By : Pit Klein

The 4th MOBILUX TROPHY was held from August 4 to 8 in BOURSCHEID/MICHELAU in the northern part of the Grand-Duchy of Luxembourg, organised by the CERCLE LUXEMBOURGEOIS DE L’AEROSTATION asbl. The venue, chosen for the second time, offers excellent infrastructure, a difficult and demanding competition area, and fantastic scenery for competitors and spectators alike.

For the first time this year the event was sanctioned by the FAI’s International Ballooning Commission (CIA) as an FAI Category 1 International Sporting Event, and advertised as such in the FAI Sporting Calendar. Entry was limited to 30 competitors and open to all NACs. As it turned out, 16 different NACs shared the available positions. Due to its well-known hospitality and high quality competition, this year’s event saw the participation of the World Champion, the Vice World Champion and many highly motivated National Champions.

This year again the MOBILUX TROPHY ‘99 was also the second run for the WORLD HONDA GRAND PRIX, a series of events in the USA, Europe and Asia, and where competitors join or form teams to compete in the different events.

The event was directed by Les PURFIELD (UK), assisted by Masashi KAKUDA (JPN, deputy director), Jacques BERNARDIN (F, steward), Marc ROSENFELD (L, steward) and over 30 other competition officials. The FAI International Jury was composed of Jacques SOUKUP (UK), Arno SIEGER (GER) and Jakob BURKARD (CH). The new competition format approved by the CIA for this event, only limited scoring areas, did not allow for competition observers, and therefore the competition director and his team did have to thoroughly survey the competition area to determine the valid goals to be listed in the goals & targets catalogue. This new format, to be tried and tested in a CAT1 event for the first time, somewhat limited the choice of tasks that could be set, but all considered it proved to be an interesting experience for the competitors, officials and organisers. Generally the task results were published within 1 hour of the end of the scoring period, competitors did not need to go chasing their markers after the flight (allowing for additional rest time), and debriefing officials had only to debrief the scoring-officials/measuring teams and did not need to stay for hours to debrief the observers. Another very beneficial side effect was that the results could be made available to the Media on the event homepage at very convenient times.

The competition started with the General Briefing on Wednesday evening at 1800, immediately followed by the official Opening ceremony and reception at the castle of Bourscheid.

Thursday morning was not flyable and the first two tasks of the event were flown Thursday evening. In Task 1, a Fly In, 10 pilots achieved a result and Crispin Williams scored best with a result of 4.17m. In Task 2, a Hesitation Waltz, 16 pilots achieved a result and Carles Llado Costa scored best with a result of 15.64m.

Friday morning showed perfect flying conditions and Les Purfield set a triple task flight. In Task 3, a Fly In, 24 pilots achieved a result and Uwe Schneider scored best with a result of 24cm. In Task 4, a Pilot Declared Goal, 20 pilots achieved a result and Janne Balkedal scored best with a result of 54cm. In Task 5, a Hesitation Waltz, 29 pilots achieved a result and Uwe Schneider scored best with a result of 1.03m.

Friday evening the event director set a double task out of the main launch field in the Michelau valley. In Task 6, a Judge Declared Goal, no pilot achieved a result due to changing winds. In Task 7, only one pilot achieved a result and won the task with a result of 54.98m. This flight clearly showed that with this competition format (only limited scoring areas), the director has to make sure that the task setting takes into account the unpredictable meteorological changes.

Saturday morning was not flyable, and as the competitors had been warned of this, many chose to phone-in to be told that they were allowed to stay in bed.

Saturday evening saw a double task flight from the main launch field, where several thousand spectators patiently waited to watch the preparations and launch. In Task 8, a Hesitation Waltz, 22 pilots achieved a result and Jan Timmers scored best with a result of 0.0m. In Task 9, another Hesitation Waltz, only 3 pilots achieved a result: Henrik Odman with 48.90m, Uwe Schneider with 51.65m, and David Bareford with 57.39m.

Around 2200, all competitors having returned, it was time for the NightGlow where the public saw all the balloons glow to the music and a fantastic Light show and Fireworks. The crowd seemed very pleased and enthusiastically cheered the pilots after their fantastic show.

Sunday morning was fine with good flying conditions, and Les Purfield set the final two Hesitation Waltzes.

In Task 10 25 pilots achieved a result and Mathijs Debruijn scored best with a result of 61cm. In Task 11, 25 pilots achieved a result and Uwe Schneider scored best with a result of 1.24m.

The Prizegiving ceremony was scheduled for 1300, and the final results were in the hands of the Jury at 1030. The Final Overall Results were published at 1200.

The Top Ten:

1. NOACK Frank Germany 9281 points, with an average of 843.7 points/task
2. De BRUIJN Mathijs Netherlands 9146 points 831.5
3. FOKKEN Jan Netherlands 8509 points 773.5
4. LLADO COSTA Carles Spain 8445 points 767.7
5. SCHNEIDER Uwe Germany 8431 points 766.5
6. Bareford David UK 8072 points 733.8
7. FUJITA Mashiko Japan 8045 points 731.4
8. WILLIAMS Crispin UK 7868 points 715.3
9. NEMETH Zoltan Hungary 7761 points 705.5
10. CINQUIN Guy France 7436 points 676.0

The WORLD HONDA GRAND PRIX event, where a different scoring system is used, saw the following results:

1. SCHNEIDER Uwe Team MAGIC RACER 57 points
2. De BRUIJN Mathijs Team OK MAT 57 points
3. NOACK Frank Team NEXT GENERATION 49 points

At the Prizegiving the Top Ten were presented with CIA medals and diplomas.

The KEY-GRAB flight on Sunday evening, although no longer a competition task, had to be cancelled due to strong winds.

Concluding, and judging by the media reports during and after the event, the MOBILUX TROPHY ’99 may be considered as a very successful and popular ballooning event, attracting large crowds and providing very good PR and publicity for airsports in general. The organisers are to be commended for their excellent organisation and the well run Media office.

For the first time this year, the event progress could be followed on the Internet and where the organiser’s homepage was constantly updated with the latest results, pictures and news.