By Jonathan Perron-Clow, President, AeroClub of Canada, and member of the FAI Ballooning Commission (CIA) Public and Media Relations Sub-Committee

As the new Aero Club of Canada President, I was expected to represent our air sports at the FAI General Conference 2025. Who doesn’t want a trip to Finland? It was a steep learning curve over the three days of meetings, but I left feeling part of an international community, supported for the work ahead.

As pilots and air sport enthusiasts, there are few experiences better than sharing in a new person’s enthusiasm as they learn to fly and join us in the sky. We tell stories about good flights, not-so-good flights and all the lessons we’ve learned to help them along the way. We do that, because there is plenty of room to share the sky, and because ultimately we want them to build on the work we’ve done to develop our sports.

In my short time as a pilot and competition organiser, I have felt that very strongly. I only made it to where I am now because others supported me, and I feel a responsibility to do the same. I was on the familiar receiving end of that type of mentorship as I arrived in Vantaa, Finland for the start of the 2025 FAI General Conference. It also turned out to be an overarching theme that attendees explored together.

I was fortunate to be able to turn to one of my mentors in ballooning and air sport governance, Mary Anne Stevens, before the event. As an FAI Executive Board member, she is familiar with all the documents, the agenda, and all of the sub-meetings. How lucky am I to live about 5km from Mary Anne, who I watched fly as a kid and who more recently has been a great collaborator with the Canadian Hot Air Balloon Championship and the Aero Club of Canada. If Mary Anne was willing to help me through, there could be others!

Mary Anne Stevens is a champion balloonist, and a helpful person to navigate the ins and outs 
of the FAI. Credit: SIL (From the General Conference)

Discovering new places

During my first two days in Finland, I was impressed that all the national stereotypes of the place held true. There were a lot of saunas, like Löyly, the one my fiancée and I visited where the cold plunge was literally in the Baltic Sea. 

There were also fantastic transit and mobility options. From the conference hotel to downtown was an easy, direct trip and from there metros, buses, trams and ferries were at our disposal. 

While my home of Ottawa has a reputation for being a pretty clean city, Helsinki was even better, and society has decided to provide proper support for those with housing challenges. A lot of lessons to take home, and not all of them relating to aviation.

Fundamental questions

Once I got to the conference itself, my learning process accelerated and so did the questions: how does this committee relate to the whole, who do we serve - pilots or the air sports themselves, if we change this sentence how does it impact the commissions? Everyone comes with their own perspective and experience from their sport, their country and then try to understand each other.

I met many other representatives of the respective National Airsport Controls (NACs) and found that their organisations were vastly different from mine, but that ultimately they dealt with many of the same challenges. The structures and responsibilities may be different, but there are occasionally tensions or differences of opinion to deal with. It was a relief to know Canada wasn’t alone, and I received plenty of advice to take home.

Growing up, I had always dreamed of representing Canada in international fora, perhaps as a diplomat. While I didn’t choose that path, being able to vote for Canada at this assembly was certainly an honour and a responsibility. How could I be consistent with our organisation, membership and country’s values and were those always the same? I was lucky to have my colleague, our Secretary General Alyson Barlow, who was able to take over when I needed to return home on the last day (my fiancée and I were guests at a wedding near Toronto the next day).

Canada is in the second row where Alyson Barlow, left, and me, second from left, sit attentively during the more formal part of the conference. Credit: SIL (FAI General Conference)

Common themes

The conference also debuted a new format that wove in keynotes, panels and discussion sessions. We heard about storytelling in paragliding, about new safety standards and ways of communicating results faster, better and in a digital world. 

Perhaps the best chat was focused on making air sports more inclusive. Like Canada, many countries are grappling with an ageing air sports population. If the sky is open to all of us, then how can we introduce more people to it? Ideas were flying and as the new person, I was chosen to present them. Not too bad an initiation. The biggest piece was mentorship: identifying interested people and supporting them along the way.

As a group, we tried to come up with ideas to make air sports more inclusive. It started with how can we include more women, and we expanded to all underrepresented groups. There is plenty of room in the sky for anyone who’s interested. Credit: SIL (FAI General Conference)

Serving air sports

When we do our post-flight debriefs, it’s about learning and it comes with some vulnerability. Acknowledging that I came to the General Conference with little knowledge of the FAI governance and how I could serve the organisation felt similar. I started the week with a title of delegate, and left with both a new title (FAI Vice President for Canada) and a responsibility to be a good steward and build on the 120 year legacy of the FAI both within my work to support air sports at home and in how I relate that to my own sport locally, nationally and beyond. In a way, I can see the extent to which the FAI’s work impacts my community and relay what’s being done on their behalf.

It didn’t take long to put that in action. In January, I had the opportunity to join a conversation with FAI President Greg Principato, FAI Executive Board member Mary Anne Stevens and USA National Aeronautic Association CEO Amy Marino Spowart at the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) in Montreal to talk about its global impact and how that translates to our own sporting communities.

The importance of mentorship

Whether it’s about trying to get more pilots and competitors into the air, or ensuring the next generation of FAI governance, mentorship is key. Mary Anne made it clear to me upon leaving the General Conference that I had a responsibility and opportunity to play that role going forward and that she, and the many new colleagues I met in Vantaa, would be there to help.

Hope to see everyone in Lausanne! (If I’m chosen to represent Canada again, of course).
 

• The 120th FAI General Conference will take place in Lausanne, Switzerland (14-16 October 2026).
   

What an honour for me, left, to meet with Australian legend Ruth E. Wilson, right, and chat about her perseverance and leadership. I bought her book and have a few hellos to share with mutual friends back home. I also got to meet other legendary balloonists like Mark Sullivan, Cheri White and Dr. John Grubbstrom. Credit: SIL (FAI General Conference)