[index] [month] [prev] [next] [thead-prev]

Michael wrote:
> I know nothing about balloon flying (I only went up in a balloon once,
> and elected not to land with it) so I have no idea why a vario would
> be important there.

A vario is important in a balloon because the burner controls the
airbag temperature, which controls rate of ascent/descent. Once you
have found an altitude that provides the wind direction/speed that you
want, you want to maintain that altitude by making small burns.

Using the altimeter itself has too much lag -- just like trying to
maintain level flight in IMC without a VSI. In a balloon, if you
use the altimeter only, you will be making larger altitude excursions
since you cannot accurately determine whether or not you are climbin
or descending until the altimeter shows a detectable change in altitude.

Think about it another way: rate of climb/descent is the ONLY thing
that you can control in a balloon. If you want to fly precisely, you
probably want something that tells you precisely what you are doing!

--
Walker Mangum
Houston, TX

View index by [date] [author] [subject]
Previous message: Re: Practice Approaches for VFR pilots?, Email address hidden
Next message: Re: Parker Aerospace Letter, Jake Brodsky
Previous message in thread: Re: Balloon IFR, Michael