The long season of spring FAI Commission meetings is now virtually at an end. Only the Air and Space Education Commission, meeting at the Smithsonian Institute in Washington on 10/11 May has still to deliberate.

This, coincidentally will also be the final resting place for the capsule of the Breitling Orbiter III balloon, the vehicle that carried Bertrand Piccard and Brian Jones on their pioneering circumnavigation of the earth. It will be on display in the Washington Museum in close proximity to Lindbergh's Spirit of St Louis and the Apollo 11 moon buggy - a fitting tribute to the achievement of the two balloonists. They were honoured here in Lausanne on 20 April with the award of the Olympic Order - an extremely rare distinction for air sportsmen. In my speech on that occasion I said: "The men that you, President Samaranch, are honouring today, are not only great airmen and athletes. More importantly they are distinguished ambassadors for our air sports and for the Olympic ideal. Most important of all they are excellent examples for the children of the world to look up to." The ceremony was attended by a large group of small children from the several countries, all of whom were fascinated by the round the world voyage.

We have now ratified the Piccard/Jones World records - Absolute records for Shortest time round the world, distance and duration, and a Rozier record for altitude. The precise figures are:

• Shortest time around the world (AM 15 + Absolute) 15 days 10 hours 24 min. (370 h. 24 min.)
• Distance (AM 15 + Absolute) 40'814 km
• Duration (AM 15 + Absolute) 19 days 21 hours 47 min. (477 h. 47 min.)
• Altitude (AM 15 only) 11'737 meters

Returning to the FAI Commission meetings, these were marked by a unanimous commitment to the success of the 2nd World Air Games in Andalucia (June 2001). All the Commissions have agreed to invest financially in the Joint Venture with Spain to promote the Games commercially through the sale of TV and other rights. All are reviewing the rules of their contests to make them more attractive to the public and to the media.

This month sees the annual meeting, here in Lausanne for the first time, of the FAI Council. To mark our arrival here, a demonstration of air sports is being organised after the Council meeting on Saturday 29 May over the lake in front of the Olympic Museum, thanks to the Aero Club of Switzerland. It promises to attract a large crowd, enabling us to build on the much higher media profile that FAI has enjoyed since arriving in Lausanne.

We wish all of you in the Northern hemisphere a succcesful summer flying season.

Max Bishop Secretary General FAI