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60 years ago today: Sputnik 1 and the Dawn of Space

History changed 60 years ago on 4 October 1957:

Mamistov strikes gold for a third time

Russia’s Mikhail Mamistov has been crowned FAI World Aerobatic Champion for an incredible third ti...

Muroya wins in Germany’s Lausitzring

Yoshihide Muroya won the penultimate round of the Red Bull Air Race 2017 season on Sunday 17 Septemb...

France takes the gold at the Coupe Aéronautique Gordon Bennett 2017

The winners of the 61st Coupe Aéronautique Gordon Bennett 2017 said they were “overjoyed” to be awar...

Matt Hall wins Qualifying in Germany

Australia’s Matt Hall flew the best time in Qualifying for the Red Bull Air Race stop at Germany’s L...

French pair win world’s most prestigious gas-balloon race

French balloon pilots Vincent Leys and Christophe Houver won the 61st Gordon Bennett Cup over the we...

Look Up, the Drones are coming!

Look Up, the Drones are coming!

Drones are here now and they are multiplying fast! The first FAI International Drones Conference was a big success as it heard about the brave new world of Drones and robots in the sky.

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Drones at the cutting edge

Drones at the cutting edge

The sun came out for the third and final day of the FAI International Drones Conference and Expo in Lausanne, Switzerland.

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The Game of Drones: Racing and Sports

The Game of Drones: Racing and Sports

People playing with models in the air is not new, but the scale of Drone Sports is like nothing the world has ever seen before, was the take-away message from the final session at the first FAI Intern....

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Drone Control? Rules and regulations for drones

Drone Control? Rules and regulations for drones

  “Be aware, this is a paradigm shift. Airspace is a commodity that is suddenly open to everyone, and this is a major, major shift.”

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Preparing for the Drone Invasion

Preparing for the Drone Invasion

The message from the first day at the first FAI International Drones Conference could not have been clearer: The drones are coming, and they are coming fast. Not only that, they are arriving en masse ....

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Five years ago on this day: A Microlight and Paramotor World Record st....

Five years ago on this day: A Microlight and Paramotor World Record st....

Today, five years ago on 17 February 2012, Indian pilot Parmjit Singh, used a special harness, the Aeros Discus 14 with a Radne Motor AB Raket 120, to fly a record distance in a straight line without....

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Two years ago: Father and son set African Record

Two years ago: Father and son set African Record

Two years ago on this day, Tijl Schmelzer and his father Bert were the very first to pass the 200 km/h barrier using thermals rather than mountain waves.

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Russian balloonist Fedor Konyukhov awarded  FAI - Breitling Pilot of t....

Russian balloonist Fedor Konyukhov awarded FAI - Breitling Pilot of t....

A Russian priest who circumnavigated the world in a balloon in record time has been presented the inaugural FAI - Breitling Pilot of the Year Award at a ceremony in Switzerland yesterday, Thursday 17 ....

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 PILOT PROFILE: 60 seconds with hang gliding champion Christian Ciech

PILOT PROFILE: 60 seconds with hang gliding champion Christian Ciech

Christian Ciech is one of the most successful pilots in competition hang gliding, and was FAI European and World Champion at the same time in 2016. We spoke to him…

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NASA’s top man Charles Bolden is still aiming for the stars

NASA’s top man Charles Bolden is still aiming for the stars

Charles Bolden, who has been awarded the prestigious FAI Gold Space Medal for 2016, knows about space. Not only has he been in orbit four times, but for the last seven years he has been at the head of....

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Current Events

FAI Junior World Gliding Championships -

Event ID

: 17796    

Bid:

245

Event classification

: First Category Event

Type of event

: Continental Championship

Disciplines / Task Styles

:

Club Class
Standard Class

Place

: Lake Keepit (Australia)

Date(s)

: 06 Jan to 20 Jan 2029


Event Organiser


FAI Member of the Hosting Country

[flickr user=me tag="17796" ]

GUATEMALAN SUPER FLY IV - 2025 -

Event ID

: 18113    

Bid:

268

Event classification

: Second Category Event

Type of event

: Other

Disciplines / Task Styles

:

class 1 Cross country
Sport Class Cross Country

Place

: Santa Elena Barillas (Guatemala)

Date(s)

: 13 Dec to 20 Dec 2025

Alternate dates

: 13 Dec to 20 Dec 2025

Website

:https://civlcomps.org/event/guatemalan-super-fly-tournament-iv-2025


Event Organiser


FAI Member of the Hosting Country

[flickr user=me tag="18113" ]

2025 South-Africa pre-PWC -

Event ID

: 17968    

Bid:

302

Event classification

: Second Category Event

Type of event

: Other

Disciplines / Task Styles

:

Cross Country

Place

: Porterville Western Cape (South Africa)

Date(s)

: 14 Dec to 20 Dec 2025

Alternate dates

: 14 Dec to 20 Dec 2025

Website

:https://airtribune.com/sa-wc-2025/info


Event Organiser


FAI Member of the Hosting Country

[flickr user=me tag="17968" ]

PRE-PWC CLUB PEÑON OPEN -

Event ID

: 17998    

Bid:

