Large, colorful hot air balloons have already appeared in the sky over Szeged, as training for the Hot Air Balloon World Championship has begun, where over 120 competitors from more than 30 countries will showcase their skills. The Szeged world championship will also be honored by the presence of Mark Sullivan, the president of FAI/CIA, and David Monk, the president of FAI, who will arrive on the 12th and stay until the closing ceremony.

The extremely spectacular competitive sport captivates many, but viewers may not be aware of the competition's process and the challenges faced by the balloon pilots. We have sought to investigate this.

These wonderful aerial vehicles are powered solely by the wind and air currents, many people do not understand how hot air balloons can be controlled. The order of the competitors is determined by how well they can navigate the balloon from the launch site to the target. Previously, the goal was for the hot air balloon to land as close as possible to the target, with the distance measured from the arrival point to the target. However, this method led to significant congestion around the target, jeopardizing the safety of the balloons.

Nowadays, competitors drop a marker—a 70-gram weighted ribbon that is 170 cm long and 10 cm wide—onto the target, and the distance between the marker and the target is what counts. While this may seem simple, it is not, as pilots must solve various tasks, which are determined by the weather, wind direction and strength, temperature, and expected changes in these conditions.

Therefore, after meteorological assessments, the tasks for each competition day are set at dawn, meaning that competitors only discover what they need to accomplish that day at that time.

One of the task groups in the competition involves precision flying to a predetermined target. This group consists of eight different tasks, depending on who defines the target. The second task group emphasizes not only accurate targeting but also the importance of time, with eight possible tasks that require even more attention and knowledge from the competitors. Among the most challenging tasks is the third group (rerouting in flight) which involves changing direction during flight.

To control the hot air balloon, pilots must find the altitude levels where the wind blows in the desired direction. For these tasks, competitors maneuver, ascend, or descend between different altitudes to catch the right wind currents.

With this, we certainly haven't become experts in hot air ballooning, but we may have gained some insight into the amount of knowledge and practice behind the spectacular aerial displays. We can also follow the precise takeoff times of the balloons on the event's official Facebook page.

The positions of the balloons can be tracked online during the competition flights starting from September 9 at the following link: https://worlds2024.eu/index.php/online
 

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