Glider Match Racing and General Aviation medal ceremony

The winners of the General Aviation and Glider Match Racing stepped up for their medals yesterday (December 9), at a ceremony held at the Sky Dubai Palm Dropzone.

Polish glider pilot Sebastian Kawa claimed gold in the Glider Match Racing, after a thrilling final against Austrian Werner Amann. Tilo Holighaus of Germany took bronze.

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Exciting finish to Glider Match Racing

Long-standing rivals Sebastian Kawa from Poland and Austrian Werner Amann battled for gold over the desert sand dunes today (December 9) in the final of the Gliding Match Racing at the FAI World Air Games.

Both their Schempp-Hirth Discus 2C gliders were towed up over the Desert Dropzone and released from 1,200m side by side.

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Off the map: Norevik and Strømme win the Air Navigation Race

Norwegian pilot Kurt Norevik and navigator Petter Strømme flew their way along an unmarked corridor in the desert using only a compass, a stop watch and their eyes to win the Air Navigation Race at the FAI World Air Game.

The pair were among 14 teams competing in this new race designed to test piloting skills, held at the Desert Dropzone. Spectators followed the pilots as they flew the course via live tracking online.

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Olympic ski jumper swaps skis for helicopter skids

Helicopter pilot Thomas Morgenstern has finished in bronze medal position in the FAI World Air Games Parallel Slalom and Fender competition here in Dubai. The final to decide the gold and silver medallists will take place tomorrow (December 10).

But when former Olympic gold medal winner Morgenstern, flying here with his teammate Stefan Seer, crashed during a ski jump at the start of 2014, it looked like his career as a professional athlete was over.

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Paragliding Aerobatics champions crowned

It was a double celebration for Team France last night (December 8), when French pilots Tim Alongi and Eliot Nochez were awarded the gold and silver medals for the FAI World Air Games Solo Paragliding Aerobatics event.

A crowd of more than 200 people cheered on the new champions, as they stepped up to collect their medals alongside Horacio Llorens of Spain, who claimed the bronze.

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Gold for Prokofjevs in the combat aeromodelling

"Thanks to my dad, who builds the best planes in the world," said Latvian Aleksandrs Prokofjevs after beating Jussi Forss from Finland to win gold in the F2D Combat Model Aircraft contest at the FAI World Air Games in Dubai.

The father-and-son team fought off stiff competition from 15 other countries, flying their control-line model planes at 160km/h and slicing sections off rivals' tail streamers to score points.

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Seven steps to success: an acrobatic paragliding masterclass with FAI World Air Games winner Tim Alongi

French paraglider Tim Alongi, 24, is the new FAI World Air Games Paragliding Aerobatics Champion.

Alongi also won the silver medal in the Sychronised Paragliding Aerobatics competition, along with his partner - and solo silver medallist - Eliot Nochez, also from France. 

When we caught up with Alongi afterwards at the Palm Dropzone in Dubai, he gave us his seven top tips for acro paragliding success.

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Aeromodelling victory for Australia

"This is the peak," declared Bruce de Chastel as he fought back tears after clinching the FAI World Air Games title in the Aeromodelling F3T, or Semi Scale Pylon Racing, final. "I didn't even dare to dream about this. It's too much."

De Chastel, partnered by his wife Linda, who helped at take off and called out turn times through the race, said he was surprised to have made the final. He had planned to fly a steady race hoping for third place.

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VIP visit to the FAI World Air Games Dubai

The President of the Saudi Air Sports Federation, Turki bin Muqrin bin Abdulaziz, enjoyed a tour of the FAI World Air Games Dubai 2015 today. 

 He was shown round the Palm Dropzone by FAI President Dr John Grubströmm, World Air Games Director His Excellency Yousif Hassan Al Hammadi, and Deputy Director His Excellency Mohamed Yousuf Abdulrahmn.

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Build it, and it will fly

Luca Magni is on a mission. He's building an aircraft against the clock. Next to the spectators' stand at the FAI World Air Games Palm Dropzone, the Italian from Varese, has been turning the contents of three large packing crates into a fully functioning gyrocopter.

He's been beavering away with a colleague for days now, and expects to be ready to fly it after four days' work.

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