Field of Flight
Battle Creek, MI USA
2010
Trace Christenson and the Battle Creek Enquirer do a good job of covering balloon events in BC. Here are a few links to their stories.
Photo Gallery Day 1 - Herbie in the swamp Day 3 - Isley with the best quote ever
Photo Gallery Day 2 Day 4 - Rhett is your winner
Photo Gallery Day 1 - Herbie in the swamp Day 3 - Isley with the best quote ever
Photo Gallery Day 2 Day 4 - Rhett is your winner
Sunday Morning
The high pressure system that dominated the Great Lakes region for most of the weekend has moved to the east and winds ahead of an approaching cold front have picked up considerably and caused the cancelation of the final scheduled competitive flight. Congratulations ro Rhett Heartsill for bringing home his first win! He'll be back here in a few weeks to see if he can have the same magic at the National Championship.
The final standings are posted below under the task 1-6 name.
The final standings are posted below under the task 1-6 name.
Saturday Evening
Similar night to the last couple of nights in Battle Creek. Event Director Jim Birk called a one part task (FIT) for non championship points only. Pilots headed to the south of the airport and had light, relatively steerable winds. We won't know the results until the morning, but do know that James Mitchell, Jeremey Rubin, Joe Zvada, Roy Smith, and Jeff Sweet all had scores at the airport. Pretty sure Jeff Sweet might have pulled off the win with a drop just about half way up the leg of the X and Jeremey Rubin was just off the leg.
Weather for the morning looks to be pretty good, however the afternoon flight might be a bit windy. The championship wraps up in the morning and the event conlcudes with the traditional "dumpster drop" where pilots must throw baggies into large dumpsters in order to take home a share of the prize money.
Weather for the morning looks to be pretty good, however the afternoon flight might be a bit windy. The championship wraps up in the morning and the event conlcudes with the traditional "dumpster drop" where pilots must throw baggies into large dumpsters in order to take home a share of the prize money.
Saturday Morning
Tasks 4-6
Three more tasks for the pilots in Battle Creek this morning: FIN, JDG, MJDG. Winds on the surface were calm, but at just a few hundred feet winds were going as fast as 20-25kts with a 20 degree change in direction. The first target was set south and east of the city in farm country while the last target was set north east of town, roughly 20 kilometers from launch to the last target. A very thin layer of wind at about 3000ft was the only way to achieve the second of the three targets which made it very elusive for the majority of the field. The big winners today were the few people that got scores on all three targets.
Three more tasks for the pilots in Battle Creek this morning: FIN, JDG, MJDG. Winds on the surface were calm, but at just a few hundred feet winds were going as fast as 20-25kts with a 20 degree change in direction. The first target was set south and east of the city in farm country while the last target was set north east of town, roughly 20 kilometers from launch to the last target. A very thin layer of wind at about 3000ft was the only way to achieve the second of the three targets which made it very elusive for the majority of the field. The big winners today were the few people that got scores on all three targets.
| tasks_1_thru_6.htm |
James Mitcell approach and throw at task 4
Shot with the GoPro Hero
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Shot with the GoPro Hero
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Jeremy Rubin approach and throw at task 4
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Derrick Jones task 6
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Jeremy Rubin task 6
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Chase Donner Task 6
Shot with the VholdR Contour HD
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Shot with the VholdR Contour HD
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Friday Evening
Similar night to last night. Event Director Jim Birk decided to call a one part Multiple Judge Declared Goal for the pilots. Both targets were placed to the north of the field and most pilots had to climb to a couple of thousand feet in order to make either target. Surface winds changed a couple of times and remained fickle, as they have been thus far this weekend. As you can see below Chase Donner was able to place his baggie on the square and several other pilots were able to post good scores. This task won't count towards the overall standings but does still pay out task money. The weather continues to look favorable for more flying ahead. Be sure to check back as we hope to have scores from Friday morning posted shortly.
Rhett Heartsill's approach to the target while Chase donner is below ponging it.
Shot with the VholdR Contour HD
Shot with the VholdR Contour HD
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Friday Morning
Tasks 1-3
Event Director Jim Birk called a three part task this morning to kick off the competition flying for the week. The first task was a Fly-In and the steerage turned out to be pretty fickle. A good score was anywhere inside the legs of the X as speed and tough steerage made it fairly difficult to reach. The second task, a Judge Declared Goal, required pilots to climb to several thousand feet to find enough left to get to, but there were several scores. Finally, the third task, a Multiple Judge Declared Goal, was where pilots really started to hone in on the winds. There were some really good scores with a couple of pilots getting very near or on the square. There were good results on both targets for the MJDG. We'll get scores posted just as soon as we can, but until then check out some of the pictures from this morning.
Event Director Jim Birk called a three part task this morning to kick off the competition flying for the week. The first task was a Fly-In and the steerage turned out to be pretty fickle. A good score was anywhere inside the legs of the X as speed and tough steerage made it fairly difficult to reach. The second task, a Judge Declared Goal, required pilots to climb to several thousand feet to find enough left to get to, but there were several scores. Finally, the third task, a Multiple Judge Declared Goal, was where pilots really started to hone in on the winds. There were some really good scores with a couple of pilots getting very near or on the square. There were good results on both targets for the MJDG. We'll get scores posted just as soon as we can, but until then check out some of the pictures from this morning.
| task_1.htm |
| task_2.htm |
| task_3.htm |
Thursday Evening
Anticipating favorable weather, event director Jim Birk, called a one part task (Judge Declared Goal) that would not count towards the overall championship points, however the task did carry the regular money payout for the week. As it turned out many strategies were used by all pilots. Some took off early, others late but it seemed that those that were a bit earlier were most successful at reaching the target. The basic strategy that seemed to work best was to just get close to the target and hope that the winds would come around to what you needed in order to reach the scoring area - which was a long subdivision road and only the pavement was inside the scoring area. Overall a nice flight to kick off the week. Look for some pictures later tonight and hopefully plenty of more updates as we hope for the weather to cooperate for lots of flying.
