What is drawing ballooning?
Drawing ballooning is the process of identifying and numbering each dimensional characteristic or specification on a technical drawing using an encircled number — a "balloon". These numbers correspond directly to rows in the Form 3 (EN9102 / AS9102), the summary table used during the First Article Inspection (FAI).
Why is ballooning mandatory in aerospace?
The EN9102 / AS9102 standard (First Article Inspection — FAI) requires every characteristic of a part to be verified, measured, and documented during its first production run. To achieve this, every drawing must be ballooned: all dimensions, tolerances, surface finishes, and other requirements are numbered sequentially for full traceability.
Without structured ballooning, there is no way to link a measurement taken on a part to the corresponding specification on the drawing — which invalidates the entire FAI.
Form 3 EN9102: the central document
The Form 3 is the FAI results table. Each row corresponds to a balloon on the drawing:
- Balloon number
- Characteristic (nominal dimension, tolerance, surface finish…)
- Measured result
- Conformance (yes / no)
This document, delivered to the customer with the part, proves that the first manufactured article conforms to the drawing.
Manual ballooning: a tedious task
Traditionally, ballooning is done manually on a printed copy of the drawing, using rubber stamps or hand-drawn circles. For a complex drawing with tens or hundreds of dimensions, this can take several hours — and is prone to errors: missed characteristics, duplicate numbers, mismatches between the drawing and Form 3.
BullePlan: digital ballooning in minutes
BullePlan automates and digitalises the entire process:
- Upload your drawing (PDF, PNG, JPG)
- Click to place balloons on each characteristic
- AI automatically extracts dimensional values
- Export a signature-ready Form 3 in Excel or PDF
The result: a complete FAI in minutes instead of hours, with no risk of missed characteristics or numbering errors.