Flying high: final FAI World Air Games medals awarded

Twelve sets of medals were awarded at the Closing Ceremony of the FAI World Air Games in Dubai, as the sun set on the two-week event celebrating air sports from around the world.

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Standing ovation for new Hot Air Ballooning champion

David Strasmann of Germany was presented with a Gold medal last night (December 11) for winning the FAI World Air Games Hot Air Ballooning competition.

A crowd of about 300 spectators and supporters cheered wildly and gave the winner a standing ovation as he accepted his medal.

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Victory for Poland in the hot air airships event

Polish pilot Wojciech Bamberski received the coveted gold medal for the hot air airships competition at the FAI World Air Games earlier this evening (December 6).

Mikhail Bakanov from Russia finished in silver position, and the bronze medal made a fabulous birthday present for Lithuanian Rimas Kostiuskevicius.

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Castles of the sky: airship racing in Dubai

Like a cross between a giant bouncy castle and a dinosaur, airships are one of the least well-known craft taking to the skies here at the FAI World Air Games in Dubai. 

There are only four of these specialised aircraft competing, and you have to be up early to catch them. Lithuania, Russia, Poland and Sweden are all taking part. 

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An unforgettable start to the FAI World Air Games

The FAI World Air Games officially kicked off with a bang last night, as the 3,000-strong audience at the Opening Ceremony were wowed with an extravaganza of dancing, zip-line performances and fireworks.

Dropping in on the open-air stage, performers dressed as skydivers and paramotor pilots flew over the crowd suspended on wires, taking the astounded audience on a theatrical flight over glorious Dubai.

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Early birds and airships

No one gets up earlier than the airship teams - there are four of them here in Dubai. Today, December 2, they did one flight with two tasks. 
 
Task 1 was a speed pylon race around three pylons. The course is 2km long and here the best time performance gets the most points. The fastest time was 36 minutes.

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Record-breaking balloon pilot discovers aeromodelling...

Record-breaking, trans-Pacific hot air balloon pilot Troy Bradley was in the crowd cheering on the competitors in the Aeromodelling final at the Dubai Mall last night, December 1. "This is all new to me," he said. "I'm enjoying it very much."

Together with his Two Eagles Balloon Team partner Leonid Tiukhtyaev, Bradley shattered the long-standing distance and duration world records by flying from Saga in Japan to Mexico in January this year.

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Ready for take off

Good morning from Dubai, where the skies are clear and the temperature is warm – it’s a beautiful place to be in December.

Today, Tuesday December 1, 2015, we’ve got a whole host of athletes, competitors and pilots setting up and getting to grips with what is to come: two weeks of the best air sports event in the world. 

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Lift off for the 2015 World Air Games!

Excitement is mounting in Dubai, where the stars of the air sports world have touched down for the 2015 FAI World Air Games (WAG).

With 854 competitors from 55 countries competing in more than 20 different disciplines, this year’s WAG is set to be the best yet. "This is the biggest World Air Games ever," said Susanne Schödel, the secretary general of the World Air Sports Federation (FAI). "In the 110-year history of the FAI, it's the first time we have had an event like this."

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2015 Saga International Balloon Fiesta in Saga, Japan

R. Kostiuskevicius (LTU) won this pre-world event - check out the pictures of the podium !