OFAJ Gas Camp in Bitterfeld

From 7 to 15 August 2004

Meeting point in Paris for 15 (out of 17) of us, divided into 4 flats:

• Jean d'Antras: Amélie, Olivier, Christophe, Marion, Sébastien, Laurent.
• Chez Mamie Geneviève (thanks Agathe): Sylvine, Emilie and Jean-Phi.
• At Capucine and Adrien's: Thomas (and family).
• At Dalila's: Renaud.

Average sleep time: 1h30

At Jean's: first problem: getting to Jean's house

Amélie and Sébastien (“former OBS”) definitely don't have a compass in their eye. After a few hours on the train, they found themselves face to face, each thinking they were arriving at Jean's…

Second problem: sleeping, while Jean fixes his glasses for the blunderer…

At Mamie Geneviève's: First “Impossibility”: Arrive, go up to the capital… and be on time.

Second difficulty: getting the trailer into Granny's garage.

Third difficulty: Sylvine is in the “old OBS” category.

Adrien and Capucine's first difficulty: finding themselves the only guests in the house…

Second problem: fitting in with the Terrin family.

Third difficulty: not sleeping…

At Renaud's: first and last challenge: leaving your lover.

Everyone meets at 5am at the airport.

More difficulties: not so sure of getting to the plane…

• Finding the terminal.
• Find the café.
• Finding the identity card in the bottom of the suitcase (well done Sébastien, that was a close one!). The driving licence is not yet valid…
• Forgot to put the quick release in your handbag (check-in reopens 5 minutes before take-off, so you can take the quick release into the hold - thank you Olive for the bag).
• Forgetting his identity card in the checked bag (Fortunately, Thomas doesn't look like a terrorist and has permission to re-enter the plane - thanks to the Schengen area).

Arrival in Berlin with a slightly rough landing (a bit rough for a baptism!)

Volker was waiting for us outside the airport for a train journey interspersed with a long nap, reading, sunbathing, tarot and UNO improvised on the station platform.

At 12 noon, we arrived (finally!) at the BALLONPLATZ for a first taste of the local food: WURTZ and rolls!

Fred from Luxembourg joins us.

5pm: arrival at the campsite for a tent assembly workshop. No question of talking about the winners when we're not leaving with the same chances! Stéphanie joins us after the battle, just for the aperitif!

Early evening: unpacking the local specialities.

The French are very liquid!

• Fouasse aveyronnaise
• Quercy honey
• Duck terrine with Roquefort cheese
• Aveyron sausage

• Wild boar terrine
• Saucisson
• Saint Joseph white
• Côtes du Rhône rosé

• Château Magence 2001 white
• Château Magence 1998 red
• Château Magence 1998 red aged in barrels

• Cognac
• Red Pineau
• White Pineau

• Crottin de Chavignol
• Pralines
• Sancerre 1999

• Muscadet
• Berlingots
• P'tits butters from Nantes
• St Jacques terrine with Muscadet and Guérande salt

• Croquants with Lozère almonds
• Black and green tapenade

• Pastis 51

• Babeluttes

• Génépi
• Orange wine

• Pâté and terrine

• Almond and coconut cake.

All these specialities were enjoyed by all and lasted all night!

A slightly hectic wake-up for those in the “quickest to pitch” tent! tent!

What an idea to take Volker's bed! Hein, Fred! 10am: departure for Ferropolis to tour the “iron monsters” sitting around the arena. around the arena. Closed in 1991, this coal mine had been in operation for 30 years. Some of the machines travelled as far as 200km to reach their destination.

12:30: Arrival at Tour du Lac.

What could be funnier than seeing pilots turn pale when they reach the top of the tower.

The climb was nothing compared to the descent with a direct view of the surrounding area behind a simple fence!

2pm: first hot meal at the campsite restaurant: goulash, peas and salad (typical menu?)

First afternoon chatting at the campsite. I almost forgot the most important thing: the first theoretical contact with gas balloons! with gas balloons! Thank you Olivier for taking notes!

