Faster than a Speeding Pibal

Windsock

by Glen Moyer

"Finally, a truly portable and affordable pibal tracking system."

Finally, truth in advertising! Whether your interest is competition, commercial rides or just flying for fun, every flight you take can be made all the more enjoyable by an accurate understanding of the winds you are about to navigate. The FAA's Flight Service and a host of other weather services provide an excellent overview of both current and forecasted weather, but for years ballooning has needed a better measuring stick when it comes to the micrometeorology that impacts our every launch.

For years we have been satisfied with a pibal and compass to gauge wind direction, but speed - a critical element in flight planning was at best, a guestimate. With the arrival of the WindReader, the guesswork was eliminated - but how many balloonists can afford the several thousand dollar price tag? We have also seen the recent development of computer programs that, when coupled with compass and inclinometer readings, can provide the needed information - but there is the cost of the program (usually around $500) plus a laptop computer (another $1,000 +) and the ability to understand and work with Windows or DOS and if desired, the additional expense of a portable printer. Plus these programs require a three-person operation, one on a compass, one on a inclinometer and a third to input the data into the computer.

Windsock from Custom Craft Inc. has changed all of that. While the expense might be more than some can justify (approximately $1,800 for the fully automated system to a minimum of $295 for the handheld computer) there is no question this is the quickest, most accurate pibal tracker on the market.

Balloon Life tested the Windsock for a period of over two months and found its performance to be rock steady. There are many features that recommend its use, including:

Size: the entire system, calculator (computer), compass/clinometer and printer can be housed in a single carrying case that measures a mere 13.5" W x 12.9" L x 6" D. Windsock is built around the Hewlett Packard 48G calculator that is a handheld marvel measuring a mere 3" x 7" x 1". Coupled with this is a battery powered infrared printer that is a mere 1/4" larger than the calculator.

Ease of use: The brains of the new Windsock is the small electronic theodolite that is mounted to a plastic pistol grip and outfitted with an adjustable power scope. At first glance it is reminiscent of the "blasters" used by Hans Solo in Star Wars. Indeed one should be careful where he displays the Windsock less it be mistaken for some space age weapon! This pistol unit is coupled to the calculator by a single cable and that's all there is to it.

Windsock comes ready to use right out of the box. There is nothing to program, no DOS to learn. Simply fill your pibal with helium and release it. Aim the Windsock at the pibal and everything else is done automatically. The Windsock automatically reads the direction and height of the pibal and translates this into wind direction and speed. The readings can be displayed on the calculator screen or, by merely pointing the calculator at the hand-held printer (remember it's infrared, no wires, cables or other attachments) and both the wind data and a visual graph of the pibal's flight can be quickly and easily printed out.

Versatility: Despite the rather menacing look of the HP48G calculator keypad, all of the data input necessary to operate the Windsock is done primarily with the six main menu keys at the top of the keyboard. (However the calculator does have full functionality - including a clock and calendar when not used to track pibals.)

Windsock supports both U.S Customary (feet) and Metric (meters) units of measurement. Plus with a few simple keystrokes you can reset or change the data parameters. For example you can select to have the wind direction displayed in either a to or from format. You can select any sample period using either time (every 30 seconds) or height (every 100 feet) intervals. You can also set the rate of ascent to adjust for your use of 11", 12" , 16" or any other size pibal. Field elevation and magnetic declination can also be set individually to coincide with the varied terrain encountered when traveling from one rally to another across the country.

Power: The theodolite runs on a single 9v battery while the calculator requires AAA and the optional printer uses AA batteries. While it would be nice if a single battery type were common to each component, this is a very minor inconvenience. However, the HP48G calculator has a built-in function that turns itself off after 10 minutes of non-use to conserve power. And, even if you leave the unit on your data is not lost. Plus you can actually store a series of pibal readings (much like saving waypoints on a GPS) so you can compare any changes in the wind over a period of time - say in the 30 to 45 minutes before launching for a fly-in task, or from the time you met your passengers at the balloonport to the time you actually arrive at your launch site.

Balloon Life also surveyed a sampling of pilots who used the Windsock during the recently concluded 1997 US National Championships. As a group they agreed that there is no faster, easier way to track a pibal and gather wind speed/direction data from the surface to 1,000 feet.

However the group did have a few concerns and/or suggestions. Chief among these was the HP48G keypad. Most considered it intimidating. Many of the keys are multi-functional by pushing a certain color-coded key. If the wrong key was pushed some of the users became hopelessly lost. Turning off the calculator did not reset it, unlike restarting a computer. To start over they were forced to return to the instruction manual. This problem could likely be overcome by a greater familiarity with the equipment.

For readings up to 1,000 feet hand-held operation of the Windsock proved very satisfactory - however, for readings above 1,000 feet most users recommended the addition of a tripod or monopod to help steady the unit. Windsock does include an adjustable power scope - to assist spotting the pibal at greater distances.

Two users and indeed the Balloon Life test team found an occasional glitch where typically the last and highest reading taken seemed to be completely out of sync with the lower readings. Unfortunately we were unable to determine if this was an equipment or operator error, or if in fact an atmospheric anomaly which the Windsock identified correctly.

Quite simply there is nothing on the market to compete with the portability and ease of use that is the Windsock. It has all the features most balloonists consider critical to any piece of equipment - it is compact, easy to use, and relatively inexpensive when compared with competitive equipment. Future development may find a GPS compatibility feature added whereby wind data from the Windsock could be downloaded into a GPS.

For more information contact: Custom Craft Inc., 9110 Scottish Pastures Cove, Austin, Texas 78750, USA. Phone (512) 219-1989 or FAX (512) 219-8491.