Fédération Aéronautique Internationale facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
World Air Sports Federation

Fédération Aéronautique Internationale
Abbreviation	FAI
Formation	14 October 1905; 119 years ago (1905-10-14)
Founded at	Paris, France
Type	Nonprofit
Location	Lausanne, Switzerland
President	Greg Principato
Secretary General	Markus Haggeney

The World Air Sports Federation (also known as the Fédération aéronautique internationale or FAI) is the main organization that sets rules for air sports around the world. It also helps define what counts as human spaceflight. The FAI was started on October 14, 1905, and its main office is in Lausanne, Switzerland. It keeps track of world records for many activities in the air, like ballooning, aeromodeling (model airplanes), and unmanned aerial vehicles (drones). It also records flights into space.

History of the FAI

The FAI was created at a meeting in Paris, France, from October 12 to 14, 1905. This meeting happened after the Olympic Congress in Brussels suggested creating a group to "regulate the sport of flying." They wanted to organize aviation events and help the science and sport of flying grow.

Representatives from eight countries attended the first meeting. These countries were Belgium, France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, Spain, Switzerland, and the United States. Each country had its own aero club already.

In 2017, the FAI started a new partnership with a company called Noosphere Ventures. This company became FAI's Global Technical Partner.

Due to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, the FAI stopped Russia and Belarus from participating in its events. This means pilots from these countries cannot compete in any of the 13 FAI air sports, including paragliding and hang gliding.

FAI Meetings

The FAI holds important meetings called General Conferences. These are where big decisions are made about air sports.

The 117th FAI General Conference took place in Dayton, Ohio, USA, on October 26 and 27, 2023. Dayton is known as the "Birthplace of Aviation."

The 118th FAI General Conference was held from November 20 to 21, 2024, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

The 119th FAI General Conference will take place in Vantaa, Finland, from October 22 to 24, 2025.

Air Sports

The FAI oversees 13 different air sports:

• Aeromodelling (flying models, including space models)
• Amateur-Built & Experimental Aircraft (planes built by hobbyists)
• Ballooning (flying in hot air balloons)
• Drones (flying remote-controlled aircraft)
• General Aviation (private flying, not for airlines)
• Gliding (flying in engineless aircraft)
• Hang Gliding (flying with a fabric wing)
• Microlights and Paramotors (very light aircraft)
• Paragliding (flying with a parachute-like wing)
• Powered and glider aircraft Aerobatics (performing tricks in the air)
• Rotorcraft (helicopters)
• Parachuting (Skydiving) (jumping from planes with parachutes)
• Space (flights into space)

Air Sport Commissions

The FAI has special groups called Air Sport Commissions. Each commission focuses on a specific air sport and helps manage its rules and competitions.

• General Air Sports (CASI)
• Aerobatics (CIVA)
• Aeromodelling (CIAM)
• Amateur-Built and Experimental Aircraft (CIACA)
• Astronautic Records (ICARE)
• Ballooning (CIA)
• General Aviation (GAC)
• Gliding (IGC)
• Hang Gliding and Paragliding (CIVL)
• Microlight and Paramotor (CIMA)
• Rotorcraft (CIG)
• Skydiving (ISC)

FAI Events

The FAI organizes many exciting events and competitions for air sports.

• World Air Games
• World Paragliding Championships
• World Gliding Championships
• World Parachuting Championships
• FAI World Aerobatic Championships
• World Hot Air Ballooning Championships
• FAI World Paramotor Slalom Championships
• 2023 FAI F3P World Championships
• World Cup of Indoor Skydiving
• FAI World Grand Prix
• Red Bull Air Race World Championship

You can find all the events approved by the FAI on its events calendar.

World Championships in Model Aircraft

The FAI also tracks when the first World Championships for different types of model aircraft took place:

• 1951: F1A, F1B, F1C
• 1960: F2A, F2B, F2C, F3A
• 1961: F1D
• 1970: F4B, F4C
• 1972: S-classes
• 1977: F3B
• 1978: F2D
• 1985: F3C, F3D
• 1986: F3E (now: F5B)
• 1989: F1E
• 1994: F5D (now F3E)
• 1998: F3
• 2010: F6A (WAG), F6B (WAG), F6D (WAG)
• 2011: F3K
• 2012: F3F
• 2013: F3N, F3P
• 2014: F4H
• 2018: F3U
• 2019: F5J
• 2024: F3M

FAI Activities

The FAI is the international group that sets rules for many air activities. It makes sure that records are fair and that competitions are well-organized.

