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Tether safety often depends more on flight team skills and preparation than anything else. The following tethering safety tips are drawn from the book, Hot Air Balloon Crewing Essentials, by Gordon Schwontkowski, and is an excellent reference text for balloon pilots as well as crew.
• Whether you use a commercially available tether system or your own quality ropes matters less than how well and how thoroughly you prepare. Securely attach two or three tether lines minimum to load rings, envelope carabiners, or other brand specific point on your equipment.
• Triangulated wind protection is the goal. Attach tether lines to secure objects such as parked vehicles so that two lines always distribute wind loads. This protects you on all sides from turbulence and potential downdrafts from buildings.
• Focus! Constantly watch weather conditions and line tensions for changes or needed adjustments. Listen to the crew for feedback and instruction. Direct spectators and participants according to your needs and their safety rather than chatting with them.
• Note and adjust for weather changes. Weather places great unnatural stresses on tethered balloons. Be prepared to suspend or cancel a tether at any moment due to changing weather. Allow extra time for packing lines and other tether equipment when considering whether to shut down.
• Plan for any one line to fail or come untied with no notice. Create a backup plan you can implement immediately to maintain control and safety.
• Watch for spectators and children who want to hang onto tether lines and ride them off the ground. Keep all noncrew away from lines; suddenly tight or rising lines pose risks for all concerned. At NO TIME should any crew member ever leave the ground (riding or hanging on the basket, holding ropes, etc.).
• Devote one crew member exclusively to organizing passengers in a line far back from the balloon and tether lines. Select groups by number, weight, age, or an appropriate combination of factors.
• Adding weight is necessary on landing and during passenger switches, giving many opportunities for someone’s toes or a foot to slip beneath a fully loaded basket. Keep everyone similarly clear of lines running to the basket or lower envelope.
• Inspect lines frequently to ensure they are attached securely at both ends, particularly under heavy loads or in stronger wind conditions.
7-15
Figure 7-13 This crew chief has stopped safely off the road to talk to her pilot. Communications are important, but safety is paramount.
Inflight Crew Management
The balloon chase crew does much more during the flight than merely drive and wait for the balloon to land. As an integral part of the flight team, the crew can often have a significant impact on flight safety. Rather than passively follow behind the balloon’s perceived route, a knowledgeable chase crew can assist in the execution of the flight and play a large role in flight safety and management.
Immediately after the launch, the crew should promptly load equipment and prepare to leave the launch field. At a large fun fly of local pilots, or perhaps a competitive event, there may be a temptation for the crew to remain on the field and socialize; a crew on the field is of little or no use to a pilot who may be in difficulty. The crew chief, in conjunction with the pilot, should have a planned route off the launch site and a methodology for conducting the chase. Some pilots prefer for the chase crew to be ahead of the balloon, while other pilots have the chase crew follow the balloon throughout the entire flight. This is a matter of personal preference and may have an impact on the comfort level of the pilot. Either way is acceptable, as long as the pilot and crew remain in contact, and there is a plan in place for the eventual recovery of the balloon.
Chasing the balloon is, at times, grossly oversimplified. The crew should always bear in mind that they may have to plan on how to be in one of two places at any given moment: where the balloon currently is and where it appears to be heading in the next few minutes. A good rule during the first half of the planned flight is to leapfrog ahead of the balloon, let the balloon catch up, and then repeat the process. Even in familiar flying areas, the crew should frequently check maps to determine the flightpath, likely landing areas, and the best routes to get there. The crew must constantly be aware of changing conditions that may affect the flight; winds increasing, decreasing, or changing directions, or perhaps traffic situations that affect how the crew gets to the balloon after landing.
Crew Behavior
During the chase, the crew should remember to drive legally and politely. Driving at high rates of speed with no justification creates a sense of emergency where there is not one, and can draw unwanted attention to the chase crew. The chase crew is useless to the pilot if they have been stopped by the authorities.
　
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本文鏈接地址：Balloon Flying Handbook(93)