MAAA Wingspan

19 The thrilling and exciting aerobatic display of F3A Aircraft were showcased at the renowned FAI World Championship, held in Calcinatello (BS) Italy from the 3-10 August 2019. A total of 116 Competitors from 39 Countries competed at these championships, making it one of the largest participated events in recent times. Each country can nominate a maximumof 3 pilots + 1 junior pilot for this event. Most countries have been running competitions leading up to the World Championships to select their strongest teampossible to represent themon the world stage. The first F3A world championship was held back in 1960 in Dubendorf near Zurich Switzerland. There have been 31 World Championship events over this period. What is F3A about F3A (Precision Aerobatics or Pattern) flying is the discipline of performing a set sequence of manoeuvres with a model aircraft. Pilots progress through a series of classes with increasing levels of manoeuvre difficulty, with the top class being “FAI”, a class flown around the world with the same sequences. Event Christophe Paysant-Le Roux from France was crowned World Champion for the ninth time after seven days of competition. This is an astonishing achievement by an individual in any level of competition and it is a testament to his dedication and commitment to this challenging facet of RC Aeromodelling. In an extremely tight battle, second place went to Tetsuo Onda from Japan (Reigning World Champion) and third place to Gernot Bruckman fromAustria who is the current F3P World Champion along withmany other disciplines in RC aeromodelling. Australia fought a competitive battle with Aaron Garle coming in 26th, Peter Pennisi in 84th and Russel Edwards in 102nd place. Australian competitor, Peter Pennisi said the Aussie teamshould be extremely proud of their achievements and camaraderie between all members was genuine and supportive. “The whole teamcontributed to making it an experience of a lifetime and one we can look back with fond memories,” he said. “A special mention should go to Aaron Garle who finished in position 26 as the only Australian tomake the semi-finals at a Word Championship since 2005. Aaron flew extremely well and should be proud of his achievement. TRAVEL story: 2019 FAI F3A WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP FOR AEROBATIC MODEL AIRCRAFT