After 3 qualification stages, the very best acro paragliders in the world will compete at the Sonchaux Acroshow, to be held at Villeneuve, Switzerland from 24-26^th August.

The city of Copenhagen is gearing up for a fun-filled weekend of skydiving action, as the Swoop Freestyle FAI World Championships 2018 drop – or rather plummet – into town.

Kicking off on Friday August 24, the two-day event marks the second time the championships have been held in the Danish capital, which also hosted the first-ever Swoop Freestyle FAI World Championships last year.

When drones race they can hit speeds of 150km/h in seconds. That makes watching a drone race exhilarating as up to six drones at a time race through the course. But it also makes it a potential technological nightmare – how do you score a race where everything is moving so quickly?

On the 8th of September 2018 we will be celebrating the 55th anniversary of the invention of the modern hang glider. The ceremony in Grafton, NSW, Australia, will see the FAI Hang Gliding and Paragliding Diploma given to Pat Crowe, the driver of the boat that towed to celebrity the first ever working model of the hang gliders we know so well.

Ten years ago today, American helicopter pilot Edward (AKA Scott) Kasprowicz broke the round the world speed record by completing a tour of the planet in just 11 days, seven hours and two minutes.

The epic flight, co-piloted by fellow American Steven Sheik, smashed the previous record of 17 days, 6 hours and 14 minutes, which was set in 1996, and took the two adventurers through 15 countries, 24 time zones and 30 states.

A key aspect of a successful drone race is safety – for spectators, race officials and pilots. Racing drones can go from 0-150km/h in seconds and typically have four propellers spinning at high speed, which makes them potentially dangerous flying objects. In a large competition like the upcoming 1st FAI Drone Racing World Championship in Shenzhen, China for example, preparation and planning starts months in advance – and top of the agenda is safety.

The 18^th Asian Games get underway in Indonesia later this week. And for the first time, paragliding pilots will be among the thousands of athletes competing, as the air sports takes its place alongside more than 40 other sports involved in this action-packed, pan-Asian event.

Both cross-country (XC) and accuracy paragliding are making their debut at this year’s Games, with pilots from across Asia battling it out for the six gold medals up for grabs.

A total of 65 world-class pilots from 10 countries have come together to participate in the 16th FAI World Microlight Championships, being held this week at Nagykanizsa Airport in Hungary.

The competition, which was declared open on Saturday August 11 by FAI Microlight and Paramotor Commission (CIMA) President Wolfgang Lintl, includes five different disciplines and is the 16^th event of its kind so far.

It’s 40 years since American balloonist Ben Abruzzo broke both the distance and duration ballooning records by flying across the Atlantic Ocean from Presque Isle, Maine to the village of Miserey in France.

The crossing, which he undertook with team members Maxie Anderson and Larry Newman, took 137 hours, 5 minutes and 50 seconds, and covered a massive 5001.22 km.

Junior drone racers are dominating this year’s FAI Drone Racing World Cup so far, with young pilots claiming the first three spots on the leader board after the first 11 events.

Korean JoonWeon Choi, 16, is in pole position, followed by 17-year-old Thomas Grout of France in second place, and Poland’s Jan Wielgosz, 18, in third.

Their journeys to the top of the field have been marked by success at different contests. Choi’s best performance was in Bali in April, where he came first to win a total of 48 points.