Envelope: grammage 180 to 220 g/m². 3M polyamide fabric coated with :

• On the inside: graphite coating = protection against static electricity.
• On the outside: butyl rubber

Rq: Frères Leys = polyester fabric Spindle assembly: gluing Cost of a new 1000 m3 = €50,000 Cost of gas (hydrogen) = 0.17 € per m3 in Bitterfeld, 600 € for 1000 m3 in Stuttgart, 12000 F HT for 700 m3 in France !

German statistics: 1 accident for every 2,600 balloon flights 1 accident for every 100 gas balloon flights!

1 m3 of air weighs 1.3 kg at 0°C and 1 atm. so a 1000m3 balloon displaces 1.3t of air 1 m3 of H2 weighs 100g, and 1 m3 of He 200g so H2 carries about 9% more charge than He…

The atmosphere is considered to be homogeneous and linear between 0 and 8OOO m :\
Lightening the balloon by 1% of its weight, i.e. 13 kg, causes it to rise by 1% from 8000 m, i.e. 80 m. Rq: at 5500 m, the balloon weighs half as much: 650 kg. As it descends, the balloon loses volume: the gas it contains contracts. In theory, if the temperature is constant, a balloon that is not full rises or at a constant speed (PV=nRT=cte). In practice, however, temperature has a major influence. In an inversion, the balloon slows down (descending towards cold air or rising towards warm air). Conversely, if the balloon descends towards warm air or rises towards cold air, its vertical speed will increase. Difference in mass in relation to equilibrium :Difference in mass = multiplication factor x (speed in m/s)²\. For a 3000 m3 hot-air balloon: multiplication factor = 7\\. Example: at 1 m/s: 7×12 = 7 kg\\. at 2 m/s: 7×22 = 28 kg For a 1000 m3 gas balloon: multiplication factor = 3.8\\. The rope guide is 60 m long and weighs between 15-16 kg and 34 kg. Bags of sand: 10 to around 20 (18-22) kg.\

Reaction time: up to 3 minutes. Example illustrating inertia If the balloon is descending (whatever its speed of fall, as a first approximation), if you offload the balloon with just enough water to obtain equilibrium at the altitude you are at, the balloon will fall 80 m below this equilibrium level.

If twice the amount needed to reach equilibrium is released, the balloon will continue to fall 20 m below the equilibrium level.

Contraction of the balloon on cooling / Loss of H2 on reheating When the sun heats the gas by 1°C, 1/273 ~ 0.04% gas is lost. When the balloon cools by 1°C, the same ~ 0.04% of volume is lost. At night Tballoon < Exterior (radiation)

H2 explosive mixture: 4-90% in air

• When inflated, there is theoretically no risk of explosion;
• When deflated, there is a theoretical risk of explosion.

19:30 Briefing for balloon flight Altenburger, OFAJ and Schroeder balloons Altenburger: Bernd (Pilot), Jean, Jean-Phi and Thomas\ OFAJ: Sébastien, Stéphanie, Volker (Pilot) and Jessi\ Schroeder: Amélie, Marion and Capucine (Driver)

Hard work for the Schroeder team :
Overzealous, the recovery team ended up at the foot of the Bayer factory near the Altenburger ! balloon, which landed on the main road, bringing traffic to a standstill while the canvas was moved to the cycle path.

Backtracking: 10 km earlier, we found the balloon and its passengers after 10pm in the midst of mosquitoes and a strong smell of clutch after a wilderness expedition by Kristin, Séb, Stéphanie, Karin and Olivier.

Back at the campsite, it was hard to make a snack by torchlight, but much easier to make a tomato after a few glasses of schnapps and a string of beers… provoking the furious arrival of our caretaker on his bike!

The evening continued much more calmly over a few beers and Pineau des Charentes (the survivor of the welcome party!).

Last to go to bed around 3am…

Breakfast with our friends the wasps! We set off at 10am to see the beavers (BIBER). We arrived around 11am at the nature reserve in front of a hut to see the CASTOR.

Some were able to get so close that the others only saw him or her (we don't really know and neither do they) after the guide came out of hiding.

Visit to the reserve house with all the animals, provoking all sorts of reactions:

Amélie discovers the use of the river's current for a ferry.

