As the world governing body for all air sports recognised by the International Olympic Committee, FAI is responsible for world drone sports. As part of its work in this area, the Federation has now established a Working Group on matters related to drones, comprised of members of the FAI Executive Board and the Executive of the Aeromodelling Commission as well as senior FAI officials.

The Working Group will deal with sporting and regulatory aspects of drones, ensuring rigorous rules development for Drone Sports, based on the FAI Sporting Code on FPV Racing. This will include the rules for the first FAI World Championships to be held in 2017, and possibly Regional Championships. The group will connect Drone Racing event organisers around the world with FAI, grow the number of events on all levels and organise recognition in the FAI World Cup.

The Working Group will also assist national FAI Member Organisations and national Aeromodelling and Drone organisations in advising appropriate regulatory authorities on drone activities by collecting, assessing and disseminating relevant information, based on the FAI Common Strategy for Drones.

Another initiative for the group is a planned FAI International Drone Conference and Expo, which will feature FPV Racing as well as panel discussions about Sports development, regulatory and safety aspects as well as the practical uses of drones in areas such as maintenance, agriculture, and aerial filming, where the pilots often get their start in Aeromodelling. Drone manufacturers and student groups will also be invited to participate.

For questions or inquiries please contact drones@fai.org.

Photo credit: Rodolphe Jobard