India lost one of its young astronauts as Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated on 1st February 2003. The Aero-Club of India arranged a ceremony in the memory of late Ms Kalpana Chawla.

A report from Capt Satish K. Sharma, President of the Aero-Club of India :

"Aero-Club of India (ACI) arranged a function in the memory of late Ms Kalpana Chawla, Astronaut, at its premises on 22nd March, 2003 (see Biography on NASA's Webpages). The function was attended by her family members, colleagues and personalities of the aviation world in India who had influenced Kalpana's desire to touch the stars, prominent among others were her husband Mr. Jean-Pierre Harrison and Sqn Ldr Rakesh Sharma, Indian Astronaut.

During the course of his address, Mr Harrison remembered the day Kalpana got selected as an astronaut at the Johnson Space Center in 1994. Astronaut Sqn Ldr Rakesh Sharma said that, although he had never met Kalpana, he was deeply affected by her passing away. He said that she had left the country to fulfil her dreams of travelling in space since there are still no manned space flights in India.

(...) Kalpana epitomized the dream of our former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi of a young India marching into the 21st century; (...) she was an Indian aviator who not only achieved, but literally touched the stars."

During its meeting of 25th March, 2003, the Council of Management of ACI passed the following resolution :
"It was a great shock to learn about the demise of our young astronaut Ms Kalpana Chawla along with six other crew members caused in the disintegration of US Space Shuttle Columbia on 1st February, 2003.
A young girl from Karnal with a dream and degree in Aeronautical Engineering, passion for flying and inspiration from Haryana Institute of Civil Aviation, Karnal, a member of Aero Club of India (ACI), and the achievements of late Shri JRD Tata, pioneer of Indian Aviation, lead her to reach the peaks of success as an astronaut. India will always feel proud of her achievements at such a young age.
Her untimely death is a great loss not only to our country but to the humanity as a whole.
The Council of Management of ACI deeply mourn the untimely demise of Ms Kalpana Chawla and convey the heartfelt condolences to the bereaved family."

FAI deeply regrets the lost of Ms Kalpana Chawla and hopes that she, together with the six other Columbia crew members, will remain an inspiration to present and future generations of those who love to fly.

Lausanne, 30 May 2003

version française

Youngsters from USA and Japan won the 2003 FAI Young Artists Contest, dedicated to the first century of powered flight. The FAI Aviation & Space Education Commission has been working for more than 30 years to arouse young people’s interest in aviation and space.

“100 Years of Powered Flight” seen through the eyes of youngsters from 23 nations
Each year, all national member organisations of the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) are invited to hold a national aviation art contest for youngsters and to submit a selection of 9 art works to an international jury. During its last annual conference in Madrid, the FAI Aviation & Space Education Commission (CIEA) selected the winners of the 2003 Young Artists Contest, the theme of which was “100 Years of Powered Flight”. Youngsters originating from 23 nations took part in this contest. The following Young Artists won the Gold Medals in their respective categories :

1st Category (Ages 6 - 9 years) : Dennis SHEN (USA)
2nd Category (Ages 10 - 13 years) : Hiroshige KUWABARA (Japan)
3rd Category (Ages 14 - 17 years) : James Patrick LINCKE (USA)
(Full results, winning art works and rules)

The 2004 Young Artists Contest will give the opportunity to young people to express in art the theme “Flying Saves Lives”.

Over 30 years of involvement to arouse young people’s interest in aviation and space
The FAI launched the Aviation & Space Education Commission (CIEA) more than 30 years ago to create a greater public awareness and understanding of aviation and space activities. Since then, CIEA has placed great emphasis on capturing the interest of young people : they represent the future of aviation, and notably that of air sports. In practice, this means creating and administering programs that will not only educate, but also inspire young people to take up aeronautical professions and consider air sports as an important, demanding and motivating leisure activity.

