By : Hans Akerstedt, Vice-President, FAI Ballooning Commission

The following is an explanation of rules, their evolution and how record attempts are processed by the Fédération Aéronautique Iinternationale (FAI) and the FAI Ballooning Commission.
by
Hans Akerstedt, Vice-President, FAI Ballooning Commission

The person who is responsible for the collection of all documents and the recording of events, times and positions during a record attempt is the Official Observer. He/she is appointed by the NAC (National Airsport Control) of the pilot who makes the attempt. If a world record is possibly surpassed, a preliminary notice is sent to FAI. This is a warning to all other pilots wanting to set a record that they may have to do better than they thought before.

Note:
The following explanation of “NAC” is printed in the FAI Sporting Code, General Section.
1.3 SPORTING AUTHORITY

1.3.1 NATIONAL AIRSPORT CONTROL (NAC). The authority of enforcement of the Sporting Code is exercised through the Active and Associate Members who hold Sporting Powers in their own countries. FAI Members thus exercising National Airsport Control are referred to as "NAC".

Collecting the record file and all data, maps, meteorological observations etc. can take up to a month. The file is then sent to the NAC for examination. If everything is in order the attempt is homologated (approved) as a National Record. This can take up to 3 months. The NAC will then send in the file to FAI for homologation as a World Record.

The FAI sends a copy of the file to the CIA Records Review Subcommittee. The subcommittee consists of 6 persons of varying nationalities. One member is appointed as reviewer of the file. Normally the reviewer has a few questions to the observer or the NAC. When the reviewer is satisfied with the record file he sends his recommendation and any comments back to FAI.

Then FAI finally homologates the record, usually within a week and a notice about this is sent out to all member nations.

As you can understand the whole process can easily take 6 months.

Note:
Homologation. The validation of a Flight Performance by an NAC or FAI for record purposes

The initial purpose of FAI in 1905 was to control and set rule for records and competitions. This means that there are no verified records set before that year.

It was soon realised that different aircraft needed different rules. The FAI was split up in several parts and in the end Commissions for each individual Air Sport were formed.

In the beginning French was the dominating language and the commissions had French names and abbreviations. The aerostat commission was called COMMISSION INTERNATIONALE d'AEROSTATIQUE (CIA). For at least 30 years English has been the official language used at CIA meetings and about 10 years ago the names were changed to English. We are now FAI Ballooning Commission but we still handle all aerostats, both balloons and airships. As a tribute to history (and because we like the acronym) we have kept the old acronym CIA. When the change was made we had an American President and he very much liked to get his mail addressed to the President of the CIA. He was not alone in this opinion.

You will find information about the history and the present structure of FAI on the web site. You will also find a description of the objectives of the FAI and its commissions. Today it is much more than just to keep records of records. Look for ”What is the FAI” on the home page.

In the newspapers in England it was ”the flight by Branson and his co-pilots”. For each flight made with any kind of aircraft there has to be an official Pilot-in-Command, nowadays called Commander. Among other things he/she has the final authority on board and is responsible for the safe conduct of the flight. The official Commander for the recent flight by the ICO balloon was none of the above but Per Lindstrand. Being Swedish myself I find this noteworthy. They flew for about 178 hours and covered 21,500 km measured along the actual track. For record purposes the distance was however ”only” 19,962 km. I will soon tell why so keep reading. This was actually the second longest flight in the history of ballooning. August 6-17, 1998, Steve Fossett flew 22,910 km. This is the current Absolute World Distance Record. The actual track distance was 24,478 km.

We first heard about RTW plans shortly after the first successful transatlantic crossing in 1978. During the 1981 CIA meeting we started to look seriously into the task of writing rules for such flights.

At the same time the distance record was close to the practical limits of the provisions of the existing distance flight rules. At that time the distance flown was measured the shortest way from start to landing measured along a Great Circle. This is the shortest distance between two points on a spherical surface.

A Great Circle is the intersection between:

1. The surface of a sphere (the Earth) and
2. A plane through the centre of the sphere (the Earth) containing the two points on the surface of the Earth between which the distance is sought.

Thus a Great Circle is in fact a full circle and the distance between two points on this circle can be either the short arc joining the two points or the other, longer part of the circle.

So we were clearly running into problems for distance records. If someone managed to fly more than halfway around the globe the distance achieved would actually decrease with existing rules. Even worse if someone made a perfect Round the World flight and landed close to the take off position. Then the distance achieved would have been close to zero.

A balloon flight does not follow a perfect Great Circle. The actual distance flown is always longer. The longer the flight, the greater is the difference between actual track distance and the Great Circle distance.

To measure actual distance you need verified positions along the track.

