Defending champion Petr Jonáš (on right in photo) will head to Italy this August with his trusty navigator Marek Velát (left) to compete at the FAI World Rally Flying Championships. The Czech duo, who paired up in 2018, hope that their combination of intense focus and almost telepathic communication will snare them another world champion medal. Their success will lie in quick, decisive action whilst remaining cool in the face of strong opposition, particularly from the Polish and French challengers.

In the run-up to this 24th edition of the FAI World Rally Flying championships, organised by the Aero Club d’Italia and the Aero Club Ferrara, 36-year old Petr Jonáš, an aeronautical surveillance engineer in his "day job", shares an insight into his passion for the sport, and reveals what makes a world champion rally flying crew:

Are you hoping to gain the title again in Italy this year, and which crews do you consider as your main competition?
With my navigator, we managed to claim the title twice so far, so we are going to do our best to compete for it again. However, Italy is again a new environment for us, it will depend on how quickly we can adapt, compared to the other crews.

We expect the French and Polish crews to be very strong as usual, and there many who have what it takes to be world champions. It will be a tough battle, for sure!

Marek Velát (left) and Petr Jonáš with their trophies and FAI diplomas

How did you get into Rally Flying and begin competing?
It was mainly thanks to my good friend Ivo Lengál, who is always on a lookout for young talented pilots. I started as his apprentice in microlight competition flying and later he introduced me also to precision flying and rally flying. He was also my instructor on GA airplanes. My very first flights after obtaining my private pilot license were in competitions!

Ready to fly!

When did you begin flying together and what do you think makes you a good team?
Marek Velát, my navigator, was a fellow pilot from the microlight team, a very capable aviator. I was very happy when he agreed to form a crew with me in 2018.

The wealth of experience within the Czech team helped us a lot to get up to speed quickly. Marek is a great pilot himself, and I also have some experience as a navigator, so we understand each other’s roles well. That enables us to support each other and do a lot of cross-checking during both preparation and the flight itself.

In addition, I think we have very similarly wired brains! That simplifies the communication and cooperation in the crew.

Petr in the cockpit

Which are the essential qualities required for successful Rally Flying?
I think it's mainly the ability to multitask. It's not enough just to do one thing well, you need to be able to do several things well at once and maintain focus on all of them for quite a long time. You can easily forget to focus on the time gates because of searching for the photos, or miss some photos because you are not sure about your position in the map and so on.

Secondly, I think it's the ability to maintain a calm head and to make quick and accurate decisions.

When it comes to the precision landings, it is mainly about lots and lots of practice. So you need some grit to force yourself to do all those things again and again to the best of your abilities.

Do you have any heroes or mentors who have inspired you in Rally Flying?
I have already mentioned Ivo, he's certainly a great inspiration in terms of how much he dedicates to competition flying and to the team, but also in terms of his attitude. Always optimistic, always taking things positively, enjoying the time at the airfield with others.

I think the most important thing about competitions, especially international ones, is about forming friendships and creating good memories. I was not always like that, so everyone who is a true sportsman and creates a positive vibe and friendly spirit of the competitions is truly is an inspiration for me.

How often do you train leading up to a competition?
Sometimes a bit less than I should, since I am splitting my free time between navigation competitions and aerobatics. But generally, I try to participate in all the local rally flying competitions that we organise in the Czech Republic, because you need tasks prepared by someone (including photos, markers) to be able to practice. We always do more on years when there are World Championships organised. This year, that means four weekends, three tasks each.

Rally Flying titles

• 2016 - World Champion (Advanced category)
• 2018 - World Champion 
• 2023 - World Champion
• Several times Czech national champion

 

FAI wishes Jonáš and Velát the best of luck for the upcoming world championships in Italy.

Follow the competition

The FAI World Rally Flying Championships runs from 30th August to 5th September 2025. FAI will publish regular news and social media posts with competition updates:

• Interview with Competition Director with competition details
• Event website
• FAI Facebook
• FAI Instagram
• Follow Petr Jonáš on Facebook
• Follow Marek Velát on Facebook

(Images courtesy of Petr Jonáš)