10. Airship racing
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This isn’t a sport in the traditional sense – yet. The Pillars of the World Sky Race is being organized by a group of enthusiasts who want to promote the rebirth of the airship – a greener and more futuristic type of aviation that has recently received a lot of attention.
The original concept envisioned an epic chase with competitors visiting major cities around the world. “The World Sky Race will be the largest man-made event seen by live spectators in the entire history of the human race,” the organizers said.
The airship race, like the airship revolution, appears to have stalled, as there have been few updates from the organizers recently. This makes airship racing more of a possibility than a real sport, but it still makes our list.
9. Wing-walking
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It is debatable whether wing-walking is truly a sport. It’s an extreme physical activity, and for the last century, wing-walkers from all over the world have competed to outdo each other. While there are no official scoreboards or competitions, we at AeroTime consider wing-walkers to be athletes.
The 1920s and 1930s were the heyday of this activity, when flying circuses toured the countryside, thrilling audiences with their stunts. Their acts were as breathtaking as they were dangerous, combining acrobatics with superb airmanship and artistic ingenuity.
While the popularity of wing-walkers has waned over the years, a community of brave and extremely skilled enthusiasts remains, carrying on the tradition of dicing with death.
8. STOVL competitions
Some aircraft are designed with short take-off and vertical landing (STOVL) in mind, allowing them to operate from remote airports, military ships, or even unprepared plots of land.
Some people turn that ability into a sport. Popular among Alaskan bush pilots (airmen and women who fly and land in places as hostile to airplanes as they are to people), the sport pits pilots and their heavily modified aircraft in competitions to achieve the shortest take-off or landing run. There is no official league, but a group of dedicated veterans organizes competitions, honing their skills, and breaking world records.
7. Indoor skydiving
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Regular skydiving is expensive and somewhat dangerous. Vertical wind tunnels are frequently used to train skydivers. Skydiving in a wind tunnel eventually became its own thing, with people performing stunts and maneuvers that few would dare to attempt in a real skydiving situation.
The Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) has run the World Cup of Indoor Skydiving since 2014, and there are other, less official tournaments around the world. We admit that this stretches the definition of aviation, but who are we to argue with the FAI? In addition, the sport is impressive, fascinating, and bizarre.
6. Hot air balloon racing
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It appears fairly obvious that hot air balloons are not designed for racing. They float in the air, moving only when the wind blows. However, hot air balloon races are more about precision than speed.
The competitions include a variety of objectives, such as navigating and performing stunts. The races – or, rather, the festivals that include the races – are held all over the world, attracting thousands of spectators with colorful displays.
5. RC combat
Do you yearn for the thrill of a real-life aerial battle? Do you think video games fall short in this regard? Do you want to fly a real plane rather than a computer-generated image?
Many people believe this. They build or buy radio-controlled (RC) planes and compete with the zeal of true flying aces. There are dozens of competitions and leagues, each with its own set of rules and objectives. The goal of some is to ram the opposing plane and bring it down. In others, cutting a ribbon tied to an enemy plane’s tail (the so-called’streamer’) is sufficient.
4. Hawgsmoke attack aircraft competition
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Hawgsmoke is another competitive activity that is close to being a sport. This is a competition for pilots of the A-10 Thunderbolt II, the legendary armor-toting, massive cannon-wielding attack jet of the United States Air Force (USAF).
Teams from various Air Force squadrons compete in a variety of disciplines, including dropping bombs, shooting missiles, and the fan favorite: strafing the target with the 30-millimeter GAU-8 Gatling gun. The performance of individual pilots as well as the teams is judged.
The roots of USAF aerial gunnery competitions date back to the 1940s, and the Hawgsmoke, which has been running since the 1990s, is the most recent iteration of that. As with real sports leagues, each competition is hosted by the previous one’s winners, and the general public can purchase tickets to attend the event.
3. Flour drop competition
If real fighter jets aren’t your thing, there’s a less intense version.
The core activity of flour dropping, or flour bombing, is in the name: pilots compete to drop a bag of flour as close to the target as possible. Although there are no leagues, these competitions can be found at various airshows.
The same competitions frequently include a less floury ‘bomb drop’ challenge, a sort of Hawgsmoke for Cessnas. However, the addition of flour makes this activity even odder, earning it a spot on this list.
2. Jetpack racing
Not only is there a jetpack competition, but there are multiple leagues. So far, only proof-of-concept competitions have been held.
While jetpacks have captivated the imagination for decades, practical and comparatively affordable examples have only recently appeared. Jetpack Aviation and Gravity are two of the most well-known manufacturers.
1. Cluster ballooning
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If you’ve seen the Disney film Up (2009), you’ll be familiar with the concept of cluster ballooning. However, the concept of tying oneself to a swarm of helium-filled balloons is much older and far more bizarre.
The first attempts date back to 1937, when Swiss inventor Auguste Piccard began experimenting with the concept. Many other experiments followed, some of which were successful while others ended in tragedy.
Despite a low success rate, the idea behind many cluster balloon flights is to control the altitude and vertical speed by selectively popping or releasing some balloons. Our recommendation? Don’t try this at home.