Preview
A mainstay for competitive pilots in the midwest, Battle Creek, MI has been the site of choice for elite compeition over the 4th of July for years. The event has seen a wide array of different forms, sanctions, and event types over the years. It attracted pilots from all over the country offering a large prize purse, a good long week of competition, and great flying area. It reached out globally when it hosted three very successful World Championships in 1981,1985, and 1995 (all won by Americans). In the late 90s, event organizers took a huge risk by running a new concept team competition. The US Team Nationals progressed the sport by challenging officials to call new tasks, and asking pilots to strategize both on the groung and in the air with their teammates, a first for everybody involved. The Team years in Battle Creek attracted talent from around the world to fly the new competition in front of huge crowds. Since the last Team Nationals, the event has shrunk to a long weekend and offers prize money payouts per task instead of overall. Pilots were not able to justify making the long trip to Michigan for an event where competition was on the backburner. Only since the Nationals moved to BC in August has the July event seen an increase in interest from the top comp pilots. The field of balloons has also shrunk over the last few years. Leaving some of the nations best pilots at home to barbecue on 4th of July weekend for the first time in many years.
This weekend's event will run Thursday night through Sunday. The field will be full of pilots trying to get the lay of the land for the National Championships that will be held here in August. Seven of the top ten finishers in the 2009 Nationals will be flying this weekend. We'll have the standard Michigan contingent represented by Jeff Pestun, Larry Coan, and last week's winner Chuck Walz. Iowa pilots will represent about a fifth of the field including Brad Craig and Todd Isley who finished 6th and 10th respectively at the Nationals, and Bret Christian who put together a 3rd place finish last weekend in Ottumwa. Chase Donner of Georgia and Jeff Sweet from North Carolina, 5th and 8th from '09 Nationals, along with former National and World Champion Joe Heartsill will make the cross country trek to get familiar with the BC area again. There are only a few spots available on the 2012 US World Championship Team and everybody wants to be prepared to go to battle for them in August. The 2012 World Championships will come back to the USA and to Battle Creek for the first time in seventeen years. A list of the full field can be found here.
Follow us on Twitter for live updates and here on the web throughout the weekend.
Anticipating favorable weather, event director Jim Birk, called a one part task (Judge Declared Goal) that would not count towards the overall championship points, however the task did carry the regular money payout for the week. As it turned out many strategies were used by all pilots. Some took off early, others late but it seemed that those that were a bit earlier were most successful at reaching the target. The basic strategy that seemed to work best was to just get close to the target and hope that the winds would come around to what you needed in order to reach the scoring area - which was a long subdivision road and only the pavement was inside the scoring area. Overall a nice flight to kick off the week. Look for some pictures later tonight and hopefully plenty of more updates as we hope for the weather to cooperate for lots of flying.
Preview
A mainstay for competitive pilots in the midwest, Battle Creek, MI has been the site of choice for elite compeition over the 4th of July for years. The event has seen a wide array of different forms, sanctions, and event types over the years. It attracted pilots from all over the country offering a large prize purse, a good long week of competition, and great flying area. It reached out globally when it hosted three very successful World Championships in 1981,1985, and 1995 (all won by Americans). In the late 90s, event organizers took a huge risk by running a new concept team competition. The US Team Nationals progressed the sport by challenging officials to call new tasks, and asking pilots to strategize both on the groung and in the air with their teammates, a first for everybody involved. The Team years in Battle Creek attracted talent from around the world to fly the new competition in front of huge crowds. Since the last Team Nationals, the event has shrunk to a long weekend and offers prize money payouts per task instead of overall. Pilots were not able to justify making the long trip to Michigan for an event where competition was on the backburner. Only since the Nationals moved to BC in August has the July event seen an increase in interest from the top comp pilots. The field of balloons has also shrunk over the last few years. Leaving some of the nations best pilots at home to barbecue on 4th of July weekend for the first time in many years.
This weekend's event will run Thursday night through Sunday. The field will be full of pilots trying to get the lay of the land for the National Championships that will be held here in August. Seven of the top ten finishers in the 2009 Nationals will be flying this weekend. We'll have the standard Michigan contingent represented by Jeff Pestun, Larry Coan, and last week's winner Chuck Walz. Iowa pilots will represent about a fifth of the field including Brad Craig and Todd Isley who finished 6th and 10th respectively at the Nationals, and Bret Christian who put together a 3rd place finish last weekend in Ottumwa. Chase Donner of Georgia and Jeff Sweet from North Carolina, 5th and 8th from '09 Nationals, along with former National and World Champion Joe Heartsill will make the cross country trek to get familiar with the BC area again. There are only a few spots available on the 2012 US World Championship Team and everybody wants to be prepared to go to battle for them in August. The 2012 World Championships will come back to the USA and to Battle Creek for the first time in seventeen years. A list of the full field can be found here.
Follow us on Twitter for live updates and here on the web throughout the weekend.