CIEA educational programs : an attractive aid for schools and flying clubs
Experience has shown that teachers and students often have a latent interest in aviation and space. Aeronautical matters are commonly integrated into traditional subject areas like history, geography or physics. Once oriented to aviation and space education, teachers usually find that bringing related topics into the classroom creates an enthusiastic atmosphere for learning and challenging the imagination. Apart from the Young Artists Contest, CIEA has several programs available : A Guide to Aviation and Space Education, FAI recommended museums, international youth programs, instructional aids and resource materials. All these programs are available (www.fai.org/education/) to teachers and flying clubs willing to offer educational activities to young people.

Lausanne, 26 May 2003

The 8th FAI World Paragliding Championship will be held from 11 to 27 July 2003 in Montalegre, Portugal. As the Organizers will provide unique press services, FAI invites its Members and Media Representatives to register with the Competition Media Director.

The following services will be provided free-of-charge :

Press Center
Computers, Internet connections, phones and telecopiers will be available at the competition venue.

Daily Press Releases
Press Releases about the competition will be available in English and Portuguese on the official Website, or will be sent to the registered media.

Pictures
New Photos will be available daily on the official Website for the use of all Media Representatives.

Professional 10-minute Video
A professional 10-minute video (Betacam) will be offered daily to TV Stations in Portugal and abroad.

Final Professional Video-Tape
On the last day of the Competition, a final Professional Video Tape will be provided to each participating country.

Final VHS Video-Tape
Two weeks after the end of the Competition, each participating Federation will receive a final VHS video-tape (shipping costs : € 10.-).

In order to benefit from these press services, FAI Members and Media Representatives (Journalists, Newspapers, Magazines, Radio and TV Stations) are invited to register with the Competition Media Director at :

Ana LIMA
Media Director of the 8th FAI Paragliding World Championship
e-mail : alcomunicacao@ip.pt
Mobile : 0 351 91 777 60 18/19
Fax : 0 351 21 396 46 93

Lausanne, 22 May 2003

After a thorough evaluation of the four valid bids FAI received in April, the WAG Coordinating Committee has invited Italy, Malaysia and Poland to proceed to the second phase of the bidding process leading to the award of the 3rd FAI World Air Games 2005 in November 2003.

Four highly motivated bidders
During the first phase of the Bid Process to host the 3rd FAI World Air Games (WAG), which ended on 15 April 2003, FAI received four highly motivated letters of intention to bid for the organization of the 3rd WAG in 2005. After thoroughly evaluating the four files, the WAG Coordinating Committee (WAGCC) decided in principle to invite all four Bidders to enter the second phase. However, because of the close proximity of the next Commonwealth Games, due to be held in Melbourne in 2006, and the rival claims that these Games will make on available sources of funding, Aerospace of Australia Ltd (in association with the NAC of Australia) wisely decided to postpone its bid (which was centred on Wangaratta in the State of Victoria), to a later date. There follows a short description of the three remaining Bids for 2005:

Italy
Bidding Committee : Aero-Club d'Italia
Region proposed : Lazio (East of Rome)
Main venue proposed : Rieti
Mountainous venues : Poggio and Monte Cucco
Secondary airfields : Terni, Perugia, Aquila
Period proposed : End of August 2005

Malaysia
Bidding Committee : Malaysian Sports Aviation Federation
Region proposed : Langkawi Island
Main venue proposed : Langkawi Island
Mountainous venues : Langkawi Island
Secondary airfields : Alor Setar, Kedah, Batu Pahat
Period proposed : July to September 2005

Poland
Bidding Committee : Aero-Club of Poland
Region proposed : Euro-Region Beskidy (South-West of Krakow)
Main venue proposed : Bielsko-Biala
Mountainous venues : Szczyrk, Zar
Secondary airfields : Gliwice, Katowice, Nowy Targ
Period proposed : End of July or beginning of August 2005

Phase 2 of Bid Process
During the second phase of the Bid Process, which opened on 14 May 2003, the three remaining Bidders have been invited to confirm their interest in hosting the 3rd FAI World Air Games in 2005, and to provide FAI with detailed information regarding their proposed venues and infrastructure, initial program of events, budgets and marketing strategy. The results of this second phase will be known by mid-July 2003.

Lausanne, 20 May 2003