Photogenic Hot Air Airships in the French Skies

The 9th FAI World Hot Air Airship Championship was held from 13 to 18 July 2010 in Dole (FRA).

Eleven pilots representing 9 nations gathered at the Dole-Tavaux Airport last week to compete at the controls of their surprisingly maneuverable airships.

Competition Director Pit Thibo (LUX) prepared a series of flights mixing elegant ballets just in front of the public (some 8 to 10'000 spectators were reported on Thursday evening), with highly demanding and competitive tasks for the pilots. For the 4th time, Jacques-Antoine Besnard (SUI) was rewarded with the title of World Champion.

The photos below give a taste of the atmosphere at the 9th FAI World Hot Air Airship Championship and show the precision achieved by the pilots when reaching their assign targets. Further information, results and photos are available at www.worldairship2010.fr/.

Unpacking ...	... and Inflating Airships
Along the Crowd-line	Approaching a Target
Precision ...	... and Concentration
A Tricky ...	... Target
The beauty of ...	... early-morning flights