The FAI World Air Games, Conducted Under The Rules Of The Fédération Aéronautique Internationale, Is The Premier International Multi-Discipline Air Sports Event

Donatas Pauzuolis, from Lithuania, took the first Gold medal of the FAI World Air Games earlier this week when he won the F3P Indoor Aerobatics Modelling at the Dubai Mall. The 31-year-old competitor wowed the judges with a series of almost flawless performances…winning every heat and establishing a clear lead from the start.

Pauzuolis is quoted as saying “It is a dream. I’ve spent half a year of my life training for this, and everything paid off.” Pauzuolis went to extreme lengths to give himself the edge, even scoping out the site out online before arriving in Dubai. He added, “I went on the internet and found the dimensions of this space, and then I went looking for a place with the same size back home.”
 
And what a show he and his rivals put on as they sent their fragile model aircraft swooping gracefully up to the roof before cartwheeling down to skim the ice below.

While the F3P event was being held indoors, out in the desert the clear blue skies were dotted with parachute canopies as hundreds of skydivers took to the air for training. More than 1,000 jumps were made at the Skydive Dubai Desert Campus as competitors prepared for the event.

The paraglider acro fiends were also practicing hard all day, jumping out of helicopters before spiraling and looping down to the raft in the Palm Dropzone bay.

Later, they will be competing in the Aerobatics Synchro at the Palm, where the crowd will also be treated to the first round of the Powered Aerobatics competition and a spectacular Airshow featuring multiple air sports.

Ten air sports are programmed for the event. They are: Aerobatics, Aeromodelling, Aerostats, Amateur-Built Aircraft, General Aviation, Gliding, Microlights & Paramotors, Parachuting, Paragliding and Rotorcraft.

The FAI’s primary goals for this event are to determine “FAI World Air Games Champions” to showcase air sports to the general public and promote public participation in air sports by attracting new participants to air sports disciplines, to promote FAI events to other sports organizations, and to create an attractive platform for TV, media and other external stakeholders.

(TechOne Mini Apollo FP3 Aerobatic model. Image from Parkflyers.com)

FMI: www.wagdubai.ae/