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Welcome to the SA Power Flying Association, a community of aviation enthusiasts that are passionate about recreational flying in South Africa.

If you are bored of the $100 burger or breakfast runs to the same old airfields, then we have great news for you. SA Power Flying Association is here to help you stretch your wings and advance your flying skills all while learning from some of the best aviators in the world.

We want to help you get in the air, stay in the air, and have fun while you’re at it! SA Power Flying membership makes participating in events easier and more rewarding. Whether you are new to aviation, want to brush up on your skills or want to fly for your country; SA Power Flying has the event for you.

In addition to our successful Speed Rallies, Rally Flying, Air Navigation Rallies (ANR), spot landings and the President’s Trophy, we will be adding a few new events to our calendar. We will also be introducing new member benefits so keep an eye out for updates. Join our WhatsApp group using this link and be the first to find out what is coming up.

With ANR World Championships are coming up in September 2026 in Germany, we want to practice as much as possible. Whether you want to compete or just have fun, join us and learn from some experienced aviators while you have the opportunity.

We are always on the lookout for venues and are happy to tailor our events to your need. If you would like to arrange an event for your club or want to host an event at your airfield, get in touch. We would love to bring the fun to you. We are the only ARO who has approved procedures in place to run these events and we don’t charge for our assistance, we do it for the love of the sport.

We encourage you to renew your SA Power Flying membership through Aero Club, who provide us with the support to continue as a recreational aviation organisation in South Africa. It is through their hard work and dedication that we are able to continue to enjoy free flight across the skies of South Africa.

If you would like to join our events but need a crew member, want to volunteer or just want to find out more, please phone or email us and we will be happy to share more info. You are also welcome to fly/drive into any of our events to meet the team and join us for that burger. Hope to see you at one of our events soon. Happy flying.

Toruń, Poland, 14 August 2026 – Poland’s Michał Bartler has soared to the top of the podium at the 26th FAI World Precision Flying Championship in Toruń, Poland to claim a gold for his first international title, with his national team also crowned team champions.

Bartler demonstrated remarkable consistency across all three navigation and four landing tasks showing his mastery of the skills required for FAI Precision Flying – expertise, focus and determination – to win a gold for his first FAI World Championship medal.

Speaking after the Closing Ceremony on 14 August, Bartler summarised the competition, saying: “It’s been quite a stressful week, long days and difficult tasks… Scores were super tight on over different days which increased the pressure… Now that the season is over, it’s time for rest and time for family.”

Although his teammate Kamil Wieczorek came out top of the navigation tasks, Bartler’s three perfect landings on the zero line gave him overall advantage ahead of Kamil Wieczorek who took silver, with Marcin Chrząszcz just behind him with bronze, pushing defending champion Michał Wieczorek into fourth place.

As the Polish team dominated the individual podium with all three medals, they also took gold on the teams podium, ahead of Czechia and France.

Competing on home territory gave a natural advantage but the Polish team have long reigned supreme in this sport, the 10-strong team largest among the 10 participating nations. Poland last conceded a team podium in 2009, to Czechia.

A total of 45 pilots participated, including for the first time, three pilots from China who were warmly welcomed by hosts from the Aero Club of Poland and the Pomeranian Aero Club.

Alongside the individual and team FAI World Champions, rankings were published for the female pilots and less experienced pilots. Of the four female pilots, Adèle Schramm of France ranked highest after a strong performance in navigation in which she was fifth overall individual. Backed by a solid set of landings including one on the zero line, she placed ninth in the overall rankings. The Czech team included a significant number of pilots with under 300 hours, strengthening the next generation of Precision pilots.

For Ralf Grunwald, President of the FAI General Aviation Commission, the variable weather conditions with changing wind situations gave the competitors plenty to think about: “The weather has kept everyone on their toes which is exactly what makes a world championship interesting. The pilots had to stay calm and be decisive no matter what the sky threw at them. Many thanks to the Aero Club of Poland and the Pomeranian Aero Club for their organisation and congratulations to all participants.”

Results

Individual

  1. Michał Bartler (POL)
  2. Kamil Wieczorek (POL)
  3. Marcin Chrząszcz (POL)

Team

  1. Poland
  2. Czechia
  3. France

NOTES FOR EDITORS
26th FAI World Precision Flying Championship
Toruń, Poland – 9-14 August 2026

FAI provided extensive coverage of the Championship with regular updates on Facebook and Instagram. Images (free for editorial use, please credit) are available on Flickr.

Toruń, Poland, 4 August 2026 – The top 46 Precision Flying pilots from 9 nations have gathered in Toruń, Poland, for the 26th FAI World Precision Flying Championship (9-14 August). With training flights underway, pilots are aiming to gain vital navigation knowledge to help them through the challenging tasks.

