About Räyskälä, Finland

This summer the FAI will host the 33^rd World Gliding Championships in two venues – Räyskälä, Finland and Leszno, Poland.

Räyskälä will host the Club, Standard, and brand new 20 meter class, and Leszno will host the 15 meter, 18 meter, and Open class contests. 

Räyskälä is famous for its lakes. In fact, final glide takes you over a lake before touchdown at the large airfield. Looking at the terrain maps they show a ‘refreshing’ large amount of blue, with lots of green forests in between. Days are long in the summer, and the airspace is complex, with active/non active zones for the day listed on the task sheets. The Räyskälä airfield itself is large with plenty of room to land several gliders finishing together, and there is a spacious tie-down area with parking. Räyskälä is home to several gliding clubs, an active parachuting club as well as ultra lights and other experimental aircrafts. They have hosted many contests, including large ones like the 2009 Junior Worlds Gliding Championship, and the 15^th FAI World Championship in 1976, so there is contest knowledge and infrastructure. There is a large camping area and many locals rent out their trailers during the contest. Or pilots stay in one of the many cabins offered for rent within close proximity of Räyskälä. And being in Finland, there are two saunas at the airfield.