Tethered hot-air ballooning and the BSA

Schedule a ride in a tethered hot-air balloon. The activity, which previously wasn’t approved, was officially OK’d this week by the BSA’s Health and Safety team.

Notice I said tethered hot-air ballooning — not the kind where you ride for miles like the Wizard of Oz. Unlike traditional hot-air ballooning, the tethered variety uses at least three lines connected to the ground to keep the balloon from moving horizontally. The BSA has set the maximum permitted height at 70 feet.

Now, don’t go buying a balloon and trying this yourself. The balloon must be registered with the Federal Aviation Administration, and the pilot must be certified and insured.

Before planning a ride, familiarize yourself with some key requirements:

Tethered hot-air ballooning key requirements

• Tethered balloon events must comply with all FAA regulations and BSA requirements.
• A minimum open area of 200 feet by 200 feet clear of all obstructions and overhead power lines, light poles, and fences is necessary for safe inflation.
• The owner of the property selected as a suitable tether or launch site must grant permission in writing.
• The balloon must be secured to the ground with tether lines from at least three separate locations on the perimeter of the tether site using poles, trees, or vehicles as attachment points. These attachment points must be capable of supporting several thousand pounds of force.
• Tether lines must be at least 5/8-inch nylon rope (load strength of 8,800 pounds) and in good condition.
• Tethered rides may rise to a maximum height of 70 feet.
• The tether event must occur between the hours of sunrise and sunset (tethers are best completed in the early morning hours, before 10 a.m.).
• The balloon must be registered with the FAA.
• The pilot must hold a commercial certification, be properly rated on the aircraft, and must be onboard when passengers are carried. The pilot and balloon must carry insurance in the amount of $1 million, and the BSA must be named as an additional insured on the policy. (This may require additional pre-planning for the event).
• Waivers must be provided for the passengers and crew in advance of the event.
• Any age limit will be set at the pilot’s discretion.

For the BSA’s complete guide to tethered hot-air ballooning, click here.

From Bryan on Scouting

We have TWO new Eagle Scouts AND went to Winterfest in Gatlinburg, TN.

Can you tell we are Gushingly Proud of these Two?

Congrats Rusty and Paul for getting to the Rank of Eagle Scout!

Finding two trees, grab friends, and work on your balance, Slacklining is now an approved BSA activity.

With Restrictions.  Here is the regulations:

Official BSA guidelines on Slacklining

Slacklining is an adventure program growing in popularity. As with any activity involving height and motion, there is risk involved. Before units, districts, or councils decide to promote or host slackline activities and other adventure sports, they must follow the Sweet 16 of BSA Safety and submit a tour and activity plan for council review with a description that includes the slacklining activity.

Staff members for these types of events are responsible for learning proper setup, operational guidelines, and safety techniques. Equipment used for these activities must be designed for the adventure sport industry and will be exposed to extreme forces. Therefore, it should not be used for other purposes. Always follow the manufacturer’s recommendations.

• Fall precautions should include spotters or crash pads.
• Stepping off the line safely is recommended when a participant feels he or she is about to fall.
• Trees used for anchors should be protected from damage and be at least 8 inches in diameter.
• The line should never be more than 3 feet high.
• Never allow more than one participant on the line at a time.
• Acrobatics (any time your head is lower than your torso) are prohibited.

in order to ensure that all of our outings go off without a hitch, we have found that most crews use an outing planning package in order to go forward with their particular outings. What this will allow us to do is plan outings and go through event planning process needed for a successful outing.

This gets broken down into several different areas: description of leadership needed, challenges that are expected, logistics, equipment, supplies, any preparation baby needed, and leadership ( youth leadership and training ).

the attached five-page document also includes a venture crew outing event report, that each venturer should fill out at the end of each one of the specific outings in order to make them better the next time their planned.

Each chairperson who's in charge of the particular events should use this package, and be reviewed by their particular advisor.

Attachments:

File	File size
vcrewplnpkage.pdf	61 Kb