Balloon Flying Menu > Preparing For Flight > Crew > Crew Briefing

Crew briefings vary from a few last minute instructions (to an experienced, regular crew), or a long, detailed discourse on how to layout, assemble, inflate, chase, recover, and pack a balloon. You can give crew briefings by telephone the night before,or in the chase vehicle on the way to the launch site, but most crew briefings are done at the launch site prior to the flight. It is important for the pilot to remember who is ultimately responsible for the entire operation and that the crew is the pilot’s representative on the ground.

Written instructions are a good way to help the crew while the pilot is aloft. Keep a loose-leaf, three-ring binder in the chase vehicle containing crew instructions and maps. This is a useful aid to an inexperienced crewmember. A sample balloon ground crew information sheet is provided. [Figure 2-2]