News

The Hang Gliding World Championships that is going on in Krushevo North Macedonia has got 6 competition days. This year "free-flying paradise" experiences atypical weather conditions so this adds suspense to the results. Totally there were planned 11 flying days but one day was canceled due to the rain, another rainy was selected as the official rest day, and on one more only Class 5 managed to have a valid task. So Class 1 has got 5 valid tasks for both Overall and Women's Worlds and Class 5 has got 6 valid tasks.

Though Hang gliding has always been considered as a sport for the grown-up people there is quite a significant age range of participants in the World Championships of 2023 - the oldest pilot being 68 and the youngest being 28. We asked the two extremes from each age group a few questions about their sports career and flying preferences.

The team working at the HG Worlds 2023 in North Macedonia is very experienced and has manages a lot of successful competitions. Here they are in person.

Meet Director Goran Dimiskovski

The 23rd FAI World Hang Gliding Class 1 Championship, 14th FAI Women World Hang Gliding Class 1, and 9th FAI World Hang Gliding Class 5 Championship have launched in Krushevo, North Macedonia. The event is being held from 6 to 19 of August 2023 and 131 pilots from 22 nations have gathered to compete. In Class 1, eight pilots are competing for Women's champion title and all 104 of the pilots are competing for the Champion title overall. In Class 5 there are 27 pilots competing for the title of the world champion in Class 5.

John Dickenson, inventor of the modern hang-glider, died on July 5, 2023. His funeral will be held on August 25 in Mona Vale, NSW, Australia. John was the holder of the highest FAI award, the FAI Gold Air Medal.

A Short Story of Hang Gliding

Hang gliding began with Otto Lilienthal in 1891. The German engineer completed over 2000 flights. His gliders were very complex and difficult to build or repair, with a control system that proved inadequate to deal with turbulence. Lilienthal died following a crash; still, he proved that flying was possible.