This year, from August 20 to August 29, the world’s best aerobatic pilots will be appearing in Châteauroux in central France to compete for this most prestigious of all aerobatic titles and the event will end with a large, free admission airshow.
The French Aeronautical Federation wants to make these 2015 FAI World Aerobatic Championships a 10-day aeronautical celebration to remember. Throughout the competition, it will set up side events to keep the audience, aerobatic enthusiasts and general public alike, excited.
“We want to go beyond the purely sporting aspect,” says Jean-Luc Charron, the Federation’s Vice-President.
To be closer to the public, the opening ceremony will not be held at the airfield, but in the heart of the town of Chateauroux on Thursday, August 20.
The Patrouille de France (the French military display team) will perform a flypast to mark the opening of the championships. Then, for 10 days, many activities will be offered to the public at the airfield where the competition is to take place: flight simulators, visits of legendary aircraft, static exhibition of aeroclub aircraft for a ‘learn to fly’ on the ground experience, first aerobatic flights, a Subaru-sponsored racetrack, and more.
The FFA has also planned daily fly-ins at the nearby airfield of Châteauroux-Villers.
The competition will start on Thursday, August 20 in the morning and finish on Friday, August 29. The aerobatic programme will be: Known, Free, Free Unknown, Unknown 1 and 2, and finally Full Free. Sixty pilots will represent 20 different nations for the contest. Videos of the aerobatic flights will be projected live on a giant screen with a commentary.
Team France will be defending its four 2014 titles at home. François Le Vot, the French reigning world champion, has retired and so it will be up to Olivier Masurel to fight for the titles. He will be facing the recently crowned European champion Carlos Fantoba from Spain and the Russian multiple champion Mikhail Mamistov.
In the Female category, Aude Lemordant, the French defending world champion, will be challenged by multiple champion Svetlana Kapinana from Russia, and Melissa Pemberton from the USA.
A giant air show will close the competition on August 29. It will include extraordinary display flights by the Patrouille de France, the Rafale, the Breitling Wings Walkers, and many others, who will salute the new world champions and all the pilots who participated in the competition.
