August 2026

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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.

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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.