Recap on the use of Balloon Live systems

Dear competitors,

This is a recap upon the use of Balloon Live systems in the competition flights.

Please prepare the following steps ahead of the check-in in Szeged. (If you have done some of them already, you can of course skip it.)

1. Please create an account on watchmefly.net and fill out the fields in the account settings (top right under your name) at best. Your profile data will be visible to the public and helps showing your achievements and balloon data.
2. Install the latest version of the Balloon Live app (Android or Apple, version 2026) on your flying device and backup device (if used). You can find further information and help on balloonlive.org.
3. In the app, login with your watchmefly.net credentials.
4. In the app, under the user menu at the top right, select the available competitions list. You should see the event « 25th FAI World Hot Air Balloon Championship 2024 » in the events list. If the event is missing in the list, please contact support@balloonlive.org.
5. Select the event from the list and follow the steps to pay the event fee on your device. The payment is only required once and will not be shown on any further device.
6. Once the payment was successful, you should be able to see it marked « Paid » and you can select it to load the event in the app.
7. Start and connect the Balloon Live Sensor as shown in the tutorial video below.
8. To start the flight, make sure to sync the flight data first.
9. IMPORTANT: You must record at least one flight while in Hungary. You can of course record a flight ahead of your arrival in Szeged. Be aware of the following recording conditions:
• BLS connected
• duration of at least 15 minutes
• at least 1 goal declaration
• at least 1 marker drop
10. Make sure to stop your flight recording properly and wait for the track to be completely uploaded.(Upload icon - letter A has disappeared again)
11. Login to watchmefly.net from a browser and check if your flight is shown under the user menu (top right), then « Your Competition Data »

Additional remarks:

• Please try sync the flight data and then disconnect from the internet to record a flight. Reconnect later or even after stopping the flight. By doing so you can see that the track starts uploading after the flight.
• You can also let your device run for 3 hours to see if the app screen remains visible and the device is not becoming unstable after a certain time.

A excellent tutorial video can be found here: https://youtu.be/vdNrcm0B2Fo

Many of the above steps are explained and shown on screen.

Don’t hesitate to record multiple flights, including the training flights when flying prior to the event.

If you have any questions regarding the Balloon Live system or watchmefly.net, please contact support@balloonlive.org or in Szeged contact the scoring team member Erwin Pellegrom.

Best regards,

Paolo Oggioni

Event Director

Official Rules

Dear All,

The official rules can be downloaded below.

Best regards,

Paolo Oggioni

Event Director

Air Band Radio’s

To all competitors,

To fly in European air space, you have to have an authorized air band radio with channel spacing 8.33Mhz (radio license depends on the country where your balloon is registered). This is mandatory and you will need the radio in case, for any reason, you cross the borders between Hungary and Serbia or Romania.

The air band radio may also be used for recall procedures (to be announced at GB).