Stéphanie, intrigued by the crowd around an aquarium, discovers her favourite animal (much to everyone's dismay!).

2pm: picnic over half a chicken (or rooster) in the shade of the Ballonplatz trees. First contact with gas balloons, with two models set up, a recent one and an old one with a net (which was not inflated). Klaus, the “old gas balloonist”, didn't need any translating! He knew how to make himself understood and for the rest there was Claude!

An expedition inside the envelope to look for any holes! We didn't see much, which was a good sign!

After the press and tidying up the equipment, a game of football was very welcome!

As was the water fight!

A beer and ice cream break while we waited for the draw for the night flight (yes, here we are!)!

To decide who would fly first, a draw was made to determine those who would take off at night and watch the sunrise and those who would take part in a landing worthy of the name!

After dinner, the next night's programme was outlined:

Wake-up time: 00:45 Departure for take-off site: 01:15 Start of flight preparations: 02:00 Ballonplatz. Reveal of crew distribution:

Hard to wake up after such a short night! And off to BallonPlatz to prepare for the flight. Everyone around “their the pilot's every move, on the lookout for a helping hand to give. helping hand.

The preparations were impressive, both in terms of their duration and the majesty of the filling. filling. Presentation of two different approaches to balloon filling:

Firstly, the traditional and sporting technique of plugging the valve by designated volunteers on their knees who make the valve airtight. Once the balloon is one-third full, the hydrogen supply is turned off to allow the balloon to stand upright. to allow the balloon to stand upright; to do this, the people at the valve valve must stand up simultaneously, taking care not to be ejected to let the balloon rise quickly. Once you're up, you can continue filling. Once the first balloon is inflated, the filling of the next can continue.

The second technique is the one recommended by the new generation of instructors. It consists of limiting the risks during filling. To do this, the pilot applies a tourniquet to 2/3 of the envelope, preventing the hydrogen from escaping. envelope, preventing the hydrogen from spreading to the valve. In the same way as the first method, the pilot stops the filling process to allow the balloon to rise, then resumes filling.

So the filling continues, with the impressive and worrying noises of the hydrogen supply pipes and the envelope reacting to the arrival of the gas.

And now the 1000 m3 of hydrogen are contained by the envelope, the balloon has found its shape, its balance, held in place by its 4 mooring lines. Finally ready to receive its ballast and above all its passengers! The pilot finishes the preparations and invites the passengers on board. The balloons finally take off one after the other in the middle of the night (4:15 am).

Well done for recovering the last balloon whose valve rope had got caught on one of the mooring hooks. It was a minor incident that only delayed the start of the flight, thanks to the composure of Klaus (on board) and Goetz (on the ground).

In flight: impressive to see the silhouettes of the balloons in the dark, with the signal lights. lights. Little by little, the day dawns and the sun rises over the horizon in shades of orange-pink! It was hard to explain, but fortunately some photos were taken… The senses were heightened by the fact that we were more attuned to the environment (no “parasitic” noise from the balloon). After a few landings and changes of altitude, it was time to celebrate with a bottle of with a bottle of Saint Joseph! Thank you Jean-Philippe! And now it's time for touch and go!

Spotting an approaching thatch, the pilot wields the valve rope and the sand shovel on the other. The balloon slows down, gets closer to the ground, lands, the relief arrives at the end of the field and approaches. In turn, the new arrivals take their places and the previous ones leave their place. Sharing the feelings of the newly baptised before take-off. And the flight continues! The new passengers discover the awakening of nature with its animals (which this time don't run away as the balloon approaches because of the burners!)

Demonstration of precise piloting by Volker with a radada on the wheat fields during the approach, to take up a challenge from Amélie and Renaud! (Même pas cap' ? Cap' !)\ Followed by a soft landing without a rope guide to avoid having to put it away once unrolled!

An afternoon of recuperation between a siesta and sharing anecdotes from everyone's flight! It was like a pilot who let his balloon go for a coffee, without realising how fast it was going! A soft landing and a pilot who played with the ground currents, making him bounce! Use of the rope guide for a Touch and Go on a path, forcing the first passengers to fold it up (or rather make a ball) before the ball set off again for the second part of the flight. for the second part of the flight.