1914 a German balloon flew 3052 km from Germany via Turkey to Ural in Russia. Long parts of the flight was made in darkness or in clouds. Even the pilots did not know where they were. If they had known it would not have helped them. Unsupported pilot reports are not accepted as proof.

The record stood until 1976. That year Ed Yost flew almost 4000 km in an Atlantic attempt. 1978 the Atlantic was crossed (5001 km) and in 1981 they crossed the Pacific. The distance record was pushed to 8383 km. They intended to keep a log of positions along the track but their equipment failed and as far as I know they did not get a reliable track log.

This was the record that we had to protect when we created new rules. Any new wording of the rule had to be written in such a way that the old record could not be surpassed by a performance that would have been inferior with the old rules.

In addition to our responsibility to verify new records we also have the responsibility to protect old record holders. We must be sure that a new record actually is better than the old one and measured with the same tape. Therefore we cannot change the rules so much that we actually create a new type of record.

This is also the reason why we sometimes are considered to be over ambitious when we ask for documentation of records. We need a record file to be absolutely complete so that we can go back to the file afterwards and find answers to any question without the help of the witnesses. If and when we look into old files the witnesses may no longer be available.

We needed a new wording that allowed a flight to be split up into two or more parts and the distance would be the sum of the individual legs. We needed a minimum average distance for each such leg and it had to be more than half the existing record. So 4200 km was the absolute minimum. But we needed to add a safety margin so that we were sure that the minimum was more than half the distance along the probable track of any existing or old record. After much calculation and discussion we finally stipulated that the average of each leg had to be at least one Earth radius and the minimum length of any leg must be more than one half Earth radius.

The new long distance rule was adopted from January 1st, 1983. They remain unchanged today.

In retrospect I now consider the Earth radius to be a little too long for the minimum average leg length. 5000 or even 6000 km would have been better as the calculated distance then would have been closer to the actual track distance, but as I pointed out above, we had to have a margin of safety. The holders of the existing record later claimed (without giving any proof) that they had actually flown over 10,000 km.

The true radius of the Earth is varying between about 6,378.160 km at the Equator to about 6,356.788 km at the poles. This is the radius to the mean sea level and without mountains and valleys. Even so there are also local variations of about 150 meters here and there.

FAI has therefore decided that for distance measuring purposes the Earth is a perfect sphere with the radius 6371 km (exactly). This is equivalent to a sphere with the same volume as the ellipsoid model known as WGS84. This is the most commonly used standard model for world-wide maps and for GPS setting. There are several hundreds of other locally used Earth models and any GPS can usually be set to one of these Earth models.

For distance measuring it is a bit simpler to use the spherical model. The error will be maximum 0.1% too short or 0.2% too long calculated distance.

(During a period from about 1930 to about 1955 FAI used a longer radius due to a misprint in the minutes from an FAI conference).

When we had decided on the Long Distance Record Rules we went on to Rules for Around the World records (RTW rules). In the beginning we thought about it as an extension of the long distance rules.

You are quite right. Meteorology was one of the items deciding the present rules but there were many other aspects to consider.

1. What constitutes a true “Around-the-World flight?
2. How do we measure the distance flown?
3. What will the record be, time, distance or speed?

Buried in question 1 were several other questions.

1. What is the minimum acceptable distance?
2. What is accepted by the general public as a RTW flight?
3. When is an RTW flight completed? Upon landing or some other time?

We looked at other forms of aviation and their rules. We found that only fixed wing aircraft heavier than air had RTW records. That was for speed around the world, non-stop, unrefuelled.

They had definitions that could not be used for aerostats, which have to follow the winds. We had to have more liberal limits but we had to set a minimum distance. Should we allow flights that were not parallel to the Equator? Should we even allow flights around the globe from Pole to Pole?

When deciding on how to measure the flown distance we found it natural to look at the just created rule for very long distance records. We tied the RTW rules to the long distance rule by stipulating four radians as the minimum length.

A radian is an angle and the corresponding arc on the surface of the Earth is equal to the Earth radius. Four radians is therefore equal to 25,484 km. That is about 64% of the Equatorial distance.

We also said that the start and finish point and the position check points used for distance calculation all must lie outside two circular caps diametrically opposite each other on the surface of the Earth. The radius of each such cap measured along the surface of the Earth was one half radian (3,185.5 km).

The position check points and the centre of the caps could be selected by the pilot after the attempt. The caps could be anywhere on the Earth but had to be opposite each other.

We finally decided that the record should be for the Shortest Time Around the World.

The rules were incorporated in the 1983 version of the Sporting Code, Section 1.

In CIA all rules are continuously checked and if necessary updated.

We had found that the concept of the radian was difficult to sell to the general public, to pilots and even to CIA delegates without engineering or mathematical background. To some it is clean and simple but an angle that suddenly turns into a distance is a slimy creature to some. We also constantly were asked to define precisely at what distance the multiple leg rule started to be usable. That is impossible to say beforehand. It depends on the shape of the actual track flown.

