KANSAS CITY HOT AIR BALLOON INVITATIONAL
GARDNER, KS usa
2010
Kansas City Saturday AM
updated 5/29/10 3:35pm
Competition Director Jason Jones called a JDG and a FIN. A shift in winds from the time the tasks were called until launch time made it impossible to achieve two results. The very little steering and brisk winds made it very difficult to get one result. Competitors' pibals were getting in to their right turn in the first 100 feet then straightening out, with only 5 degrees of steering at best. For some, it was the landings that made the morning fun. Towards the end of the flight, surface winds were increasing and some pilots were forced to put down in 15-20 mph winds. Even though "Crazy Al" Appenzeller had to pack out a little over 100 meters, all pilots got down safely. With the opportunity to possibly get in 2 more flights, stay posted to BalloonPong for some shake ups in the scores. Results posted below.
| kansas_city_task_1.pdf |
| kansas_city_task2.pdf |
.
Kansas City Invitational
updated 5/31/10 10:45am
Update - The Monday morning competition has been cancelled due to low ceilings. The below scores are now final.
Congrats Gary your first win!
Pilots arrived at Celebration Park early this morning to the tune of 3 tasks being called. They would have a Minimum Distance Double Drop, Fly In, and a Watership Down. The favorable winds allowed pilots to launch relatively close to the park. The task called for the hare balloon to launch at 7:15 and caught pilots John Jensen and Dale Dommer off guard when they arrived at the field a few minutes too early and passed it. They were able to hang out in low lying areas to allow the hare to get back in front of them. 9 competitors achieved results in the MNDD lead by Cory Bloom, Dale Dommer, and James Bowman. The FIT was located at the center point of the Minimum Distance and 22 pilots achieved results lead by Cory Bloom, Gary Haynes, and Jeremy Rubin. Pilots then had to follow the hare balloon on a very long chase across the farm fields north of Gardner. He finally landed and 8 competitors were able to get in the scoring area. Gary Haynes lead the pack, Chris Sabia 2nd, and Bret Christian was a very close 3rd. After the flight a new top 3 emerged putting Gary Haynes in a comfortable 500 point lead in front of John Shelton and Cory Bloom. Tomorrow morning is looking marginal, but very possible. If the flight takes place it is anybody in the top 5's to win. From 1st to 2nd is 481 points but from 2nd to 5th is a very tight 74 points. Stay tuned to BalloonPong and Twitter @BalloonPong for the most up to date news from the KC Hot Air Balloon Invitational.
Below are the scores including a small adjustment to Task 2
Congrats Gary your first win!
Pilots arrived at Celebration Park early this morning to the tune of 3 tasks being called. They would have a Minimum Distance Double Drop, Fly In, and a Watership Down. The favorable winds allowed pilots to launch relatively close to the park. The task called for the hare balloon to launch at 7:15 and caught pilots John Jensen and Dale Dommer off guard when they arrived at the field a few minutes too early and passed it. They were able to hang out in low lying areas to allow the hare to get back in front of them. 9 competitors achieved results in the MNDD lead by Cory Bloom, Dale Dommer, and James Bowman. The FIT was located at the center point of the Minimum Distance and 22 pilots achieved results lead by Cory Bloom, Gary Haynes, and Jeremy Rubin. Pilots then had to follow the hare balloon on a very long chase across the farm fields north of Gardner. He finally landed and 8 competitors were able to get in the scoring area. Gary Haynes lead the pack, Chris Sabia 2nd, and Bret Christian was a very close 3rd. After the flight a new top 3 emerged putting Gary Haynes in a comfortable 500 point lead in front of John Shelton and Cory Bloom. Tomorrow morning is looking marginal, but very possible. If the flight takes place it is anybody in the top 5's to win. From 1st to 2nd is 481 points but from 2nd to 5th is a very tight 74 points. Stay tuned to BalloonPong and Twitter @BalloonPong for the most up to date news from the KC Hot Air Balloon Invitational.
Below are the scores including a small adjustment to Task 2
| kc_task_2.pdf |
| kc_task_3.pdf |
| kc_task_4.pdf |
| kc_task_5.pdf |
| kc_overall.pdf |
Weird music, but has some cool action shots. You can tell its in the central region by all the triangle baskets.
This is not an official BalloonPong video.
This is not an official BalloonPong video.