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Since it’s founding in 1980, the FAI Microlight and Paramotor Commission (CIMA) has developed FAI Class R contests and records for the worldwide air sport community. FAI mainly provides the public with information on results, meeting minutes and the like. But those of us who have participated in CIMA activities know there are colorful and uplifting stories of people and events behind what is published.
Who remembers the infamous meeting in Rome or the “goose” championships or the first official scores for Kicking Sticks? Where was the first world microlight championships held in the southern hemisphere? What did it take to have gone the highest, fastest or longest in their respective FAI Class R record class? CIMA’s rich history should be captured for future generations to learn about the character and decisions of those who have pioneered the sport as well as those who have had special experiences to share.
In 2013, CIMA created the position of Historian and asked me to take it. Reflecting back, taking over secretary duties from CIMA founder Ann Welch at the 1993 plenary in Poznan, Poland was my initiation to a long path of service to CIMA as commission bureau member and championships official. I am honored to take on this new role to help capture and preserve our history.
Much material has been collected over the years by competitors and the media on people and events. We will use this space to share some of that to preserve the spirit and heart of what makes participation in CIMA activities a fulfilling and rewarding experience.
Tom Gunnarson, CIMA Historian
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h3. The Formative Years (1978 - 1984)
The first indication of activity from the FAI archives was in a [20 December 1978 FAI notice|^1979 AGENDA - CIAG.pdf] of an upcoming International General Aviation Committee (CIAG) meeting in Geneva, Switzerland included an annex to the agenda titled “The ULTRALIGHT AND F.A.I.” Authored by Ann Welch, it provided background on a new and exciting air sport and expressed the need for FAI to become involved. The rest, as they say, is history.
The introduction of small gas engines attached to hang gliders and lightweight fixed wing designs in the mid-1970s opened up the possibilities of sport and recreational flight to a new generation of enthusiasts. A short takeoff from a small field with sustained flight over the local countryside fulfilled many dreams of bird-like flight. Interest in this those early pioneering efforts quickly turned into an explosive growth of activity, with mass-produced microlights (also called “ultralights”) populating the skies. Public interest, and concern over noise, privacy and safety warranted the need for national advocacy organizations and new sections of National Aero Clubs to educate and advocate for this new segment of aviators.
A few enlightened aviation personalities at the time could see the natural progression of the competitive spirit, from manufacturers vying for customers to adventuresome souls eager to test their new aircraft to the limits and against their peers. Two such people were Ann Welch, president of the British Microlight Aircraft Association (BMAA) and well established within FAI, and Paul Poberezny of the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) who’s Oshkosh airshow was the largest civil aviation event on the planet.
Ann Welch was already a well-known and respected figure in the gliding and hang gliding scene. The first indication in the archives of her intent to formalize microlights under the FAI air sport framework comes from a [2 January 1981 FAI letter|^1981 LTR - FAI on ML definition.pdf] to National Aero Club presidents. It details a decision at the 1980 General Conference in Auckland, New Zealand to “…set up a working group under the chairmanship of Mrs. A. Welch in order to study ways of bringing the rapidly growing microlight aircraft movement into the F.A.I.”
In a letter dated [19 Nov 1981 to Robert Buck|^1981 LTR - FAI to Buck ICAO ML def.pdf] , FAI Director General Bertrand Larcher referred to a microlight committee meeting attended by Mr. Poberezny in which it was noted that, “…the Americans were rather reluctant to let the F.A.I take the lead.” Mr. Larcher asked Mr. Buck to informally reach out to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) regarding microlight pilot certificates and the definition of a microlight. Thus began the saga of influence and intrigue in microlight regulation and its place in FAI’s pantheon of air sport activities.
The [inaugural CIMA meeting|^1981 MIN CIMA.pdf] was held in Paris on 17 Nov 1981 with 10 delegations from Europe, two from North America, one from Asia and one from Africa with Ann Welch presiding in the chair. The FAI microlight definition was codified as: “A one or 2 seat aeroplane having a dry (empty) weight not exceeding 150 kg, and a wing area in square metres of not less than w/10 and in no case less than 10 m{^}2^).”
It was hoped that governments would accept the definition and use a light regulatory touch for this “basically simple and safe aircraft” and the pilots who flew them.
A few weeks later, U.S. delegate Mr. Paul Poberezny [wrote|^1981 LTR - PHP to Johnson.pdf] to Norwegian CIMA delegate Odd Johnson, declaring that the proposed innovative approach to recreational flying (under what would become CFR Part 103 ultralight regulations in the USA that provided unique freedoms from the regulatory burdens of General Aviation airmen and aircraft certification) was not acceptable in the long term. Minutes of that meeting, though, indicated that consensus was to move forward with the term “microlight,” its definition, and the conditions for both aircraft and pilot to participate in FAI sanctioned records and championships worldwide.
A [position paper|^1981 WP - Welch on ML Aircraft.pdf] on the state of microlights by Ann Welch was received at FAI on 4 Dec 1981. This was one of many informational pieces she authored to inform FAI, CAAs, trade associations and the [public worldwide|^1981 PRESS - Flight Int Welch.pdf] about this new category of sport flying. In the paper, she introduced the CIMA proposal to create a universal minimum pilot qualification (Microlight Pilot Certificate) as the “basic standard at which a pilot is capable of flying without supervision.” The proposal partly stemmed from Ann’s experience with successful self-regulation programs found in gliding, parachuting and ballooning.
The first CIMA recognized Tour with 68 aircraft -- from London to Paris - was held in September 1982. A [Telex|^1982 TLX - Paris, London results.pdf] from French delegate Bernard Lamy provided the event results. Prizes of Aeroclub de France medals, trophies, cash and sponsored gifts -- from perfume to a Piaggo Vespa to tourist trips - were showered on many of the participants\!
Meanwhile, in Paris, the [second CIMA meeting|^1982 MIN CIMA.pdf] established a number of foundational aspects, much of which still exists today, including the following:
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