Around 1995 there were maybe 5 teams in an advance state of preparations for an RTW flight. We thought that if we wanted any change to the rules it had to be then, before someone actually tried seriously. Any new rule had to be known before they started.

So the Records Review subcommittee and the Rules Subcommittee started again on an in depth study of the consequences of the current rules.

Since the rules were defined in 1983, one significant flight had been made - the crossing of the Pacific by Per Lindstrand and Richard Branson in 1991. They claimed to have flown almost 11,000 km but the GC distance Start to Finish was 7,672 km. They supplied a track log with about 25 positions along the track.

It was possible to reduce the minimum average leg requirement from 6,371 to 6,000 km without recalculating the existing record. If we reduced it to 5,000 km they could increase the distance and claim a new Absolute World Record by sitting at the desk and recalculate the record. This was not desirable. And we still had the unproven claim from the crew of Double Eagle V. The possible gain did not justify a relatively small change in the rule. The Long Distance Rule using multiple legs was left as written in 1983.

The RTW rules were another business. Nobody had succeeded yet. We found after renewed study of probable positions of the jet streams that a flight crossing the Equator was very unlikely. They would stay on the hemisphere where they started. The track would probably be angled in relation to the Equator and there could be excursions up to Arctic regions. They would probably try to avoid the Antarctic regions as they are so sparsely populated and the surface weather can be rather extreme.

The Equator is a Great Circle. So are all meridians. All other Great Circles curve away from the Equator towards the poles. The 1983 rules stipulate that the required distance should be measured as the sum of quite long legs. To get the required leg length a flight had to be much closer to the Equator than we had actually intended. If a flight followed the edge of the caps then they had to fly on for some distance to get the required distance even if they had crossed the meridian through the start point.

We thought that the general public would expect that a true RTW flight had to cross all meridians. It was important to us to find a way to define an RTW flight so that a flight considered by the “man-on-the-street to be a true circumnavigation of the Earth should not be disapproved because of technicalities in the rules. The rules had to reflect this and they had to be simple and understandable.

We also considered the development of high precision lightweight equipment that could transmit almost continuous position data in real time to a ground based control station. There would be a large selection of well defined points along the track.

We tried a large number of proposals to simplify the rules and then we suddenly realised that we did not need the tie by minimum leg length to the long distance rules. An RTW flight would also become a long distance flight, most probably a record. The Distance Record had to be measured according to the distance record rules but for the RTW record, Shortest Time Around the World we did not need to specify any minimum leg length. Suddenly it became much easier to define an RTW flight without too much technical details.

Then we decided that we needed a definition of an RTW flight that would satisfy the media and the general public. They want to know exactly, within seconds of the occurrence, when a balloon has completed a flight around the World. They will not care much about the exact distance flown. Nor will they care much about exactly how many hours, minutes and seconds it has taken. They want to know when and where and they want to know it immediately.

We also thought that people would not care too much about the actual distance covered. More important would be that the flight had actually crossed all meridians. Most people would not realise that if a flight starts in Europe, then crosses Asia, the Pacific and North America and ends up in Europe again it has maybe only flown half the Equator distance.

A flight starting at 50 degrees latitude (Northern France or Southern part of England) and then followed that latitude would not qualify when they crossed the North-South line through the take off point. They would have to fly another 2000 km to get the required leg length. The definition of the caps outside which all position checkpoints had to be, was not in harmony with the minimum distance required.

The theoretical minimum distance that had to be flown under the 1983 rules was 25,484 km but in practise the minimum was closer to 30,000. The reason is that the Great Circle distance between two points about 7000 km apart along the same latitude is actually about 10-15 % shorter than the probable track distance.

We also knew more about the position of the jet streams and we thought that any RTW flight would follow a wavy pattern when navigating from one jet stream to another. There would be a substantial variation in the latitude during the flight.

You will find the exact wording in FAI Sporting Code, Section 1, chapter 4.8.3 and 4.8.4.

The caps have now actually increased slightly in size from 6371 km diameter along the surface/57.296 degrees (1 radian) to 6671.70 km /60 degrees. Gone is the radian and we have chosen an even angle of 60.

Theoretically a flight can now be made just outside the edge of the cap with an infinite number of waypoints. There is no minimum length of each leg. The theoretical minimum distance required is therefore exactly half the Earth Equator (20 015 km). As you can see in the attached examples this is unlikely to happen.

Subject to this minimum distance the flight around the world is completed the moment the balloon crosses the meridian through the take off position. This is important for the media. Later the crew may want to select another Start Line and a new Finish line through the Start Position just to get a shorter time for the record. Note: This is the only record that is not neccesarily measured from take off to landing.

