A sample morning at a RGC or Top Gun Event:
Night Before:
- Coordinate with your crew on when and where to meet
- Make sure you have your Laptop/iPad/GPS Units Charged
- Follow all your normal balloon/equipment checklists
- Determine weather to see if you are going to heat your tanks
The Morning of:
- Check in at the Live Briefing – you can bring your navigator or crew chief.
- There may be standing room for one crew member, but do not bring your entire crew to briefing.
- Get your Task Sheet, Markers, and Logger and sign-in for the morning.
- If this is a multi-day event, you will get back your used markers.
- Immediately start working on your Task Sheet:
- Initial Launch Points
- Pilot Declared Goals
- Marker Colors/Type of Drop
- Plot all given coordinates into your GPS/iPad/Laptop
- Every detail on a task sheet means something – the ‘Devil is in the Details’
- You will receive a weather briefing.
- Your Event Director will go over the Task Sheet.
- The Event Director and Safety Officer will give a Green or Red Flag.
- Meet up with your crew.
- Determine your launch site.
- Launch – TURN ON YOUR LOGGER OR YOU WILL NOT SCORE!
- Perform your tasks.
- Land and recover.
- Immediately return your Logger and unused markers to the Briefing location.
- Enjoy the day tailgating with your fellow pilots, learning from debriefing each other, and telling tall stories.