Toruń previously hosted the World Precision Flying Championships in 2009 and in this 26th edition of the event, the Polish home team have a significant advantage. Numbering 10 pilots in total, they will hope to once again dominate the teams podium as they have for decades – last conceding it to Czechia in 2002.

Michał Wieczorek of Poland will defend his champion title, while his team-mate, Marcin Chrząszcz, who took silver in the 25th edition of the competition will no doubt also be pushing for the top spot.

At the last edition of the competition in 2022 in France, the French team were vice-champions with the Czech team gaining third place. These three teams will set their skills against pilots from Austria, China, Sweden, Switzerland, Germany, Slovakia and Norway.

Ralf Grunwald, President of the FAI General Aviation Commission explains what makes this competition so unique: “From the thrill of spotting ground targets to the satisfaction of landing perfectly on the line, in Precision Flying pilots compete solo, relying on their individual skills – all with no GPS. We are looking forward to an exciting edition of this event hosted by the Aero Club of Poland and the Pomeranian Aero Club.”

Competition flights are in two parts:

  • Navigation: pilots receive a map and plot a precise route, measuring headings and giving a ground speed and flying time for each leg, then alter their calculations according to the actual wind speed and direction. Flying the route, they must stick as closely as possible to their plan to avoid penalties, all the time reading the ground below to spot ground targets.
  • Landing: From a height of 1000 feet, the pilot must perform four landings under different conditions, avoiding collecting penalty points by touching down as close as possible to the zero line.

Event schedule

  • 4-8 August: Training
  • 9 August: Opening Ceremony
  • 10-13 August: competition flights
  • 14 August: Closing Ceremony

About Precision Flying

Precision Flying challenges an individual pilot’s most basic skills – flight planning, navigation, observation and landing – without the aid of GPS tools or aviation calculators.

In competition, pilots complete a Landing Test of four landings, and three Navigation Tests. Pilots must first prepare their flight plan in 30 minutes, then take off in their aircraft, following the distance, ground speed, time and heading as accurately as possible, identifying targets as they fly.

Penalty points are given for inaccuracies in observations, turning points, speed etc. and competitors aim for the lowest number of penalties to become Champion. Team prizes are also awarded, with the results of the top three pilots from each team/nation compiled to find out the podium places.

NOTES FOR EDITORS
26th FAI World Precision Flying Championship
Toruń, Poland – 9-14 August 2026

The event will be covered extensively on FAI Facebook and Instagram channels with images for editorial use available on Flickr.

By Frank Eckard

The Delegates to the GAC meeting

The FAI General Aviation Commission (GAC) is responsible for overseeing international air sport competitions and developing the rules for Rally, Precision and ANR competitions and GA Records.

This year Switzerland hosted the annual Plenary Meeting of the FAI General Aviation Commission (GAC). The meeting took place in Luzern on 26–27 February 2026.

South Africa has actively participated in the work of this Commission since it’s inception.

We missed the diplomatic presence of Hans Schewbel following his retirement as President last year. It is believed that he represented South Africa at every GAC meeting since 1999, and his long service was widely appreciated.

When planning my travel, I chose to avoid the Middle East and instead flew via Istanbul to Zurich — a decision that proved wise in hindsight.

The GAC Bureau has been meeting monthly via Zoom throughout the year, so much of the preparation for the annual meeting had already been completed before the plenary session.

Rally Subcommittee
The Rally Subcommittee reviewed the most recent World Rally Flying Championship held in Ferrara, Italy. Several minor rule changes were agreed upon. These mainly addressed the quality of training routes, and the definition of “envelope time” was extended to include taxi time.

General Rules document
To simplify the competition rules for competitors and organizers, a proposal was made last year to extract all provisions common to the various competitions and place them into a new General Rules document. A draft was prepared by Frank Eckard, and comments were received from the subcommittees. The Bureau will now finalise this document.

FAI Athletes Working Group.
The FAI has proposed an Athletes Working Group to give a direct voice to our Athletes. The GAC is to propose one of its athletes to the working group.

Calendar of World Championship Events
2026
26th FAI World Precision Flying Championship – Toruñ, Poland
Training: Tue 4 Aug – Sat 8 Aug 2026
Competition: Sun 9 Aug – Fri 14 Aug 2026

2027
4th FAI WANR Championship – Zwickau, Germany
Training: 23 Aug – 29 Aug 2027
Competition: 30 Aug – 4 Sep 2027

2028
25th FAI World Rally Flying Championship – Greece
Training: Mon 15 May – Fri 19 May 2028
Competition: Sat 20 May – Fri 26 May 2028

Long Range Rally Events
Rallye Toulouse – Tarfaya
14 May 2026
Rallye Toulouse – Saint-Louis
19 September 2026

For further information, please contact: Frank Eckard

The closing dinner was held underneath the aircraft display in the Swiss Museum of Transport