Did you know that the Congress International Aeronautique (CIA), the international governing body for balloon racing, once proposed banning the use of the envelope side vent? They did it because they said that since the side vent could move the balloon sideways it would give an unfair advantage to competitors whose envelopes have a side vent. If, in fact, a side vent could move a balloon sideways, balloons would be truly maneuverable, and it would be the greatest improvement in hot-air ballooning since propane replaced straw. Such a perceived improvement should have been rejoiced by the CIA, not banned. This sort of inanity makes me think balloon racing bears scrutiny.
A conscientious balloonist will develop skills to provide enjoyable, safe flights. Some important skills are inflating without damaging balloon or crew, contour flying, obstacle avoidance procedures, finding different wind directions, attaining preferred landing sites, and achieving safe landings.
Few balloon competitions encourage development of these skills needed in everyday operations. The most useful skill in most balloon competitions is accurate throwing and placement of a small "beanbag", commonly referred to as a "baggie". I once heard a competitor brag he'd practiced throwing over 200 baggies to get ready for a balloon championship. Apparently the most important championship skill was to develop perfect beanbag throwing skills. This doesn't have much to do with ballooning. Once out of kindergarten, who, besides balloon racers, needs to know how to throw a beanbag?
The most difficult part of a balloon flight is landing. Most balloon competitions have no landing tasks. In the good old days we had contest landings, where a competitor's score was based on the landing site. At least one competitive event-the Convergent Navigational Trajectory (CNT)-was created as a joke to make fun of throwing baggies instead of landing; it is now a mainstay of balloon competition. A pilot who no longer races says, "Any boob can fly over a point; it takes skill to land on a target".
I've followed balloon racing for many years, from little US events, to national championships, to world championships in the US, England and Sweden. We no longer have landing contests because those who promote balloon "racing", the organizers (usually non-balloonists), want lots of balloons which they believe will draw bigger crowds. If you have 100 balloons in a contest, you can't expect them to make a contest landing, thus the need for the relatively harmless and boring baggie drop. What if we had, say, 20 balloons, with real contests? The Indy 500 is limited to 32 competitors, who are demonstrably the best, based on a series of eliminations. The 100-yard dash at a national or international track meet doesn't have 100 hopeful competitors, but 8 or 10 serious competitors who have earned their place by a series of eliminations. Why shouldn't ballooning be the same?
Balloon racing is not driven by balloonists, but by organizers and promoters with a profit motive. Most organizers don't care who wins the "race" or "competition"; their goal is to attract money-spending spectators. They generally put up prize money, instead of appearance money, allowing them to spend the least amount of money to draw balloons, which in turn draw tourists and spectators.
Sometimes, the organizers or promoters don't even set aside the prize money, but buy an insurance policy against having to pay. For a key grab contest, with a $25,000 car as prize, you can buy an insurance policy which will pay-out only if someone gets the keys. If no one grabs the keys the promoter will have spent, for example, $4,000, to attract 100 or so balloon competitors. If someone does grab the keys, the promoter still will have spent only $4,000, as the insurance policy will purchase the car.
The quest for a valuable prize will always provoke some pilots into flying beyond their skills. Many competitive tasks encourage breaking laws, particularly FAR 91.119, Minimum Safe Altitudes. Some organizers get a waiver from the FAA to make it legal to fly too low. (Will the farmer whose horse just damaged itself due to burner noise be less unhappy because the FAA granted a competition waiver allowing low flying? Does the horse know there's a waiver and therefore not spook?)
Why fly lower? Pilots say in order to have more choice of winds or to get lower over the target. We wouldn't need the waiver if there wasn't a crowd around the target. The real reason for the waiver is the organizers' attempts to get a big crowd by allowing spectators closer to the balloons.
Many organizers, in order to make money, require competition pilots to carry passengers who pay for the flight or for sponsorship. Since the FAA prohibits passenger-carrying in "races", the Balloon Federation of America and Federal Aviation Administration have concocted a waiver which calls paid passengers "crew" necessary to the flight, a fraudulent undertaking wherein the BFA and FAA encourage violating federal regulations which promote safety. Someday an attorney will have fun with this one.
Are competition pilots the best pilots? With a few exceptions, there are few consistent, repeat winners. A large percentage of contests are won because of luck. The more events a pilot enters, the better his chances are of winning, by the simple law of averages. If a pilot wins an event, he calls it skill; if he loses, he says he had bad luck.
In automobile racing it is said that "racing improves the breed", and, among other things, some significant improvements that automobile racing has brought to consumer autos are the windshield wiper, convertible top and disc brakes. Have any improvements been made to modern balloons because of racing? The only possibility I am aware of is Raven's surprise introduction of their four-can burner at the first world championship in 1973. The creation of more powerful burners has improved balloons, but it would have happened without balloon racing. Most improvements to modern balloons are a result of consumer demand and marketing strategies. Experimental balloons, where development should originate, are rare in balloon racing and have, on different occasions, been banned from competition.
Racing does not improve balloon design, landing skills, weather interpretation skills (organizers usually make the go/no-go decision), unusual maneuver skills (slow ascent/descent rates are usually dictated by the organizer), map-reading skills, radio use skills, or ballooning safety. Sportsmanship is often noticeable by its absence; there are usually more complaints than compliments about other pilots' flying.
"Racing" balloons is unnatural. Ballooning is supposed to be fun. One pilot I spoke with said he quit racing after a passenger in a competition asked him if he ever flew for fun, and when he realized the best part of a race was after he passed the target: "I then saw the beautiful balloons, admired the scenery and, after landing, shared the beauty with crew and pilots." Balloon racing exists to make money for non balloonists. Who benefits from balloon racing? The promoter.
Only a small percentage of BFA members race and BFA members represent only a minor percentage of US balloonists, so racing is not popular with most pilots. People who make money from balloonists keep racing going.
"Racing balloons is like competitive sex", says a highly experienced pilot, "you don't have to compete to have fun, but you must practice, practice, practice, to be good."
Why race? Damned if I know.
