1997 World Air Games

1997 World Air Games (1997 WAG) was an international competition of air sports, held between September 15 - September 21, 1997 in Turkey, hosted by Turkish Aeronautical Association (THK). It was the first of World Air Games organized by Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (World Air Sports Federation - FAI) once every four years. The games marked the first time more than 3000 participants from 60 countries took part in 16 different championship categories at 7 different locations at the same time.

Participation

Out of about 80 FAI members, 60 countries took part in the 1997 WAG, with 1714 athletes and 3183 participants. The list of participating countries is as follows:

Competitions

The 1^st World Air Games consisted of competitions in the following categories:

Parachuting

* 1^st World Parachuting Championships in Freestyle and Skysurfing
* 12^nd World Parachuting Championships in Formation Skydiving
* 9^th World Cup of Parachuting Champions in Style and Accuracy

Competitions held in "THK Selçuk (Ephesus) Training Center" near Ephesus. 10,408 jumps and 707 sorties have been made.

Air race / general aviation

* 10^th World Air Rally Flying Championships
* 1^st World Air Games Long Range Air Race 1,640 hours flight was flown with 42 aircraft and 513 sorties.

Gliding

* 1^st World Gliding Championship in World ClassIn the part held in "THK İnönü Training Center" in İnönü, Eskişehir, 319 flights were flown by gliders. The aircraft made 268 sorties of retrieval with a total flight time of 83 hours. In Antalya - Karain airport 260 sorties have been made with gliders.

Aerobatics

* 7^th World Glider Aerobatic Championships
* Europeans Unlimited Aerobatics ChampionshipsHeld in Antalya - Karain airport with 228 sorties.

Aeromodelling

* World Championship in Class F3B
* World Championship in Class F3C
* World Cup in Classes F1A, F1B, F1C for seniors
* European Aeromodelling Championships in Classes F1A, F1B, F1J for juniors
* European Aeromodelling Championships in Classes S1B, S3A, S5C, S6A, S7, S8E

Microlight

* 1^st World Air Games Microlight ChampionshipsHeld in Aydın, with 22 hours of flight with ultralights.

Hang gliding

* 1^st World Air Games Hang gliding ChampionshipsHeld in Aydın, with 53 hours of flight with powered hang gliders. In Denizli - Pamukkale, 699 flights were completed in hang gliding.

Paragliding

* 1^st World Air Games Paragliding ChampionshipsHeld in Aydın, with 28 hours of flight with powered paragliders. In Denizli - Pamukkale, 1,040 flights were completed in paragliding.

Ballooning

* 1^st World Air Games Ballooning ChampionshipHeld in Cappadocia region with 868 hours balloon flight with 62 balloons and 7 hours flight time.

Results

External links

* [http://airsports.fai.org/jan98/jan9805.html Official report of 1997 WAG on FAI web site]