SUOMEN ILMAILULIITTO RY – THE FINNISH AERONAUTICAL ASSOCIATION
The Finnish Aeronautical Association (FAA) was founded in 1919. It is the national and central organization of sport aviation in Finland. The sphere of activity of FAA includes ten different air sport disciplines: powered flying, gliding, experimental flying, ultralight flying, hang gliding, paragliding, parachuting, ballooning, ascending parachutes and aeromodelling.FAA has over 260 member organizations (clubs) and about 10 000 members. The clubs are fairly evenly distributed over the whole of Finland from Hanko to Ivalo and from Vaasa to Joensuu.
At present, FAA is comprised of the Executive Board elected by the annual General Meeting. There are also seven different Air Sport Commissions that, as experts of their own disciplines, help the Board in its decision-making. These Commissions consist of roughly 100 voluntary members of FAA.The ILMAILU magazine has been published by FAA since 1937 and it is issued 10 times a year. It gives its readers a good all-round view not only of FAA’s own sport aviation activities but also of commercial and military aviation and of flight safety. Single copies are for sale in Lehtipiste News Stands in Finland. It is possible as well to subscribe the magazine without membership. Membership includes ILMAILU magazine's subscription.
SIL Shop, owned by FAA, produces model aircraft and sells model kits, engines and accessories by well-known makers of aeromodelling products. It also sells aviation literature, maps, logbooks as well as other material pertaining to flying.
FAA’s activities are financed by financial aid granted by the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Traffic and Communications and of course also by membership fees and sponsors’ support but also by SIL Shop's business profits. Some of the activities are also financed by Raha-automaattiyhdistys (Finland's Slot Machine Association).
FAA is a member of FAI (Fédération Aéronautique Internationale). It issues international sporting licences, monitors and lists national aviation records and sends teams to international competitions. FAA is a member of Suomen Liikunta ja Urheilu (Finnish Sports Federation).In addition to national championships FAA organizes also different kinds of international competitions. Over the years these have included World Gliding Championships in 1976, World Precision Flying Championships in 1987, European Gliding Championships in 1988 and 1996, World Canopy Formation Championships in 2000 and World Thermal Duration Gliders’ Championships in 2002. In the summer of 2005 European Gliding Championships (15 meter and Open class) and World Thermal Soaring Gliders’ Championships were organized in Finland.
The training of FAA’s instructors takes place in Räyskälä at the Finnish Sport Aviation Institute. Several flying instructors of different air sports and parachuting clubs’ jumpmasters receive their instructor training there every year.The most important function of FAA, however, is to serve its members and all those interested in aviation. FAA can tell you how to begin your aviation career –and why you should do so.
The FAA office is situated at the Malmi airport in Helsinki, capital of Finland.