Excitement builds ahead of the brand-new format 1st FAI World Paramotor Endurance Championships
A buzz is building in the paramotor community ahead of the upcoming 1st FAI World Paramotor Endurance Championships in Kent, Great Britain. The brand-new format contest runs from 3-10 August 2024 and will see over 80 paramotor pilots from 17 countries embark on a week-long test of strategic decision-making and pilot skill.
The new format has been gathering momentum in recent years, mainly in the Great Britain. The 1st FAI World Paramotor Endurance Championships takes place at Manston Airport, in Kent, UK and will conclude with the first champions being awarded medals at the Closing Ceremony.
Speaking ahead of the competition start, FAI Microlight and Paramotor Commission (CIMA) President, Wolfgang Lintl, commented, “The uptake in registration for this new format competition has been significant, with over 80 pilots competing, representing countries as far afield as Australia, Japan and India. The paramotoring community will be watching with interest as established teams from France, Qatar and Czechia, who have had recent success in slalom paramotor, test their skills in this new format.”
Differing from the ‘classic’ World Paramotor Championship format, where pilots fly one or two set tasks on each day, the Endurance format approved by the FAI Microlight and Paramotor Commission (CIMA) gives a long flight window each day in which pilots of Foot launch (PF1) and Trike (PL1) classes can choose which task/s to complete from an overall list. Tasks will include precision landing, fuel economy and navigation.
Barney Townsend, Event Director explains, “The great thing about the new Endurance format is that it gives more airtime. Pilots who are travelling a long way to compete want to spend less time on the ground at the airfield and longer in the air. With the longer flight window, wider competition area and less pressure at take-off, it is attractive to a broader audience. Those who have flown it, have loved it.”
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