Matt Hall of Australia earned his second consecutive pole position with the top time in Qualifying for the Red Bull Air Race 2017 season finale at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Saturday 14 October. 

However, fans of the four pilots still in contention for the World Championship title were stunned as the leaders finished down the timesheet, pitting favorites Martin Šonka (CZE) and Yoshihide Muroya (JPN) against each other in Sunday’s opening head-to-heads.

On the fifth anniversary of Felix Baumgartner’s record jump from the edge of space, Felix Baumgartner and other key Red Bull Stratos team members remember the incredible day.

On 14 October 2012, the world watched spellbound as the Red Bull Stratos project launched a helium balloon to the edge of space, where Austrian skydiver Felix Baumgartner jumped from 38,969.4m/127,852.4ft to become the first, and so far only, person to break the speed of sound without the protection or propulsion of a vehicle. 

On this day in history: Felix Baumgartner jumped from the edge of Space setting three FAI world records in the process.

Felix Baumgartner, an Austrian skydiver and pilot, set three major FAI world records on 14 October 2012, when he jumped from a balloon that had taken him to the edge of Space.

Baumgartner, who was 43 at the time of the record, set world records for free-fall distance and speed, as well as altitude.

The three FAI world records he set were:

French aviators Dieudonné Costes and co-pilot Joseph Le Brix became the first pilots to fly across the South Atlantic Ocean 90 years ago, on 14-15 October 1927.

They set off on 14 October 1927 from Saint-Louis, Senegal and flew more than 3,300km to Port Natal in Brazil.

The pair were flying a Breguet XIX GR and the flight took 18 hours and covered 3,380km. The flight was part of a round-the-world expedition that started in Paris on 10 October1927. They completed the trip on 14 April 1928 after travelling a total of 57,000km.

Chuck Yeager became the first man to break the sound barrier 70-years ago today, 14 October 2017. He made the historic flight on 14 October 1947 flying an X-1 at Mach 1.07 at an altitude of 45,000ft (13,700m).

Aged just 24-years old at the time this achievement, the American pilot served as a private and mechanic in the US Army Air Force before enlisting in pilot training. Upon graduating, he became a P-51 fighter pilot. 

With only one race left, four pilots from three continents remain locked in the fight for the 2017 Red Bull Air Race World Championship. Who will triumph to kiss the famous bricks in Indianapolis and take home the World Championship trophy?

Minutes of the CIVL Autumn Bureau Meeting of the FAI Hang Gliding & Paragliding Commission held in Vršac, Serbia on September 25th to 30th, 2017 are published on the website.

Download link here.

The organisers of this competition should have bought a lottery ticket this week. For the second day of the event, the weather was again perfect for this paragliding accuracy with smooth light winds of only 0.5 to 1.0 m/s and it is satisfying to report there were no complaints, protests and more to the point no incident let alone accidents.

Yoshihide Muroya won the penultimate round of the Red Bull Air Race 2017 season on Sunday 17 September, when he flew the perfect race and set the fastest time to take the win.

The Japanese pilot was second to fly in the track in the Final Four round, and knew that he had to beat 50.846s, set by Matt Hall (AUS), who flew first.

Muroya's split times were all green as he gained time on his Australian rival in his run. Muroya crossed the finish line in 50.451s and pushed ahead of Hall.

Drones are here now and they are multiplying fast! The first FAI International Drones Conference was a big success as it heard about the brave new world of Drones and robots in the sky.

‘The drones are coming, and they are coming fast.’ That was the take-home message from the first FAI International Drones Conference in Switzerland after a weekend of exciting, innovating and revealing talks.