Angola Balloons Aloft
Angola, IN USA
July 11-13, 2014
Reported by Joe Zvada
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Weather forecasts showed a dismal weekend leading into the 5th Angola Balloons Aloft in Angola, IN USA. But a favorable ballooning window appeared for the first competition flight on Saturday morning. Clear skies and over 50 degrees of steering dawned on Angola Saturday morning. Event Director Phil Clinger called a 4 part task. XDD, MDD, JDG, HWZ.
Winds for the morning flowed from south to north with left on the surface and right as you climbed. The Northeast Indiana region is dotted with many lakes and swamp areas that create two unique conditions for pilots, limited launch/landing areas and unequal heating of water and land that causes shifting winds quite early in a morning flying period. The XDD (Maximum distance double drop) and MDD (Minimum distance double drop) were on the main field and would require pilots to throw four markers in just a few seconds. A XDD task rewards the pilot who places his/her two baggies furthest apart in a set scoring area and a MDD rewards the pilot who places his/her two baggies that are closest together in set scoring areas. See task sheet and diagram for further explanation of these tasks. Among the first through the target were Jeff Pestun, a seasoned competitor at this point, and Steve Mitchell an up and coming pilot just getting his feet wet in a new racer. The two were glued together coming through the first target, Pestun slid just left, but managed two good scores. Mitchell flew it perfectly and laid down his four markers for two 1000pt scores. A few minutes behind Pestun and Mitchell flew old school pilot Jim Birk, with just a map and a fat balloon he grabbed two good scores on tasks 1 and 2, applying pressure on the duo fighting it out in front of him. Task 3 was a JDG. The goal was an intersection roughly 2km away from Tasks 1 and 2. Markers had to be within 10 meters of the center line of the crossing roads to achieve a score. High powerlines directly over the goal and higher trees on the north side of the intersection made the approach and throw challenging. Mitchell and Pestun separated slightly for this task with Mitchell approaching first, throwing his marker to a 1.5 meter result. But the high trees on the north side of the goal loomed large over him and there wasn't enough time to climb. "Those trees were too tall anyways, needed a good trimming," he would later say. |
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Pestun saw the tree trimming play out in front of him, knowing full well that a ground contact penalty awaited Mitchell's final result. The door was open for an attack. Pestun flew an approach just left of the goal and threw his marker to a 1 meter result and 1000pts for the task.
Birk followed again with a very good 1.9 meter result and 970pts. Keeping the pressure on the top two going into the final target. The final task was an HWZ with two target options for pilots to choose from. The western most goal was the clear choice and the field climbed into the higher right wind to move into position for an approach. The target was placed some 4km away from the JDG and was tucked in a small yard surrounded by a thick set of tall timbers. Visual of the target wasn't acquired by pilots until just a few hundred meters out. Between Mitchell, Pestun, and Birk it was anyone's game to win on the last target and they knew it. Pestun pulled out a veteran trick on this approach, descending into the slower low winds to let Mitchell and a few other balloons fly ahead, creating un-congested airspace for himself to approach the X - well played Jeff... |
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Mitchell's approach required a quick maneuver once the X came into his view, climbing a couple hundred feet to hold his line. A good throw from this height got him a 1.7 meter result and 945pts on the task. Pestun would need to beat that if he had any chance at victory. He approached a couple minutes later real low, appearing to almost be weaving around the trees until he was just a few feet over the X, leaving nothing more than a simple drop of his marker for a 0.06 meter result and 1000pts on the task.
Birk again followed the duo with an aggressive maneuver in his fat balloon to get his marker to a 1.5 meter result. The top three seemed to be set, but their order would be a lingering question and highly dependent on the penalty assessed for Mitchell's tree contact.
Final results showed less than 100pts separated the three pilots. Mitchell gained the most points on the day; 3928pts achieved of the possible 4000pts possible. An amazing flight. But Mitchell's rendezvous with the trees on Task 3 left him with a 100pt penalty, enough to knock him into second place overall. Pestun slid into first, and Birk held solidly onto third place.
The final two flights of the event were cancelled due to weather and the top three of Pestun, Mitchell, and Birk would stand. Congrats to all on a great battle!
Also worth noting are the finishes of Scott King and Matt Hasse throwing their first ever comp markers in Angola - good job guys, hope to see throwing many more!
Birk again followed the duo with an aggressive maneuver in his fat balloon to get his marker to a 1.5 meter result. The top three seemed to be set, but their order would be a lingering question and highly dependent on the penalty assessed for Mitchell's tree contact.
Final results showed less than 100pts separated the three pilots. Mitchell gained the most points on the day; 3928pts achieved of the possible 4000pts possible. An amazing flight. But Mitchell's rendezvous with the trees on Task 3 left him with a 100pt penalty, enough to knock him into second place overall. Pestun slid into first, and Birk held solidly onto third place.
The final two flights of the event were cancelled due to weather and the top three of Pestun, Mitchell, and Birk would stand. Congrats to all on a great battle!
Also worth noting are the finishes of Scott King and Matt Hasse throwing their first ever comp markers in Angola - good job guys, hope to see throwing many more!
