determine what is happening between the balloon and the ground, watch other balloons, if any. 

Another means of checking winds below is to drop a very light object and watch it descend to the ground. However, exercise caution with this method. Title 14 of the Code of Federal Regulations (14 CFR) part 91 allows objects to be dropped from the air that will not harm anything below. 14 CFR section 91.15, Dropping Objects, states “No pilot in command of a civil aircraft may allow any object to be dropped from that aircraft in flight that creates a hazard to persons or property. However, this section does not prohibit the dropping of any object if reasonable precautions are taken to avoid injury or damage to persons or property.” 

Some items that may dropped without creating a hazard are small, air-filled toy balloons, small balls made of a single piece of tissue, or a small glob of shaving cream from an aerosol can. A facial tissue, about 8" x 8", rolled into a sphere about the size of a ping-pong ball works well. These balls fall at about 350 fpm, can be seen for several hundred feet, and are convenient to carry. Counting as the tissue ball descends, a pilot can estimate the heights of wind changes by comparing times to the ground with the altimeter reading. Experiment by dropping some of these objects, practice reading the indications, and plan accordingly. 

## Direction 

There are several methods of accurately determining the balloon’s direction at any given moment, particularly with the advent of low-cost hand-held global positioning system (GPS) units. However, the pilot should be familiar with “old-school” methods, as GPS units break or fall overboard, and batteries fail. 

The pilot should first be positioned in the front of the basket, relative to the direction of flight. Then, the pilot should create a “sight picture,” using part of the basket’s superstructure, making an allowance for any possible spin of the basket, and then select a landmark along the route of flight. This process takes a few seconds if the landmark does not change position in relation to the “sight picture.” Then, the line that may be drawn between the balloon’s current position and the selected landmark is the ground track of the balloon. It is important that the pilot maintain a constant altitude while performing this evaluation; any change in altitude may put the balloon into a different wind flow, which requires the evaluation to be performed again. 

It can be helpful to carry a magnetic sighting compass on the flight. Identifying the bearings to a couple of distant landmarks and comparing this to the ground track can provide useful information to the balloon pilot. 

Examine Figure 3-12  in Chapter 3. If the pilot can make the mental extrapolation between known wind directions at different altitudes and the desired direction of travel, maneuvering the balloon becomes a simple exercise in direct control, that is, vertical movement. 

## Contour Flying 

Contour flying may be the most fun and most challenging, but, at the same time, may also be the most hazardous and misunderstood of all balloon flight maneuvers. A good definition of contour flying is flying safely at low altitude, while obeying all regulations, considering persons, animals, and property on the ground. Safe contour flying means never creating a hazard to persons in the basket or on the ground, or to any property, including the balloon. [Figure 7-7] 

At first glance, the definition is subjective. One person’s hazard may be another person’s fun. For instance, a person who has never seen a balloon before may think a basket touching the surface of a lake is dangerous, while the pilot may think a splash-and-dash is fun. 

## Minimum Safe Altitude Requirements 

Legal contour flying has a precise definition. While the FAA has not specifically defined contour, it has specified exactly what minimum safe altitudes are. 14 CFR part 91, section 91.119, refers to three different areas: anywhere, over congested areas, and over other than congested areas, including open water and sparsely populated areas. 

More balloonists are issued FAA violations for low flying than for any other reason. Many pilots do not understand the minimum safe altitude regulation. Many balloonists believe the regulation was written for heavier-than-air aircraft and that it does not apply to balloons. That is a false belief; the regulation was written to protect persons and property on the ground and it applies to all aircraft, including balloons. Since this regulation is so important to balloonists, the following is the applicable portion of 14 CFR part 91, section 91.119—Minimum safe altitudes: General. 

“Except when necessary for takeoff or landing, no person may operate an aircraft below the following altitudes: 

(a) Anywhere. An altitude allowing, if a power unit fails, an emergency landing without undue hazard to persons or property on the surface. 

(b) Over congested areas. Over any congested area of a city, town, or settlement, or over any open air assembly of persons, an altitude of 1,000 feet above the highest obstacle within a horizontal radius of 2,000 feet of the aircraft. 