The caps may be tilted maximum 30 degrees. The North Pole must be inside one cap and the South Pole must be inside the other. The caps must no longer be exactly opposite each other.

If a flight enters inside a cap then the positions inside the cap are not used. The flight must then exit the cap and go outside far enough so a line along a Great Circle can be drawn from one position before entering the cap to another position after leaving the cap. This GC line must lie entirely outside the cap.

The actual track must cross all meridians. They can not pass the Pole on the wrong side even if they then go far out of the cap to compensate.

Before taking the final decision on these rules, we asked some of the pilots who were preparing for RTW flights about their opinion. After all they are the customers and their number is limited to a handful.

This procedure is actually unusual in the rulemaking process. In other cases we would get too many conflicting opinions and many would like small changes here and there without seeing the implications of these changes on other rules. We have tried it but the workload to sort out the apples from the pears is too much. After all we are unpaid volunteers using our spare time.

But we asked a few pilots, known for their ability to find shortcuts in rules, to check for possible ways to cheat. We think the rules now are realistic, watertight and as simple as they possibly can be.

These rules are in force since January 1st, 1996.

It is only a short resume of all ideas we had especially during the last half of 1995 when we worked out the present rules. Don Cameron, Bristol, England, did most of the work.

The CIA web site contains a wealth of information and is packed with much of the paperwork that has been created by all the CIA delegates since 1970. All this paperwork represents thousands of man-hours of dedicated work. Please feel free to browse.

The detailed rules for World Records are available for reading or downloading from the CIA web site.

General rules for all Air Sports are found in The Sporting Code, General Section. There are also the rules for the handling and processing of record claims.

Detailed rules for Aerostat records are found in the Sporting Code, Section 1. This part also contain the forms for the claim of a World Record and checklists for what to do when attempting a record flight.

Much of the history of the CIA decisions on rules and all other aerostat business are found in a document called Policy. This is several hundred pages long and contains all CIA meeting decisions since 1970. In many cases also brief explanations are included.

Comparison between the percentage of meridians covered and the percentage of the Earth Equator distance actually covered along the track of some long distance flights. In all these cases we have a log of the actual track flown. Note that in all cases the percentage of Equator distance covered is almost the same as the percentage of the Meridians crossed. This leads me to believe that there is a good probability that the first RTW flight will cover 35 000 to 40 000 km along the track.

• 1998, 07-16 Aug Commander: Steve Fossett. ”Solo Spirit 3”.
• Mendoza, Argentina to Chesterfield Reef, Coral Sea between Australia and New Caledonia.
• 63% M 22 910 km 206 hours Absolute World distance record 61% E (24 494 km total distance along the track)

• 1998, 18-25 Dec Commander: Per Lindstrand. ”ICO Global”.
• Co-Pilots: Steve Fossett and Richard Branson
• Marrakech, Morocco to 26 km N Kahuku, Honolulu
• 58% M 19 962 km 178 hours Second longest flight to date
• 54% E (21 500 km total distance along the track)

• 1997, 14-20 Jan Commander: Steve Fossett. ”Solo Spirit”.
• St. Louis, USA to Sultanpur, India.
• 48% M 16 674 km 146:44 hours Absolute World Dist & Dur Records
• 45% E (18 130 km total distance along the track) Third longest flight to date

• 1997, 31 Dec to Commander: Steve Fossett. ”Solo Spirit”.
• 1998, 5 Jan St. Louis, USA to Krasnodar, Russia. Steve Fossett
• 36% M 9 338 km 108 hours 4th longest flight to date
• 29% E (About 11 500 km total distance along the track)

• 1995, 17-21 Jan Commander: Steve Fossett. ”Solo Challenger”.
• Seoul, South Korea to Mendham, Saskatchewan, Canada
• 34% M 8 748 km 104 hours Absolute World Distance Record
• 25% E (About 9 900 km distance along the track) 5th longest flight to date

• 1998, 28 Jan to 7 Feb Commander: Bertrand Piccard. ”Breitling Orbiter 2”.
• Co-pilot: Andy Elson. Passenger: Wim Verstraeten
• Château d’Oeux, Switzerland to Sitkwin Minhla, Myanmar
• 25% M 8 473 km 233:55 hours Absolute World duration record
• 24% E (About 9 000 km distance along the track) 6th longest flight to date

• 1991, 16-17 Jan Commander: Per Lindstrand. ”Pacific Flyer”. First Pacific crossing by HAB.
• Co-Pilot: Richard Branson
• Miyakonojo, Japan to Yellowknife, Canada
• 22% M 7 672 km 46 hours 15 minutes HAB World Distance Record
• 27% E (10 883 km total distance along the track) 8th longest flight to date