Registration is open for the 12 Days of FME Contest!

Great to see the 12 Days of FME make a comeback!

We’re excited too! Hope you’ll join in on the fun. 

If you’ve registered for the contest and want to reveal your team name, share in the comments below 🎈

Countdown to the day :)

Team TRCA! Looking forward to having fun with Webhooks!

Question: Are we able to get events from the Webhook? I can access the Balloon Events by Downloading but would like to get the notifications and points (and Airport Alerts 😲). 

Also thanks for the Webinar today. That was a good introduction. And so many teams!!

One more question: What time are Wind Models updated? What time should we reference the wind in Windy? If that is the model used to define the winds for the day?

Is there an API endpoint for sending altitude updates? 

Thanks for organizing this really funny event!

From our company we do not have access to FME Flow. Is there a way to access live balloon position data like done in the shared webhook but then using FME Form using an HTTP Caller?

….Then set up your httpcaller like this. Be sure to add your callsign. The timerange you want and the token from the webhook
 

So, what happens is that we simulate up to 12 hours worth of data at a time. That happens at (approximately) 00:00 (12am) and 12:00 (12pm) UTC. So that’s when the data is absolutely in line with weather conditions.

For the next 12 hours, the simulation may drift a little from the actual weather. However… if you issue a new command to your balloon, it calls the simulation workspace again and refreshes the data.

So (for example) if at 8am UTC you felt that your balloon wasn’t flying as fast as the wind conditions suggest, issue your balloon a new command. That will create a new simulation for the period of 8am to 12pm (when the next scheduled simulation takes place).

The API we use is called tawhiri. I don’t remember which model it uses, but I think it’s one of those available in Windy. Other weather forecast sites are available, of course!

I hope that makes sense!

Mark

No, actually I didn’t do that. I didn’t think it was much use to alert you when you had already crossed over into an airport space. Plus I wanted to give the FME fans something to do!

I suggest you download the airport data, add an extra buffer around the airports, and overlay the live position data against that. Then you can issue an alert to yourself if your balloon enters into the extended buffer space.

Of course, it doesn’t always mean you’ll find the right wind to steer around the airport, but in our test event I was pleasantly surprised at how well I could steer if I really needed to!

You could do similar when approaching a country boundary too. Or issue an alert if your balloon speed falls below a set level. Or… lots of things! I really would like to see contestants give themselves an edge by using FME.

Mark

No. I didn’t think about that. That would have been awesome if you could totally automate your balloon’s passage using alerts, weather info, and this endpoint.

I’ll see if I can find time to implement that, but I don’t promise anything.

I would LOVE that, since it means I’d be able to sleep at night again instead of staying up watching world wind patterns. 😂 

But yeah, I totally understand that it’s a stretch goal and doesn’t need to be on your radar (pun most certainly intended) at the moment. 

Dear Balloon Tracker Team,

I’m writing to report a rather curious incident regarding my beloved virtual hot-air balloon, F-83T (Foxtrot Eight Three Tango). As of yesterday, December 4th, 2024, at 23:59, I’ve sadly lost track of it.

The last known coordinates place it soaring majestically at an altitude of 4750 meters, with latitude 69.019209 and longitude 20.23458—right off the Norwegian coast. Here’s where things get puzzling: I don’t recall any mountain of such grandeur in that region!

This isn’t a crash (phew!), but what could it be? A malfunctioning GPS beacon, perhaps? Or has my fearless F-83T simply decided to go rogue? While I try to keep calm and resist the urge to dispatch a search party to Scandinavia, I’d appreciate any updates or insights you might have on this mystery!

Yours in anxious ballooning,
Mureaugolfière

Oh No!! But All is well I think! I See Foxtrot Eight Three Tango (Team 183) SW of Tromso at a cool place where the Boarders of Norway,Sweden and Finland meet. That is as of 07:43 EDT

I hope this helps!!

