the Duke of Chartres made a flight in an elongated balloon, "La Caroline", with an internal ballonet. They tried to control direction with oars. No valve was fitted. The duke had to slash the ballonet to prevent rupture. The flight lasted 45 minutes. The balloon may have reached 4,500 meters altitude. After take-off in St. Cloud they landed in Meudon.

September 19^th, 1784 the brothers together with Collin-Hullin made another flight in an elongated hydrogen balloon. This time they tried to control direction with parasols. The flight lasted 6 hours 40 minutes and was the first flight over 100 km (186 km in a straight line) from Paris to Beuvry near Bethune.

The balloons constructed for prof. Charles had all the attributes still found today in modern gas balloons. The envelope was covered with a net from which the car was suspended, the envelope had a valve fitted and the balloon carried ballast in the form of sand to control altitude.

Citations compiled from various sources by Hans Åkerstedt, April 2000

2000 PLENARY MEETING

The full minutes of the 2000 Plenary Meeting of the CIA were distributed in April to CIA Delegates, Alternate Delegates and Chairmen of Subcommittees. The full minutes can also be found on the FAI/CIA web pages.

The meeting was attended by 24 voting Delegates, 3 voting Alternate Delegates, and there were 2 proxies, making a total of 29 votes. A total of 79 people attended the Conference.

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

Qualifications for observers at Gas Balloon Championships and for record attempts have been added to the International Observer Registration Programme.

The Plenary gratefully accepted an offer from Gerald Sturzlinger (AUT) to provide free 10 sets of GPS Flight Data Recording and Transmission devices for use in future Sanctioned Events.

The Plenary approved updated version of the following CIA Documents:

• Internal Regulations
• AX Model Event Rules
• Safety Handbook

The Plenary approved the publication of an initial World Ranking List of AX Competition

Pilots. The list is still provisional, and will not be used for any CIA qualification purposes.

The Plenary adopted a policy concerning NO-SHOWS at Category 1 Events under which both the pilot and his National Aero Club will be penalised for a no-show.

The Plenary approved the formation of a new CIA Subcommittee – the Competitors Subcommittee chaired by Uwe Schneider (GER).

Montgolfier Diplomas were awarded to:

WHO’S WHO IN THE CIA FOR 2000/2001

The changes from 1999/2000 are shown in italics

   LIST OF OFFICIAL CIA DOCUMENTS – AS AT APRIL 2000

All the above documents are available electronically or as hard copy from the
CIA Secretary, or on the FAI Web Pages - http://www.fai.org

FAI MEMBERS, CIA DELEGATES AND ALTERNATE DELEGATES APRIL 2000 (continued)

FAI Members: 78 Full (9 suspended), 8 Associate (4 suspended), 8 Temporary = 94 (13 suspended)
Declared for ballooning: 57 full (5 suspended), 1 associate (suspended), 1 temporary = 59 (6 suspended)
45 Delegates and 31 Alternate Delegates declared to FAI

CIA DELEGATES FOR 2000/2001

Please remember that the names of CIA Delegates and Alternate Delegates for 2000/2001 have to be approved by the FAI General Conference in October 2000. Names have to be submitted by NATIONAL AERO CLUBS to the FAI Secretary General by 15th August 2000 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.

SCHEDULE OF FORTHCOMING FAI/CIA SANCTIONED EVENTS

2000

• 12th European Hot Air Balloon Championship, Luxembourg, 2 – 12 August 2000 (Category 1)
• 7th World Hot Air Airship Championship, Schielleiten, Austria, 1 – 10 September 2000 (Category 1)
• 44th Coupe Gordon Bennett, Saint Hubert, Belgium, 9 – 14 September 2000 (Category 1)
• Mobilux Trophy 2000 and World Honda Grand Prix 2000, Bourscheid, Luxembourg, 4 – 8 August 2000 (Category 1)
• 2000 Motegi Hot Air Balloon International Championship and World Honda Grand Prix 2000, Motegi, Japan, 21 – 27 November 2000 (Category 1)
• World Air Games Cup, Seville, Spain, 4 – 9 July 2000 (Category 1)
• 8th North American Hot Air Balloon Championship, Rantoul, Illinois, USA, August 2000 (Category 1)
• 9th Akwawit Balloon Cup & 11th Ladies World Cup, Leszno, Poland, 13 – 17 September 2000 (Premier Sporting)
• Tisza Cup 2000 Hot Air Balloon Competition, Tiszaujvaros, Hungary, 10 – 17 June 2000 (Premier Sporting)
• Thessaloniki 2000 – Olympus Trophy, Thessaloniki, Greece, Aug/Sep 2000 (Premier
• Sporting)

2001

• 2nd World Air Games, Spain, 22 June – 1 July 2001 (Category 1)
• 1st South American Championship, Brasilia, Brazil, 15 – 22 July 2001 (Category 1)

2002

• 15th World Hot Air Balloon Championship, Chatellerault, France, 24 Aug – 1 Sep 2002 (Category 1)
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