In the fast-paced FAI Control Line Combat category, the two agile pilots inside a circular boundary weave around one another to keep their aircraft aloft and score points against their opponent. Quick-witted attack and defence tactics are deployed as the planes twist and turn in the sky. The pilots wear helmets for protection and the audience watches in safety from behind a high barrier.
The two Gallet brothers from France each became champion in their category at the recent 2023 FAI F5J World Championships for Electric Powered Thermal Duration Gliders in Bulgaria: Adrien, aged 20, in the seniors, and his 12 year old brother Romain in the juniors.
French paramotor pilot Alex Mateos is no stranger to the podium. A six times world champion, he gained his first French title in 2010 and has competed around the world In this interview, he looks back at his significant career which started off as an opportunity to hang out with friends, and shares an insight into how the sport has changed since the early days.
Floating above the earth in a hot air balloon, Marie Mateos encoutered two things that would change the course of her life forever: a paramotor, and her future husband. Marie has always enjoyed the challenge of competition, so after it was only natural that after learning to fly a paramotor, she would work as hard as she could to take home a trophy. Since her initial championships she has continued to hone her skills to build up an impressive number of titles.
In 2022, France entered pilots into the 21st FAI European Championships in Lithuania, the 37th FAI World Championships in Hungary, The 12th FAI Junior World Championships in the Czech Republic and the 11th FAI Women's World Championships in Great Britain. In the Women’s world gliding competitions in 2022, the French team took a silver, topping this with a team cup gold at the World Championships.
Swiss aeromodeller Andreas Lüthi took a gold medal at the 2022 FAI F4 World Championships For Scale Model Aircraft in Norway with his Bücker Jungmann 1.131E in the F4C category. In this interview he reveals his journey in aeromodelling and shares his thoughts on attracting the next generation to the sport.