Quick lunch at the campsite followed by a siesta before the evening meal (two hours after lunch…). Relaxing evening in front of the tents: beers, jokes, tomatoes, all of which provoked the arrival of the campsite concierge! Apparently we were noisy! Astonishing!

We get up at 1.45 a.m. to prepare for the 2nd night flight for those who flew during the day the day before. Preparation of 2 gas balloons and 2 hot-air balloons. The gas balloons are set up by Jurgen (Linde balloon) and Andreas (Stuttgarter Hofbrau balloon).

The balloons took off at 05:15 (it was already dawn, so we were a little disappointed! But the light at sunrise was unforgettable). Fast flight: 150km in 4 hours 10 minutes. No Touch and Go because the wind was too strong on the ground. In flight and at altitude: 200m, 38km/h Landing: 16km/h, very technical, impressive and no less enjoyable than the first.

On the other hand, with Jurgen, the other pilot, the flight was “quiet”, so much so that Emilie tested 10 minutes of sleep at altitude; next time it will be on the esquamotable bed, only 10 minutes a little quieter! Landing using the drop thingy! With the recovery at the end of the field, super efficient!

Hot-air balloons: 2 were inflated Altenburger bier: sébastien, Jean-Phi, Kristin and Berndt
OFAJ: Marion, Volker, Jessica, Steffi, Franzisca, Carolin\ “Nice to take off after the gas balloons”. The Altenburger team had a lot of fun between playing radadas on the sunflowers to pick one and bowling with bales of straw. Attempting to fox the gas balloons, which was quickly abandoned to avoid flying over the forest. While the hot-air balloons met at a windmill for breakfast, the gas balloons met up in a restaurant a few hours later for trout, beer and other specialities! The two groups met up at the campsite for a siesta before the evening meal. The result was a wake-up call 15 minutes before dinner, followed by a quick shower.

Departure around 7pm for the take-off site, for the flight of three hot-air balloons. OFAJ balloon with Laurent, Christophe, Daniela and Sylvine Schroeder balloon with Anja, Karin\ Altenburger balloon with Renaud, Olivier and Emilie

A super-fast recovery for a 20-minute flight, landing at the foot of a 20km forest that was impossible to cross at this time of day because of the wind. On landing, the OFAJ balloon team was surprised by the number of Germans on approaching the balloon. Renaud at the controls of the Altenburger balloon, happy to be back on his even for a short flight. Paying close attention to his equipment, Berndt moved the canvas to the side of the road as the flight progressed. On arrival at the campsite, we celebrated Jessica's birthday.

Back in the tents for a very short sleep, getting up at 4.15am!

Wake-up call at 4.15am (it rang longer to be more efficient!). Off to BallonPlatz for the flight of 2 gas balloons.

On board:

With Volker: Olivier, Jessica, Thomas, Laurent, Jean, Kristin, Carolin (with Touch and Go)

With Andreas: Adrien, Franzisca, Birgit, Sébastien

The others were all recycled! (Fun of course!)

“Indescribable flight”: more impressive than the first for Thomas. A radada attempt on a maize field that ended in an early harvest! early harvest! Magnificent flight over the lake. Touch & Go and off we go again! Meanwhile, in the red truck, it's all fun and games fun and laughter! During the second part of the flight of the Linde balloon, everyone got involved: sand the valve rope! When the Linde balloon landed, everyone met up for lunch. The meal ended with a water fight between the cars. The rematch took place in the campsite, starting our siesta! But hey, no one was spared. The rest of the afternoon was spent resting up for a barbecue evening, which was interrupted by a storm. was interrupted by a thunderstorm! And so as not to end the evening damp, everyone gathered under a shelter next to the tents (or the toilets?). the tents (or the toilets?) late into the night! Even very late, as we knew that the next day's programme was very flexible for the morning… flexible for the morning… Unfortunately on this day we have to deplore the abandonment of the red lorry which decided to drop those who had gone to do some shopping for the evening!

