Box the Wind

Box the Wind is for flying a balloon competition with a simplified IT layer. Fly, don't fight the computer or app. It's for the pilot in the basket and the crew chasing them.

This is a competition-specific ballooning app, not a general one. Its features are focused on what the competition pilot needs, and no more. It is designed to fly next to the BLS and BLA setup and replace a cumbersome IT setup.

Load the day's tasks, pick a target, and get live bearing, distance, and closest approach on your current drift. See the contest area, the prohibited zones, and — on the crew device — the balloon, live. The maps work both online and offline, in case of a lost signal aloft.

WHAT'S IN IT • Tasks, shared. Import a WatchMeFly task sheet via URL (web page or PDF), edit it, tap a target to make it active. Marker color, number, and timing sit right in the list. The crew can import the pilot's tasks whenever they change, or run their own version. • The wind cone. Your measured drift by altitude plus a forecast sounding, with an AGL bar showing which level heads toward the target. • Live tracking support for the crew. Position flows pilot to crew over a private channel in real time. A clear stale marker shows if the link drops. The crew's own position shows too. • Declare goals easily. Auto-find the 4/4 from the display center, or key one in during flight, checked against the contest area before you commit. • Zones and warnings. Import Red, Yellow, Blue, and Red-Road zones and the contest boundary. Audible and on-screen warnings fire as you approach or infringe, with per-zone ceilings and floors. • Offline maps. Download street and aerial imagery for your region before launch; it renders fully offline in the air. • Practice mode. Log electronic marker drops and get the 2D or 3D distance to the target. A training tool, not official scoring. • Recording. Every flight logs to GPX — replay, rename, share, or import.

Built to BFA/FAI AX conventions: the UTM 4/4 grid, the standard task types. Show units in metric, imperial, or a mixed mode that keeps altitude in feet and distance in meters.

No account. No ads. No tracking. Your location is used only to show, record, and — when you choose — share the balloon's position.