55th IPC Plenary Meeting : Summary of most important decisions / 8th European Microlight Championship : Information available on-line / 20th FAI World Grand Prix : Daily News / New World Record Claim for Aeroplanes / "Joachim Küttner Prize & Trophy" awarded today / A Life after FAI ? / Fly - Like a Bird : New promotional material on the market
55th IPC Plenary Meeting
The FAI Parachuting Commission (IPC) held its Annual Plenary Meeting from 28 January to 1 February 2004 in Lisbon, Portugal. Summary of the most important decisions :
Elections : All IPC Officers were re-elected (List of IPC Officers and Delegates).
Future Competitions : IPC Delegates awarded the organization of several new competitions. The FAI Sporting Calendar has been updated accordingly.
Canopy Piloting was confirmed as a full IPC competition discipline with its own Committee.
The FAI Gold Parachuting Medal for 2004 was awarded to Dr Dieter STRÜBER (GER). His ideas, his activities in Germany and his sporting successes symbolize the idea of friendship and sportsmanship among nations. Dr Strüber has been a successful sportsman at many national and international championships : five times World Record holder, excellent trainer of the German female national team (1963-73 / 1997-2002), and FAI Judge at six World Championships and six World Cups.
We invite you to consult the list of all FAI Awards for Parachuting.
Next Plenary Meeting : 26.-30.01.2005, Warsaw, Poland
8th European Microlight Championship
The 8th European Microlight Championship will be held from 31 July to 7 August 2004 at Castelo Branco, Portugal. The Organizing Committee announced that information is now available at www.emc2004.net.
On the Webpages which were recently put on-line, you will find full general information on the competition, Local Regulations and Registration Forms.
20th FAI World Grand Prix
The 20th FAI World Grand Prix and 1st Al Ain Aerobatics Airshow (UAE) is being held from 2 to 6 February.
Daily News and Program available at : www.haute-voltige.com
World Record Claims
FAI has received the following World Record Claim :
Class C - Aeroplanes / Claim number : 8396
Sub-class : C-1 (Landplanes) / Group 3 : turbo-jet
Type of record : Speed over a Commercial Air Route
Course/location : New York, NY (USA) - Milano (Italy)
Performance : 915 km/h
Pilot : Brian HOOD (USA)
Aircraft : Boeing 767-ER
Airline : Delta Air Lines
Date : 24.01.2004
Current record : new
The details shown above are provisional. When all the evidence required has been received and checked, the exact figures will be established and the record ratified (if appropriate).
For further information on World Records,
please consult the latest news, including all claims pending ratification, at :
- General Aviation World Records
"Joachim Küttner Prize & Trophy" awarded today
The following World Record, a 46.5 % improvement on the previous performance, has been ratified this week :
Class D - Gliders / Record number : 8153
Sub-class : DO - Open Class Gliders / General Category
Type of record : Straight Distance to a Goal
Course/location : Calafate (Argentina) - San Juan (Argentina)
Performance : 2 123 km
Pilot : Klaus OHLMANN (Germany)
Co-pilot : Hervé LEFRANC (France)
Glider : Schempp-Hirth Nimbus 4 DM
Date : 23.11.2003
Previous record : 1 449.3 km (09.01.2003 - Klaus OHLMANN, Germany)
Tonight at the Awards Banquet of the SSA Convention in Atlanta, Prof. Dr. Loek BOERMANS, President of OSTIV, will present the "Joachim P. Küttner Prize and Trophy" to Mr Klaus OHLMANN. This unique Award consists of a Money Prize and a Trophy representing a stylized sailplane model. Created in 1987, the Award was promised by Dr Joachim KÜTTNER to the first sailplane pilot(s) who would accomplish a straight-line distance flight soaring 2000 km or more. Dr KÜTTNER, 95-years old, will also attend the Awards Banquet.
For further information on World Records,
please consult the latest news, including all claims pending ratification, at :
- Gliding World Records
A Life after FAI ?
After retirement from the world of parachuting, a life dedicated to the "History of Humanity".
Mr Jacques André ISTEL, IPC President of Honour and Mayor of the City of Felicity (California), informed FAI about the ambitious project he is managing in California : "To engrave in granite highlights of the collective memory of humanity". Mr ISTEL reports that the first stage of this project, completed in 2002, described "man's quest for the sky" and French aviation history.
For further information and pictures :
www.parafame.org (in English) and www.cocardes.com (in French)
Fly - Like a Bird
New promotional material on the market
FAI has been informed about the production, at the end of 2003, of a new 35-minute video (DVD and VHS) showing the diversity of aviation in Switzerland. Primarily focused on Swiss aeronautical activities, this production shows how Air Sports can open doors to a professional career in aviation : each Air Sport is presented with short sequences, and statements are made by Bertrand Piccard (first non-stop round-the-world flight with a balloon), Claude Nicollier (Swiss astronaut and recipient of the Yuri Gagarin Gold Medal in 1993) and Hans-Georg Schmid (multiple World Record holder with his homebuilt aircraft).
As 4 languages are available on the DVD version (English, German, French and Italian), the video may very well be used in other countries to show the diversity of aviation, and to motivate young people to enter the world of aviation.
For further information : www.langvision.ch
Lausanne, 6 February 2004