Sleeping in (9am) was good for everyone! The rest of the morning passed peacefully. Lunch was followed by a screening of some of Volker's films:

• The take-off of the Gordon Bennett at Arc et Senans in 2003
• Footage filmed since the start of our stay.

At the end of the afternoon, we had a fun and sporty ride on the rail-bikes. in groups of 4, we got on the bikes and rode them around the countryside the countryside on rails over a distance of 5 km.

It was great to have a ride while two others pedalled! Laughter and stampedes guaranteed!

Meal at the campsite: pasta à la “Capucine”, really too good! accompanied by a fruit salad where everyone can say “I made it! I made it! Great team spirit!

It's a shame it rained too!

A quiet morning in preparation for our afternoon flight!

Volker has organised a final flight for us so that everyone has flown twice!

Before the flight, we divide up the tasks between those who stay to tidy up and the and the others who will go shopping for the barbecue at BallonPlatz!

A barbecue with a French twist: barbecued potatoes! accompanied, of course, by Wurzst!

5pm: preparations begin for the balloon that will take Capucine, Marion and Jean-Philippe on an instructional flight for Claude?

I don't know if it's the habit of watching them inflate or if it's because it was the afternoon, but I found that the balloon filled up more quickly than on previous occasions.

18:30-19:00 preparations began for the OFAJ and Schroeder hot-air balloons.

In the end, only the OFAJ balloon left, as Franzisca and Jessica didn't want to take the risk of flying to Leipzig without a radio…

The OFAJ retrouving was therefore made up of all the people left on the ground! on the ground!

Aboard the OFAJ balloon, Adrien, Renaud and Agathe had a great flight and decided to do a short Touch & Go. decided to do a short Touch & Go in the middle of the potatoes!

A field that didn't bring any luck to their retriever, who got stuck with the aremorque into the farm track.

The rest of the flight allowed Karin, Adrien and Sylvine to witness a beautiful sunset and the formation of clouds. and the formation of clouds heralding rain.

As soon as the gondola was set down, a few drops fell on the canvas, speeding up the tidying up of the equipment! the equipment away! But that didn't prevent half the envelope from getting when the rain came down!

It really wasn't easy to put all that away! And then we'll have to take it out again quickly Half of the group returned to the campsite soaking wet, hoping to take a shower to warm up. all hoping for a shower to warm up!

Our last evening in Germany has now begun, and it will be spent barbecue and the baptism of all the French people for their first gas balloon flight. gas balloon.

We formed a circle and one by one Volker and Claude baptised us with sand and champagne sand and champagne, followed by Franzisca giving a speech about each of us with a diploma!

A solemn moment!

Then came the baptism of Volker and Amélie by all of us, with the rite of hot-air balloon baptism with a gift: pyjamas signed by everyone with a drawing of Séb on the back!

The evening continued with a good soaking… not with rain, but with champagne and chocolate bananas cooked on the barbecue, all flambéed with rum! All simply brilliant!

The evening lasted late into the night (too late and too noisy for the taste of the campsite warden who came to see us). too late and too noisy for the taste of the campsite warden who came to pay us a visit!)

That night, the tent furthest away had two extra guests, whom Goetz's snoring prevented. Goetz's snoring was keeping them awake!

In fact, they prevented everyone from falling asleep quickly!

We got up early to empty our tents and clean them as much as we could so that our German friends only had to dismantle and fold them! and fold them up!

8.30 am: Jessica and Stéphanie leave with Goetz for Bitterfeld station. Bitterfeld station.

The bags are distributed to the luggage compartments.

And here we are at 9.30am, time for our departure for Berlin!

Goodbyes always too quick!

And off we go!

We arrived in Schoenefeld, where we left our luggage in a locker. not very practical to go sightseeing with 15 kg of luggage on your back! It's 12.30 pm and we're off to the centre of Berlin to say goodbye to Volker, Franzisca and the others. Volker, Franzisca and Anja, thanking them once again for a memorable week. memorable week. We hope to see you soon! Gas course with the Leys brothers ? Les Carroz mountain course, which could host the OFAJ camp ?