• It sets the rules for Aerobatics through its Aerobatics Commission (CIVA).
• It manages Aeromodeling and drones through its Aeromodelling Commission (CIAM).
• It oversees Ballooning through its Ballooning Commission (CIA).
• It handles General aviation through its General Aviation Commission (GAC).
• It guides Gliding through the FAI Gliding Commission (IGC).
• It manages Hang gliding & Paragliding through its Hang Gliding & Paragliding Commission (CIVL).
• It supports Human-powered aircraft through its Amateur-Built and Experimental Aircraft Commission (CIACA).
• It oversees Microlighting and Paramotoring through its Microlight & Paramotor Commission (CIMA).
• It sets rules for Skydiving through the International Skydiving Commission.
• It manages Rotorcraft (helicopters) through its Rotorcraft Commission (CIG).

The FAI sets the standards for all these activities. For air sports, the FAI also organizes international competitions, including world and continental championships. It also puts on big events like the World Air Games and the FAI World Grand Prix.

The FAI also holds the FAI International Drones Conference and Expo. This event brings together people and businesses to talk about how drones are used now and how they will be used in the future.

The FAI also keeps track of records set in human spaceflight. This is done through its Astronautic Records Commission (ICARE).

Kármán Line

The FAI helps define the boundary between Earth's atmosphere and outer space. This boundary is called the Karman Line. The FAI says this line is at an altitude of 100 kilometers (about 62 miles) above Earth's sea level.

World Records

A 1971 stamp from the USSR showing the Yuri A. Gagarin Gold Medal, created by FAI.

One of the FAI's important jobs is to check and confirm record-breaking flights. For a flight to be a "World Record," it must follow the FAI's strict rules. For example, a new record must be better than the old one by a certain amount. Since the late 1930s, military aircraft have often held records for speed, distance, and height. However, civilians regularly set records in other categories.

Sometimes, countries claim records that do not meet FAI standards. These are usually not recognized as official world records. For example, Yuri Gagarin was the first human to fly into space. The FAI did not recognize his achievement at first because he did not land inside his Vostok spacecraft (he ejected from it). However, the FAI later agreed that Gagarin was indeed the first human in space. After that, the FAI created the Yuri A. Gagarin Gold Medal, which has been given out since 1968.

Types of Records

A record flight diploma issued by the FAI.

The FAI keeps records for many different types of aircraft and activities:

• Class A: Free Balloons
• Class B: Airships
• Class C: Aeroplanes (including Solar-Powered Aeroplanes)
• Class D: Gliders & Motorgliders
• Class E: Rotorcraft (helicopters)
• Class F: Model Aircraft (like free flight, Control line, and radio control models)
• Class G: Parachuting
• Class H: Vertical Take-off and Landing (VTOL) Aeroplanes
• Class I: Manpowered aircraft
• Class K: Spacecraft
• Class M: Tilt-Wing/Tilt Engine Aircraft
• Class N: Short Take-off and Landing (STOL) Aeroplanes
• Class O: Hang Gliding & Paragliding
• Class P: Aerospacecraft
• Class R: Microlights and Paramotors
• Class S: Space Models (Model rockets)
• Class U: Unmanned aerial vehicles (drones)

Some Famous Records

Here are a few examples of world records confirmed by the FAI:

