Fédération Aéronautique Internationale
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The Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) is a standard setting and record-keeping body for aeronautics and astronautics. This includes man-carrying vehicles from balloons to spacecraft, and unmanned vehicles (such as model aircraft and UAVs). It is also the international governing body for air sports. It was founded in 1905.
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[edit] Activities
The FAI is the international governing body for the following activities:
- Aerobatics through the FAI Aerobatics Commission ("Commission Internationale de Voltige Aerienne" - CIVA)[1]
- Aeromodelling through the FAI Aeromodelling Commission (CIAM)
- Astronautic Records through the FAI Astronautic Records Commission
- Ballooning though the FAI Ballooning Commission
- General aviation through the FAI General Aviation Commission
- Gliding through the FAI Gliding Commission
- Hang gliding & Paragliding through the FAI Hang Gliding & Paragliding Commission
- Microlighting through the FAI Microlight Commission
- Parachuting through the FAI Parachuting Commission
- Rotorcraft through FAI Rotorcraft Commission
The FAI establishes the standards for records in the activities. Where these are air sports, the FAI also oversees international competitions at world and continental levels, and also organizes the World Air Games and FAI World Grand Prix.
[edit] Records
Among the FAI's responsibilities are the verification of record-breaking flights. For a flight to be registered as a "World's Record," it has to comply with the FAI's strict rules, which include a proviso that the record must exceed the previous record by a certain percentage. Since the late 1930s, military aircraft have dominated some classes of record for powered aircraft such as speed, distance, payload, and height, though other classes are regularly claimed by civilians.
Some records are claimed by countries as their own, even though their achievements fail to meet FAI standards. These claims are not typically granted the status of official records. For example, Yuri Gagarin earned recognition for the first manned spaceflight, despite failing to meet FAI requirements. The FAI initially did not recognize the achievement because he did not land in his Vostok spacecraft, but later it recognized that Gagarin was the first human to fly into space. The FAI then established "The Yuri A. Gagarin Gold Medal", which has been awarded since 1968. [1]
[edit] Classes
The following types of craft have records:
- Class A Free Balloons
- Class B Airships
- Class C Aeroplanes
- Class D Gliders & Motorgliders
- Class E Rotorcraft
- Class F Model Aircraft
- Class G Parachuting
- Class H Vertical Take-off and Landing Aeroplanes
- Class I Manpowered aircraft
- Class K Spacecraft
- Class M Tilt-Wing/Tilt Engine Aircraft
- Class N Short Take-off and Landing (STOL) Aeroplanes
- Class O Hang Gliding & Paragliding
- Class P Aerospacecraft
- Class R Microlight
- Class S Space Models
- Class U Unmanned Aerial Vehicle
[edit] Some of the records
| Date | Measurement | Person | Aircraft | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Class A: Free balloons | ||||
| March 21, 1999 | 40,814 km | Bertrand Piccard and Brian Jones |
Breitling Orbiter | Distance |
| May 4, 1961 | 34,668 m | Malcolm Ross and Victor Prather |
Winzen | Absolute altitude |
| Class C: Aeroplanes | ||||
| February 11, 2006 | 41,467.53 km | Steve Fossett | Virgin Atlantic GlobalFlyer | Flight distance record unrefuelled |
| July 28, 1976 | 3,529.56 km/h | Eldon Joersz | SR-71 | Flight airspeed record |
| August 31, 1977 | 37,650 m | Alexandr Fedotov | MiG E-266M | Flight altitude record |
| October 22, 1938 | 17,083 m | Mario Pezzi | Caproni 161 bis | Flight altitude record Piston engine without payload |
| Class D: Gliders & Motorgliders | ||||
| August 30, 2006 | 15,453 m | Steve Fossett and Einar Enevoldson |
Glaser-Dirks DG-505M (modified) | Gliding Altitude |
| January 21, 2003 | 3,008.8 km | Klaus Ohlmann and Gerhard Marzinzik |
Schempp-Hirth Nimbus-4 | Gliding Distance |
| Class R: Microlights | ||||
| February 14, 2002 | 187 km/h | Julian Harris and Bob Sharp |
Jabiru UL | 3 axis flight airspeed record.[2] |
[edit] References
[edit] External links
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