SAFETY is #1 with ARBONET. An ARBONET flight is quite complex. It is most important that we all support the priority of safety first. This of course includes measures taken to coordinate the status and position of the flight to air traffic control, since we will be traveling through Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) air space controlled by the Federal Aviation Administration. We also need to conduct ourselves appropriately when chasing down payloads and trying to communicate, navigate and participate with enthusiasm we all share! And of course, in the preparation and launch of these flights are critical and demand a lot of focus, so a quiet, low-key professional environment is required to assure this critical phase is carried out to the smallest detail.   The following slides depict an overview of the ARBONET III flight. Here is shown the flight composition, the intended flight plan, and the Coordination points with the FAA:       The slide above shows a unique combination of paylooads and parachute. Typically, the balloon is separated from all paylods by a tether. In our case, we needed to control the pressure of the balloon and add several items of intelligence to the balloon control which necessitated the the integration of the balloon with Payload 1. Therefore the parachute and breakable tether follow Payload 1. Payload 1 includes safety devices to provide even more control over a typical tethered balloon composition.     Balloons can be unpredictable. Steps 1-8 listed above very well may be the way things go. However, any change in the flight profile - due to unforeseen circumstances, such as a burst of the balloon before reaching the desired altitude, will result in the steps above being modified or overlapping to reflect what the new profile presents. In short, we could have a mess coming down if the parachutes tangle, or the on-board control fails, and so we need to adapt easily to this new cicumstance.     At 80,000 feet, we will drop all payloads except for Payload 1. This release can be tiggered by the on-board control system or by ground-to-air communications. Payloads 2-4 should have a nice ride back to earth via the parachute which is already deployed as shown in the above slides.       Via ground-to-air communications, the flight may be extended. For example, if the flight is transistioning over an area we really don't like the idea of retrieving the balloon from, or if the balloon is still headed up at a good rate and we want to see just how high we can go, even with the planned time expiring. This same ground-to-air communications also allows us to quickly terminate the flight if safety of anyone or anything is compromised. Payload 1 includes a flight profile system, which will sense the various flight conditions and then calculate what to do in those flight conditions. The intended flight profile is to climb to a point where we are no longer ascending at a good rate, change the lift to weight ratio to start a descent and then establish a descent rate that will allow us to somewhat determine the proximity of touchdown.        This is the intended flight profile. The balloon should lift the payload at a rate of 700 - 1000 feet per minute. This puts the balloon at 80,000 feet in approximately 80-120 minutes. The balloon then should release payloads 2-4 for a ride down on the parachute at a rate of about 1000 feet per minute, making the total flight 160 - 240 minutes for payloads 2-4. Payload 1 should climb for at least another 30-40 minutes, possibly for several hours, depending on the reaction of the automated flight profile control or the ground to air communications extending the flight. Two recovery teams will be needed, one of which may need to travel over several state lines.     Each of the circles with number inside them depict the points we communicate the position of the paylaods to the FAA flight control coordinators. Since we have a complex "HIBAL" in ARBONET III, this will need to be clear and concise information on where the various pieces are in relation to well known navigation aids, such as "ARBONET III is 35 miles southwest of Paris VOR, altitude 23,000 feet, heading 130 degrees at 35 knots." "Next report will be in approximately 15 minutes". At 80,000 feet, we hope to report the successful separation of Payload 1 from Payloads 2-4, and therefore report two items to the FAA Coordinator. "We have a successful separation of Payloads and will now be reporting 2 flights". "Payloads 2-4 are coming down on parachute now and we expect a landing near Idabel, Oklahoma". "Next position report will be in approximately 30 minutes as Payloads 2-4 pass into 50,000 feet". We will keep you apprised of Payload 1 as it changes flight status" The important thing to remember when communicating: Keep it simple, objective and informative. The flight FAA flight coordinator could be quite busy with his airspace, or he / she may have time to chat a bit, but let that be on their terms. FAA CFRs Part 101-31 through 35 rules regarding unmanned balloon flights FAA CFRs Part 101-37 through 39 regarding unmanned balloon fLight notice requirements   Where did sub-part 36 go???