Aerial Assist Discussion Thread

[cbudrecki]

Originally Posted by Team3844

I have seen several posts about ball weight. I know this matters, but we need to know the pressure inside the bladder so we can collect data on how much the ball will compress. The data in 2014 BALL Inflation and Maintenance Guide is not very exacting.
6. Inflate the BALL so that the zipper appears as in the “Properly Inflated” figure below. The BALL
on the left is under-inflated, while the BALL on the right is over-inflated. When properly inflated,
the zipper will be able to be pulled and closed, not too hard, not too easy.

They define it vaguely because there is no definite psi that the balls are inflated to. They are filled by eye/feel of the event crew and field staff. You will experience variances during competition, and should plan for these variances. I would suggest using your own judgement; fill the ball to the point where it's somewhat difficult to close the zipper - this is your high end, then deflate to where it almost seems too loose - this would be your low end. Then expect to see anything in-between at competition.

You want specifics? Too bad. I became an expert trackball inflator at the Championship in 2008, and there is really no science to it. Basically, just going by the zipper.