World Air Sports Federation’s 3rd Championship

The third installment of the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI, World Air Sports Federation) World Air Navigation Race (WANR) is taking place in Slovakia.

The Aeroclub of Kamenica nad Cirochou in northeastern Slovakia near Prešov is hosting the twelve-day event, which has seen thirty-two dual-pilot teams practicing since August 13. The actual competition began August 18 with landing practice and the Opening Ceremony.

The Polish team of Radomski Boleslaw and Darius Lechowski will be defending their title from the previous World Championship held in Portugal in 2019. They face thirty-two others teams from Austria, China, Czechia, France, Germany, Norway, Poland, Spain, UK, and six teams from Slovakia.

The competition format is a type of dynamic form of Precision Landing and Rally Flying, with two components: navigation and landing. The flights are conducted in a series of knockout heats in which one team is eliminated in each heat. In the Navigation series the flights launch and must negotiate 8-10 turn points in a narrow corridor before returning to land in the same spot. Teams are given a map and have a short time to prepare before their flight. Use of GPS is not permitted so teams must navigate using a stopwatch and compass to identify the turn points. There are two Landing Tests the teams must complete. Points are scored for Landing, Navigation, and a Combined Score.

The Landing contest was conducted on August 19, with the competition flights from August 20-23. Prizes will be awarded on August 24.

FMI:  www.fai.org/