Another False Alarm

When we arrived at this evening's 4:00pm, briefing we were immediately met by a sign indicating that there was a 30 minute hold. The subsequent meeting resulted in a task sheet indicating a single task (Hesitation Waltz), but another 60 minute hold would be necessary to wait out some rain. During the 5:30pm gathering we received a list of five goals. The rain was also falling harder now, so much so that we could hear it on the top of the tent. We left the briefing to a red flag and instructions that a decision would be made at 6:00pm. The steady rain continued and a black flag resulted, canceling the flight.


Elle Petrehn's Team USA garb:


Erica's birthday celebration, complete with Becky Nels butter cream frosted brownies:


Tonight all of Team USA (probably 40 or 50 people) are meeting for dinner at a local restaurant. Hopefully tomorrow morning brings some better weather. It's hard to get all "geared up" only to do nothing. Sandy Raya flies home out of Vienna early tomorrow morning, so she didn't even get to see a competitive flight.

Here's our lead vehicle, being manned by Shawn and Larry:

Semi-live blogging

As you wake up in the US, we're at an "Opening Lunch". Of course, free Gösser beer is being served by the tray, but you have to ask for water. They're currently calling up each country's pilots to receive their nation's flag. They haven't served any food yet, but when they do I have a feeling it that 600 beer-prepped balloonists will make short work of it.


Earlier we stood in some perhaps dangerously overcrowded bleachers with the rest of the pilots and crews for a photo:


Update: The mayor of Hofkirchen just declared that "The banquet is open." If you think balloon race meals in the US are a mad rush, you can't even imagine this. The food looks good from a distance.

Not raining here yet, but the radar still looks questionable for tonight. We killed some time this morning watching Talladega Nights.

Would you like to see a couple photos of my daughter on her first day of preschool (which I missed, photos courtesy of my lovely wife)? If not, too bad. It's my blog. I decide what gets posted.

Worlds, Day 1

Happy Birthday Erica!
(Erica Hahn turns 30 today!)

The 4:15am alarm this morning woke us up to...rain. Not heavy, but given the forecast for the next 24 hours, we were pretty sure that it was only the beginning. As we awaited the 5:30am briefing the light showers continued. However, there were 2 markers and a logger on the table when we went inside. A task sheet indicated 2 Hesitation Waltz tasks (MJDG's as we often call them in the US), both with gravity marker drops. However, the radar was still a bit questionable, so a hold was called until 6:45am. Everyone used the time to make last-minute adjustments and test out all the procedures they'd practiced during our warm up days. Unfortunately the forecast seems to be holding true, as the rain got a little worse during the break and the flight was canceled. This afternoon looks questionable too.


There's a group photo later this morning (all pilots, crews, and officials) and a lunch after that. Unfortunately, each pilot received just 4 tickets with additional people costing 18€ (about $27). As I mentioned before, it seems like there's a lot of "miscellaneous charges" here. Even a lost marker results in a monetary fine (and certainly a points penalty)!

Other than that, I'm not sure what we'll do today. This morning ensured us that we're ready to fly, so maybe we'll just relax until the 4:00pm briefing. The forecast of rain may limit our recreational options, although it could be worse - my parents back home in Battle Creek said they've gotten 8 or 9 inches of rain during the past 24 hours.