By : Karen Diamond

Sure, you’ve heard of the FAI World Grand Prix of Aviation. Over the past two years, SPORT AEROBATICS has reported the results of the first series, which began in October 1996 and ended this past November. What you may not be aware of is just what a spectacular event the Grand Prix has become.

The FWGPA has its roots in presenting aerobatics as an art, combining precision and accuracy, technical performance and aesthetic perfection into a single competition worthy of attracting the attention of thousands of spectators worldwide.

Parachutists at Shanghai with Grand Prix flag

Grand Prix history began in 1990 when the format was then named the Breitling Masters by the title sponsor, and continued as the Breitling World Cup from 1993 to 1995. The series brought "aesthetic aerobatics" to Austria, Canada, France, Germany, the UK, Japan, Switzerland and the United States during those years and included competitions at the Paris Airshow, NAS Miramar in California and the famous EAA Fly-In and Convention at Oshkosh, Wisconsin.

In 1996, FAI began managing the series, thus the title FAI World Grand Prix of Aviation. Jean-Louis Monet has served as director all along and in the past two years has molded this unique competition into an even more impressive and technologically well-developed event.

Grand Prix pilots qualify at the World Aerobatic Championships, and only some 20 or fewer pilots are eligible. A Grand Prix event is conducted under CIVA rules, and competitors perform two programmes an "Unknown Challenge' and a "Freestyle to Music". Judges give each programme three marks for technique, artistry and positioning. The judging criteria are originality, harmony and rhythm, safety, versatility, precision, positioning and flying to music.

Golden Dreams, formation team from the United Kingdom

The mission of the Grand Prix? To promote and popularize aerobatics, to develop the artistic aspect of aerobatics, stimulate vocations in aeronautics and play a part in the general development of aviation, to foster friendly relations between pilots of different nationalities through a sporting event, stimulate a commercial market for companies associated with the Grand Prix and to offer a testing bench and practice field for advanced technologies.

Advanced technologies at an aerobatic competition? Yes the Grand Prix has moved aerobatics into the future with on board digital cameras, automatic tracking of aircraft in flight by ground cameras and live broadcast via satellite on the Internet, giant video screens on the ground and television networks.

300,000 showed up for the event at Changsha

FWGPA has flourished with innovations. Although aerobatics is still the heart of the Grand Prix, the event was recently opened to all types of aircraft and formation flights, further expanding the possibilities for growth and expansion. In October, Japan hosted the first aerobatic competition ever to be held over an automobile racetrack at Twin Ring Motegi, where a runway was constructed behind the grandstand especially for the event. Another breakthrough was last year’s eight city "China Cup" tour, bringing aerobatics to hundreds of thousands of Chinese spectators enthusiastic spectators. So enthused, in fact, that at Changsha, 100,000 people (of an audience of 300,000 eagerly crowded onto the runway and display zone and the flights were cancelled for safety reasons.

Perhaps one of the most attractive aspects of the Grand Prix is the unique mix of sport, technique, art and culture. Peruse our photo essay of Motegi and China Cup ’98, and you will see what I mean the fine and the fundamental art of flying with a most cultural flair.

	Victor Chmal in his Sukhio 26 - Shanghai
	Awards presentation at Shanghai (l to r) Nikolay Timofeev, Peter Besenyei and Victor Chmal
	China national Parachute Jumping Team
	Jean-Louise Monet, WGPA Director with hostesses at Shanghai

Reproduced from Sport Aerobatics.