The 2025 Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) F5J World Championships for electric powered thermal duration gliders is underway in Cordoba, Argentina, with Team USA among the 18 countries competing.
Hosted by Argentina, there are 12 junior and 60 senior pilots competing in this high stakes competition that runs through Saturday.
According to a FAI news release, “F5J challenges pilots to fly lightweight, carbon-fiber gliders on a 10-minute flight (15 minutes in the finals) launched from as low an altitude as possible. Points are awarded for flight duration, landing precision, and minimal motor use, making a true test of endurance and strategy. This innovative class has rapidly become one of the most popular in FAI aeromodeling.”
Team USA members include: (Senior Division) Tom Kiesling, Steven Wilcox, John Butler, Jim McCarthy (team manager); (Junior Division) Oscar Cytrynowicz, Milan Bregman, and John Bradley..
https://www.fai.org/page/f5-electric-flight#F5J
Follow Team USA here:
https://www.eddumas.com/testf5j
Go Team USA! We hope to provide a follow-up report in a couple of weeks.