Spectators both on the ground and overseas can now track the progress of the balloons in real time via the Canowindra Challenge 2014 Smartrak app.

Pilots Paul Gibbs and Maaike Bierma believe this will help the competition really take off on an international level.

"The international ballooning community is very connected," Ms Bierma said.

"With the balloon tracking, there'll be a really big international audience because a lot of the international balloonists will be following what's going on through social media and their family and friends back home will be too."

Created in its native New Zealand for the Balloons over Waikato extravaganza, the GPS tracking system enables spectators to follow the balloonists as they navigate their way through the competition.

The app even has a leaderboard and a playback feature where spectators can select the dates and times they wish to view.

"Anyone who's got an internet enabled phone can see where the balloons are in real-time," Mr Gibb said.

"Say if you've woken up late and missed the start of the Challenge, you can use the app to rewind and fast-forward through the challenge to catch up."

Mr Gibbs said the Smartrak app will open up the event to a whole new audience, particularly with the inclusion of international pilots.

"Canowindra ranks right up there because the conditions here are so special for ballooning," Mr Gibb said.

"The town puts on a really good event, the event here this year really is world-class in every sense."