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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New format for microlight and gyrocopter racing

A radically new approach to flexwing microlight and gyrocopter competitions - that gets spectators closer to the action - has been launched at the FAI World Air Games in Dubai. And the first heats got under way near the Desert Dropzone today (December 3).

UK champion Mark Fowler, flying a P&M Pegasus QuikR, lead after the first flexwing microlight heat, in which pilots were given special dispensation to turn their craft at 90-degree bank angles around a course made up from a series of inflatable pylons positioned in the dunes. "We've never flown bank angles this high so close to the ground before," he said.

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Anyone for wing walking?

Fancy standing on a biplane wing as it soars through the air? A few lucky visitors to the FAI World Air Games got to do just that.

The courageous individuals, who tried out wing walking for the first time while flying over the sand dunes around the Skydive Dubai Desert Dropzone, were in the capable hands of the Breitling wing walking team.

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Wing walking girls steal hearts in Dubai

Breitling Wingwalkers Marie Killerby and Sarah Tanner left more than one heart aflutter yesterday when they headed skywards to perform their synchronised wing-walking routine. Their high-flying show, reminiscent of those put on by 1920s barnstormers, was charming and breathtaking at the same time.

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Heat one of the Aerobatics contest kicks off the Airshow

The screaming roar of 330-horsepower Lycoming engines filled the skies above the Palm shorefront in Dubai today (December 2), as the first round of the Aerobatic competition got underway.

Eight so-called “unlimited pilots”, the creme de la creme of the aerobatics scene, have been selected from around the world to compete at the FAI World Air Games. Their planes, which cost around €400,000 each, were shipped here specially for the event, and their aerial battle could be seen and heard echoing all along the coast.

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Gold for Donatas in the F3P Aeromodelling

The first gold medal was won in the FAI World Air Games last night (December 1). Lithuania’s Donatas Pauzuolis took first place in the indoor aerobatic aeromodelling, which took place in the Dubai Mall. "I’m very happy to have won," he said afterwards. "It’s a dream come true."

Donatas lead the field throughout the competition, and in his final heat, the fourth of four, he knew he had done enough to win. His two-minute routine was beautiful, artistic and entertaining all in the same breath.

"That’s a whopping 84 points for artistic quality, and rightly so," boomed the commentator when the scores flashed up on the giant screen above the Dubai Ice Rink.

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Former Paramotoring World Champion Alex Mateos: five top tips

Paramotoring pilot Alex Mateos, 23, was crowned World Champion in 2014 after flying an unbeatable time around inflatable pylons on his paramotor.

Since then he's focused on other paramotoring disciplines, such as navigation. He narrowly missed out at the 2015 championships, but he's back with his eye on the top spot here in Dubai. Here are his top tips for paramotor slalom racing.

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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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Pilots Bertrand Piccard and André Borschberg Receive FAI Record Diplomas at Solar Impulse Film Premiere

FAI President Dr John Grubbström and Secretary General Susanne Schödel presented Bertrand Piccard and André Borschberg with their FAI Record Diplomas yesterday in Paris, on the occasion of the film premiere narrating the first part of the round-the-world flight of the two Swiss pilots aboard Solar Impulse 2 earlier this year.

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