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You are here: Home / Pilot and Crew Education / Pibals

Pibals

September 18, 2009 By Administrator

Pibals are small helium filled balloons that balloon pilots use to help assess the winds aloft. By knowing the empty weight of the balloon and its inflated diameter you can use the table below to estimate a pibals ascent rate.

To use this table:

  1. Determine the weight of an empty balloon. You could do this buy taking a bunch of them (10 – 50) to your local shop and have them weighed on the scales. Divide the total weight by the number of balloons to obtain the average weight in grams. If your scales measure in ounces then multiply by 28.35 to convert to grams.
  2. Inflate your balloon to a known diameter.
  3. Read off the climb rate from the table below.

Alternatively you can weigh the empty balloon and measure its free lift and calculate the ascent rate using the formula below.

Pibal Ascent Rates

 

 
Diameter (mm) Weight (gms) Velocity (ft/min)
230 2.5 241
255 2.5 284
280 2.5 319
305 2.5 350
230 3 221
255 3 270
280 3 308
305 3 342
230 3.5 201
255 3.5 255
280 3.5 297
305 3.5 333
355 3.5 391
305 4 324
330 4 357
355 4 386
380 4 412
405 4 436
305 4.4 317
330 4.4 351
355 4.4 381
380 4.4 408
405 4.4 433
305 5.15 303
355 5.15 372
380 5.15 400
405 5.15 426
430 5.15 451
455 5.15 473
305 7.77 252
355 7.77 339
380 7.77 373
405 7.77 404
430 7.77 431
455 7.77 457

Calculating pibal ascent rate

The ascent rate of a pibal can be approximated using the following formula. The actual pibal ascent rate will vary from this calculated figures due to a number of factors including density height and the aerodynamic form of the pibal. In general the ascent rate will tend to be slightly higher than the figure generated by these formula in the lower levels of the atmosphere and will reduce throughout the ascent.

Formula 1

pibal ascent rate formula 1

Formula 2

Pibal ascent rate formula 2

Where:

  • L = Free Light (grams)
  • W = Balloon Weight (grams)
  • Vvel = Balloon Ascent Rate (feet per minute)

This downloadable Pibal Ascent Rate Spreadsheet may also be useful.

Verifying your pibals ascent rate

We always verify the pibal comparing it to what the actual winds are early in a flight. You can do this by:

  • Always timing your pibal
  • Estimate the height that a distinct change in the wind direction is observed at.
  • Compare your pibal observations to what actually occurs early in your flight In Brisbane, there is usually an inversion at about 600 feet above the ground. As the pibal passes through the inversion a change in speed and direction is evident.

After a bit of experimentation I figured out how big to inflate my pibals so that they pass through this change 2 minutes after release. 600 feet in 2 minutes = 300 feet per minute climb

 

 

Balloon Pilot Education – Pibal Ascent Rate – Technical data content credited to Mr Steve Griffin

 

Filed Under: Pilot and Crew Education Tagged With: aviation, flight operations, meteorology, science

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