Certified helmet listing

There have been five Category 1 championships since the Plenary voted in February to ratify the Bureau decision to mandate the wearing of EN966-certified helmets. FAI officials have reported that a listing of such certified helmets is essential to the checking process. A list has been compiled and published here, and the CIVL Bureau is asking that helmet manufacturers help us to keep it up to date. The enforcement of the helmet rule is the responsibility of the organisers. However during this year’s championships, FAI Officials and organisers worked together to ensure pilot helmets were checked at the start of each event. It was soon apparent that many pilots did not know whether their helmets complied or not. It was not easy to determine which manufacturer’s models complied by looking at their websites. In addition, not all EN966-certified helmets had the official certification sticker, and in at least one case, a helmet later found not to be certified, was presented for inspection with a certification sticker. At least two enterprising championship organisers arranged for EN966-certified to be on sale at registration time. Brisk sales were reported! FAI Officials in Ager, started to compile a database of helmets they believe to be compliant, using a variety of sources, including manufacturer websites and sales agents. This list has since been updated and is now published here, and the CIVL Bureau hopes that the HG/PG community will help keep it up to date by informing us of any omissions and notifying us of new models that are certified. This will prove most useful to organisers of future championships as well as to pilots and team leaders preparing for championships. Working Group report Meanwhile, the Working Group set up to determine if there are other helmet standards equivalent or better than EN966, has reported back. WG chair, Stéphane Malbos distributed a report in June. “This is a specialist job,” he said. “It took many technicians many years to define the EN standards.” The WG studied comparative tables that had been published by these specialists. But the data is extensive, complex and technical. “We are non-specialist, and do not have the knowledge or expertise to judge or modify these results.” The WG concluded that only EN966-certified helmets can be judged as suitable for airsports. “The only existing comparative table between different standards has to be trusted,” Malbos said.