Date	Measurement	Person	Aircraft	Type
Class A: Free balloons
31 January 2015	160 hours 34 minutes	Troy Bradley (United States)  Leonid Tyukhtyaev (Russia)	Two Eagles Balloon	Duration
31 March 1999	40,814 km	Bertrand Piccard (Switzerland)  Brian Jones (Great Britain)	Breitling Orbiter	Distance
4 May 1961	34,668 meters	Malcolm Ross (United States)  Victor Prather (United States)	Winzen	Absolute altitude
Class C: Aeroplanes
11 February 2006	41,467.53 km	Steve Fossett (United States)	Virgin Atlantic GlobalFlyer	Flight distance record (without refueling)
28 July 1976	3,529.56 km/h	Eldon W. Joersz (United States)	Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird	Flight airspeed record
31 August 1977	37,650 m	Aleksandr Vasilyevich Fedotov (Soviet Union)	MiG E-266M	Flight altitude record
Class CS: Solar-powered aeroplanes
7 July 2010	9,235 m 26 h 10 m 19 s	André Borschberg (Switzerland)	Solar Impulse (Prototype)	Solar powered Duration and Flight altitude record
25 May 2012	1116 km	André Borschberg (Switzerland)	Solar Impulse (Prototype)	Solar powered Distance
Class D: Gliders & motorgliders
3 September 2017	15,902 m	Jim Payne (United States)  Morgan Sandercock (Australia)	Windward Performance Perlan II	Gliding Altitude
2 September 2018	23,202 m	Tim Gardner (United States)  Jim Payne (United States)	Windward Performance Perlan II	Gliding Altitude (to be ratified)
21 January 2003	3,008.8 km	Klaus Ohlmann (Germany)  Karl Rabeder (Austria)	Schempp-Hirth Nimbus-4	Gliding Distance
Class E-1: Helicopters
11 August 1986	400.87 km/h	John Trevor Egginton (Great Britain)	Westland Lynx G-LYNX (modified)	Speed over a straight 15/25 km course
Class G-2: Parachuting performance records
14 October 2012	1357.6 km/h	Felix Baumgartner (Austria)	Red Bull Stratos	Vertical speed
8 February 2006	400 Skydivers	World Team	5 Lockheed C-130	Largest Skydiving Formation
Class I-C: Humanpowered aeroplane
23 April 1988	115.11 km 3h 54mn 59s	Kanellos Kanellopoulos (Greece)	MIT Daedalus 88	Human powered Distance and Duration
2 October 1985	44.32 km/h	Holger Rochelt (West Germany)	Musculair II	Speed over a closed circuit
Class I-E: Humanpowered rotorcraft
25 September 2013	1min 37.5 sec	Justin Mauch (United States)	Gamera	Duration
Class O: Hang Gliding & Paragliding
13 October 2016	564.3.0 km	Donizete Baldessar Lemos (Brazil)  Rafael Monteiro Saladini (Brazil)  Samuel Nascimento (Brazil)	Ozone Enzo 2 Ozone Enzo 2 Gin Boomerang 10	Straight distance with a paraglider
Class R: Microlights
14 February 2002	187 km/h	Julian Harris (Great Britain)  Bob Sharp (Great Britain)	Jabiru Aircraft UL	3 axis flight airspeed record
Class U: Unmanned aerial vehicles
14 August 2001	96863 ft	Piloted remotely by Greg Kendall (United States)	AeroVironment Helios Prototype	Sustained horizontal flight altitude record by a winged aircraft

FAI Awards

The Paul Tissandier Diploma.

The FAI gives out several awards to people who have made great contributions to aviation and air sports.

The FAI Gold Air Medal was created in 1924. It is given to those who have done a lot to help aviation grow through their work, achievements, or dedication. The FAI has also given the Paul Tissandier Diploma since 1952. This award honors people who have served aviation in general, especially sporting aviation.

The FAI also has specific awards for each air sport:

• Awards for Ballooning:
  • The Montgolfier Ballooning Diploma
  • The Santos Dumont Gold Airship Medal
• Awards for General Aviation:
  • The Charles Lindbergh General Aviation Diploma
• Awards for Gliding:
  • The Lilienthal Gliding Medal
  • The Pelagia Majewska Gliding Medal
  • The Pirat Gehriger Diploma
• Awards for Rotorcraft:
  • The FAI Gold Rotorcraft Medal
• Awards for Parachuting:
  • The FAI Gold Parachuting Medal
  • The Leonardo da Vinci Parachuting Diploma
  • The Faust Vrancic Medal
• Awards for Aeromodelling:
  • The FAI Aeromodelling Gold Medal
  • The Andrei Tupolev Aeromodelling Medal
  • The Alphonse Penaud Aeromodelling Diploma
  • The Antonov Aeromodelling Diploma
  • The Andrei Tupolev Aeromodelling Diploma
  • The Frank Ehling Diploma
• Awards for Aerobatics:
  • The Leon Biancotto Aerobatics Diploma
• Awards for Astronautics:
  • The Yuri A. Gagarin Gold Medal
  • The V.M. Komarov Diploma
  • The Korolev Diploma
  • The Odyssey Diploma
• Awards for Hang Gliding:
  • The Pepe Lopes Medal
  • The FAI Hang Gliding Diploma
• Awards for Microlight Aviation:
  • The Colibri Diploma
  • The Ann Welch Diploma
• Awards for Aviation and Space Education:
  • The Nile Gold Medal
• Awards for Amateur-Built Aircraft:
  • The Phoenix Diploma
  • The Phoenix Group Diploma
  • The Henri Mignet Diploma

FAI Young Artists Contest

The FAI Young Artists Contest is an international painting competition. It is for young people between 6 and 17 years old. Each country that is a member of the FAI organizes the contest in their own country. The national winners then have their artwork judged by an International Jury each year.

FAI Members

The FAI has many member organizations from different countries around the world. These members help promote and regulate air sports in their own nations.

Active Members

Images for kids

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  The official logo of the World Air Sports Federation (FAI).

See also

In Spanish: Federación Aeronáutica Internacional para niños