1898

Event classification

: Second Category Event

Type of event

: Other

Disciplines / Task Styles

:

Cross Country

Place

: El Peñon, Temascaltepec (Mexico)

Date(s)

: 15 Dec to 20 Dec 2025

Alternate dates

: 15 Dec to 20 Dec 2025

Website

:https://civlcomps.org/event/pre-pwc-club-penon-open


FAI Member of the Hosting Country

[flickr user=me tag="17998" ]

SEA Games Thailand, Air Sports Powered Paragliding Demonstration -

Event ID

: 18026    

Bid:

784

Event classification

: Second Category Event

Type of event

: Other

Disciplines / Task Styles

:

RPF 1 T (Paraglider Control / Foot-launched / Flown solo)

Place

: Nong Kho, Chonburi (Thailand)

Date(s)

: 14 Dec to 19 Dec 2025

Website

:http://www.seagames2025.org


FAI Member of the Hosting Country

[flickr user=me tag="18026" ]

Upcoming Events

18 December 2025 2025 Negev Open - Urim (Israel)
19 December 2025 2025 Hannukah Open - Urim (Israel)
06 January 2026 2026 Australian Multiclass Nationals - Leeton (Australia)
09 January 2026 SRS Gin Edition, Colombia - Los Tanques, Roldanillo (Colombia)
10 January 2026 Nishifuji Japan Classic 2026 - Fujinomiya (Japan)
11 January 2026 21º Monarca Paragliding Open 2026 - El Penon del Diablo, Valle de Bravo (Mexico)
12 January 2026 Forbes Flatlands Hang Gliding Championships 2026 - Forbes (Australia)
16 January 2026 Bright Open 2026 - Mystic, Bright (Australia)
17 January 2026 PRIMERA VALIDA NACIONAL OPEN ROLDANILLO 2026 - Roldanillo (Colombia)
17 January 2026 2026 Tui Free Flight World Cup of New Zealand - Eloy, Arizona (USA)
18 January 2026 2025 Joeyglide - Australian Junior Gliding Championships - Benalla (Australia)
25 January 2026 2026 copa Niviuk 2026 III edición - Roldanillo (Colombia)
31 January 2026 New Zealand 2026 Paragliding Nationals & Open - Nelson (New Zealand)
31 January 2026 10th Thailand Paragliding Accuracy ASEAN Friendships Open (FAI CAT II) - AFA Nation League 2026 (Test Event 14th FAI World Paragliding Accuracy Championship) - Pha Tak Suea, Nongkhai (Thailand)
31 January 2026 2026 F1N Ventus Cup - Ajdovscina (Slovenia)
More events

 

Latest FAI World Record Claims

09 December 2025 Powered Aeroplanes : Speed over a recognised course : 759,00 km/h Travis P. Holland (USA)
07 December 2025 Powered Aeroplanes : Speed over a Commercial Airline Route : 807,00 km/h Christopher R. Yakabe (USA)
06 December 2025 Powered Aeroplanes : Speed over a Commercial Airline Route : 714,00 km/h Christopher R. Yakabe (USA)
05 December 2025 Powered Aeroplanes : Speed over a Commercial Airline Route : 701,00 km/h Christopher R. Yakabe (USA)
26 November 2025 Gliding : Speed over a triangular course of 100 km : 258,00 km/h Dane Dickinson (NZL)
22 November 2025 Parachuting : Largest Formation : 104 skydivers
22 November 2025 Powered Aeroplanes : Speed over a recognised course : 883,00 km/h Gary E. Rose (USA)
18 November 2025 Parachuting : Lowest Score after 5 rounds : 43,57 sec Natalie Henzler (GER)
16 November 2025 Parachuting : Consecutive landings on the dead centre disc : 1 x 0,00 + 0,01 cm Loïs Baal (FRA)
15 November 2025 Powered Aeroplanes : Speed over a recognised course : 901,00 km/h Scott M. Amidon (USA)
15 November 2025 Parachuting : Lowest Single Round Score : 8,46 sec Zoe Stoll (GER)
14 November 2025 Powered Aeroplanes : Speed over a recognised course : 874,00 km/h Scott M. Amidon (USA)
14 November 2025 Powered Aeroplanes : Speed over a recognised course : 926,00 km/h Bruce A. Egart (USA)
14 November 2025 Powered Aeroplanes : Speed over a recognised course : 737,00 km/h Timothy James McClelland (USA)
14 November 2025 Powered Aeroplanes : Speed over a recognised course : 598,00 km/h Timothy James McClelland (USA)
More records

2018 FAI Young Artists Contest

Y-TOROPOVA-2011art1-1big
This year's theme is "Flying in the future". Give free rein to your imagination – you might earn one of the Gold, Silver or Bronze Medals!

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111th FAI General Conference

logoGC2017 frontpage
The next Conference will take place from 25 to 27 October 2017 in Lausanne, Switzerland.

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FAI Awards

awards
Browse the list of the FAI Awards recipients.

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Global partners

 

 

 

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IOC Recognised

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Did you know...?

3h 54m 59s = World Record manpowered aircraft

Did you know...?

Glenn was the first American to orbit the Earth

Did you know...?

There are 150 pilots in Paragliding Worlds