The Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) is the world governing body for air sports and aeronautics and astronautics world records. Its head office is in Lausanne, Switzerland.[1] This includes man-carrying aerospace vehicles from balloons to spacecraft, and unmanned aerial vehicles (such as model aircraft and UAVs). It was founded on 14 October 1905.
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The FAI was founded at a conference held in Paris 12-14 October 1905, which was organised following a resolution passed by the Olympic Congress held in Brussels on 10 June 1905 calling for the creation of an Association "to regulate the sport of flying, ... the various aviation meetings and advance the science and sport of Aeronautics."[2] The conference was attended by representatives from 8 countries: Belgium (Aero Club Royal de Belgique, founded 1901), France (Aéro-Club de France, 1898), Germany (Deutscher Aero Club e.V.), Great Britain (Royal Aero Club, 1901), Italy (Aero Club d'Italia, 1904), Spain (Real Aero Club de España, 1905), Switzerland (Aero-Club der Schweiz, 1900) and the United States (Aero Club of America, 1905).
The FAI is the international governing body for the following activities:
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.
Since 1952, the FAI has awarded the Paul Tissandier Diploma for services to aviation.
Among the FAI's responsibilities are the verification of record-breaking flights. For a flight to be registered as a "World 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 (he ejected from it), 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.[14]
The following types of craft have records:
Subclasses for Class F:
| Date | Measurement | Person | Aircraft | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Class A: Free balloons | ||||
| 31 March 1999 | 40,814 km.[15] | Bertrand Piccard and Brian Jones |
Breitling Orbiter | Distance |
| 4 May 1961 | 34,668 m | Malcolm Ross and Victor Prather |
Winzen | Absolute altitude |
| Class C: Aeroplanes | ||||
| 11 February 2006 | 41,467.53 km | Steve Fossett | Virgin Atlantic GlobalFlyer | Flight distance record (without refueling) |
| 28 July 1976 | 3,529.56 km/h | Eldon W. Joersz | SR-71 | Flight airspeed record |
| 31 August 1977 | 37,650 m | Alexandr Fedotov | MiG E-266M | Flight altitude record |
| 22 October 1938 | 17,083 m | Mario Pezzi | Caproni Ca.161 | Flight altitude record (piston engine without payload) |
| Class CS: Solar-Powered Aeroplanes | ||||
| 7 July 2010 | 9,235 m | André Borschberg | Solar Impulse (Prototype) | Solar powered Flight altitude record[16] |
| Class D: Gliders & Motorgliders | ||||
| 29 August 2006 | 15,460 m | Steve Fossett and Einar Enevoldson |
Glaser-Dirks DG-505M (modified) | Gliding Altitude |
| 21 January 2003 | 3,008.8 km | Klaus Ohlmann and Karl Rabeder |
Schempp-Hirth Nimbus-4 | Gliding Distance |
| Class O: Hang Gliding & Paragliding | ||||
| 12 December 2008 | 501.1 km | Nevil Hullett | Mac Para Magus | Straight distance with a paraglider |
| Class R: Microlights | ||||
| 14 February 2002 | 187 km/h | Julian Harris and Bob Sharp |
Jabiru Aircraft UL | 3 axis flight airspeed record.[17]| |
| 17 August 2011 | 130.3 km/h | Edina Sz. KOLESZÁR | Dudek Nucleon 23 | Distance in a closed circuit with limited fuel |
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