Hi there,

Thanks a lot for your response. That location sounds amazing—where Norway, Sweden, and Finland meet but it was there missing in Action! 🚀🎈

Unfortunately, when I queried the DataStream-Balloons.fmw, the last recorded position I received for my balloon was :

{
	"type": "Feature",
	"geometry": {
		"type": "Point",
		"coordinates": [21.009037, 68.963618]
	},
	"properties": {
		"TeamID": 183,
		"PositionID": 136,
		"PositionAltitude": 4752,
		"PositionLatitude": 68.963618,
		"PositionLongitude": 21.009037,
		"PositionIssued": "20241205124002.40625"
	}
}

This corresponds to midnight yesterday, with no further updates since then—radio silence! 😟

What’s more curious is that when I check other balloons, such as F-DUU, they seem to have fresh data. For example:

{
	"type": "Feature",
	"geometry": {
		"type": "Point",
		"coordinates": [20.923842, 46.815229]
	},
	"properties": {
		"TeamID": 198,
		"PositionID": 164,
		"PositionAltitude": 9000,
		"PositionLatitude": 46.815229,
		"PositionLongitude": 20.923842,
		"PositionIssued": "20241205124002.40625"
	}
}

That’s as of right now, so something seems off with F-83T.

I’ll attempt a blind remote command before considering more drastic actions (like calling in the search-and-rescue team! 🚨). Fingers crossed for a response!

Thanks again for keeping an eye out—much appreciated!

Best regards,
Mureaugolfière

Great news, everyone!

After a mysterious disappearance and a suspenseful 12 hours, Foxtrot Eight Three Tango has reappeared safe and sound! At precisely 12:00 noon today, it sent back its location, confirming it’s still flying strong.
 

{
	"type" : "FeatureCollection",
	"name" : "Balloon",
	"features" : [
		{
			"type" : "Feature",
			"geometry" : {
				"type" : "Point",
				"coordinates" : [ 20.235075, 69.019179 ]
			},
			"properties" : {
				"TeamID" : 183,
				"PositionID" : 134,
				"PositionAltitude" : 4752,
				"PositionLatitude" : 69.019179,
				"PositionLongitude" : 20.235075,
				"PositionIssued" : "20241205120002.40625"
			}
		}
}

Thank you all for your support, encouragement, and tips during the search. It seems F-83T just needed a little “me-time” off the radar before resuming its journey!

Onward to the next adventure! 🚀

Best regards,
Mureaugolfière

Also Question. Does Oxygen Re-Charge? Pleas say yes :D

I know what you mean! I was up at 4:30am to check the server and make sure it was running smoothly! I don’t want anyone’s balloon to have problems!

I’m sorry, no it doesn’t. I’ll cover oxygen in tomorrow’s recap video and the best strategies for using it (the Help page also has some good tips). If it helps, my opinion is that it’s good to use it now while there are very strong winds!

I’m sorry that happened. My balloon suffered the same on the first day and I couldn’t understand why. What I think happened is that the call to the weather/simulation API failed. That process should occur every 12 hours but in your case it failed and your balloon didn’t get any new positions for that 12 hour period. It reappeared when the next scheduled call was made.

In that situation, I suggest making an altitude update. That will force a new simulation to occur, even if you use the same altitude as before. But I will also see if I can find a way to spot problems and resolve them automatically.

Another problem might be if your balloon did crash into the terrain, but I don’t think that was the issue here. Or maybe your pilot decided to land and pick up some kanelbullar!

Apologies again.

Mark

ps: I’m really happy to see that the positions webhook is being used!

Thanks for changing the balloon symbol. Transparency is great for seeing how close we shave a boundary :D

Hi Everyone!

I hope your balloon is doing well! Team TRCA here sharing out our dashboard. The dashboard replicates and summarizes most of the data we get from the webhook and downloads and is used for flight planning and checking in.

Some fun Things:

1. Clicking on the balloon position dots gives you stats and 3 altitude links to Windy at that location. Good for planning.
2. Find your balloon from the list on the right and a click will take you to that location. Team ID us used not Team Name.
3. I included a crude Altitude Profile. Clicking on the balloon position takes you to that point.
4. Updates are done using 2 workflows published to FME Flow. 1st is automatic triggered on the hour and updates are Track Line and Positions using the webhook. 2nd is a manual push of data downloaded from the Download Menue. GeoJSON package that includes Balloon Events and Balloon Positions updates All the other team balloon positions, stats, points, Event Messages and the location of our Current Position Polygon.
    

Let me know what you think. Also let me know if you’d like me to include your balloon in the Tracker. It would be a fun challenge to try and do that. 

Signing off for now. Our balloon is currently stuck in the Doldrums of the Black Sea. Booo. Good Luck to All!!

Clifford.