Air sports
Encyclopedia
The term Air sports covers a range of aerial activities such as:
The sports listed above are governed internationally by Fédération Aéronautique Internationale
and at the national level by aero clubs such as the National Aeronautics Association and the Royal Aero Club
. The FAI web site contains lists of these national organizations. In some of the categories listed above are lightweight classes which can be alternatively grouped as Ultralight aviation
.
Other aerial activities are not governed by the FAI rules
- AerobaticsAerobaticsAerobatics is the practice of flying maneuvers involving aircraft attitudes that are not used in normal flight. Aerobatics are performed in airplanes and gliders for training, recreation, entertainment and sport...
- BallooningBallooningBallooning may refer to:* Hot air ballooning* Balloon * Ballooning * Ballooning degeneration...
- General aviationGeneral aviationGeneral aviation is one of the two categories of civil aviation. It refers to all flights other than military and scheduled airline and regular cargo flights, both private and commercial. General aviation flights range from gliders and powered parachutes to large, non-scheduled cargo jet flights...
including Air racingAir racing- History :The first ever air race was held in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1908. The participants piloted the only 4 airships in the U.S. around a course located at Forest Park... - GlidingGlidingGliding is a recreational activity and competitive air sport in which pilots fly unpowered aircraft known as gliders or sailplanes using naturally occurring currents of rising air in the atmosphere to remain airborne. The word soaring is also used for the sport.Gliding as a sport began in the 1920s...
- Hang glidingHang glidingHang gliding is an air sport in which a pilot flies a light and unmotorized foot-launchable aircraft called a hang glider ....
- Human powered aircraft
- Model aircraftModel aircraftModel aircraft are flying or non-flying models of existing or imaginary aircraft using a variety of materials including plastic, diecast metal, polystyrene, balsa wood, foam and fibreglass...
- ParachutingParachutingParachuting, also known as skydiving, is the action of exiting an aircraft and returning to earth with the aid of a parachute. It may or may not involve a certain amount of free-fall, a time during which the parachute has not been deployed and the body gradually accelerates to terminal...
- ParaglidingParaglidingParagliding is the recreational and competitive adventure sport of flying paragliders: lightweight, free-flying, foot-launched glider aircraft with no rigid primary structure...
The sports listed above are governed internationally by Fédération Aéronautique Internationale
Fédération Aéronautique Internationale
The Fédération Aéronautique Internationale is the world governing body for air sports and aeronautics and astronautics world records. Its head office is in Lausanne, Switzerland. This includes man-carrying aerospace vehicles from balloons to spacecraft, and unmanned aerial vehicles...
and at the national level by aero clubs such as the National Aeronautics Association and the Royal Aero Club
Royal Aero Club
The Royal Aero Club is the national co-ordinating body for Air Sport in the United Kingdom.The Aero Club was founded in 1901 by Frank Hedges Butler, his daughter Vera and the Hon Charles Rolls , partly inspired by the Aero Club of France...
. The FAI web site contains lists of these national organizations. In some of the categories listed above are lightweight classes which can be alternatively grouped as Ultralight aviation
Ultralight aviation
The term "ultralight aviation" refers to light-weight, 1- or 2-person airplanes., also called microlight aircraft in the UK, India and New Zealand...
.
Other aerial activities are not governed by the FAI rules
- Wingsuit flyingWingsuit flyingWingsuit flying is the sport of flying the human body through the air using a special jumpsuit, called a wingsuit, which adds surface area to the human body to enable a significant increase in lift. Modern wingsuits, first developed in the late 1990s, create the surface area with fabric between the...
- Rocket Racing LeagueRocket Racing LeagueThe Rocket Racing League is a proposed racing league that would use rocket-powered aircraft to race a closed-circuit air racetrack. Founded in 2005, the league is currently working to hold the first multi-vehicle races in 2011...
is an attempt to create a new airsport