I just returned from my very first aerobatic contest, the Sebring Fall 2016 Aerobatic Championship in Florida and had a blast!
If you’ve ever thought about competing, DO IT! If you haven’t thought about doing it, but maybe getting a little bored flying around in circles within 20 miles of your home airport, DO IT! Or, if your just looking for another avenue to express your inner self in flight, DO IT! I can truly tell you, that you it will find it challenging, rewarding and FUN!!! And you know what… Anyone can do it in just about any kind of aerobatic airplane.
And the RV is a fantastic aerobatic airplane! You don’t have to be Chuck Yeager or have a fire breathing Extra 300 to have fun competing and be competitive. I saw young college freshmen and much much older men compete. I saw a young man do some very impressive things with a Super Decathlon winning the Intermediate category. And I saw relatively new pilots who started doing aerobatics only a few months ago do very well. While having fuel injection, a constant speed prop, inverted fuel and oil certainly help, (especially in keeping the belly clean and keeping the engine from sputtering occasionally) they aren’t necessarily required for Primary and Sportsman category.
The sportsmanship and fellowship is absolutely wonderful! I met some great people and made some new friends. As far as events go, the Sebring Aerobatic Championship is a very well run, organized, first class event. If you’re in southeast, I definitely recommend this one. They have two contests a year. I am looking forward to more contests throughout the southeast next year.
So how does it work? First and foremost GET the proper unusual attitude, aerobatic, and spin training from a competent aerobatic instructor. Join the IAC, they can help direct you in getting the proper training. Competition is divided in five categories: Primary, Sportsman, Intermediate, Advanced, and Unlimited. Our friends Ron Shreck and Bill McLean have already proven what the RV can do in Sportsman and chances are we’re going to see what an RV can do in Intermediate. If a Super D can do it, an RV certainly can!
In Primary, you can expect to do half a dozen maneuvers or “figures” including a loop, roll, half Cuban eight, a spin, and one or two 60 degree bank turns. In Sportsman, you’ll fly 10 figures to include the above and add an Immelmann, the Humpty Bump (a weird half hammer/half loop that’s fun to do), a hammerhead, and a wedge (or shark’s tooth). Rolls in this category are now 2 point rolls or 2 points of a 4 point roll. Intermediate gets further complicated. In Primary you do a Known program 3-4 times, In Sportsman, you can do a Known program 3 times, but you also have the option of doing a Free program of your own design 2 out of the 3 times. I’ll be doing some of that next year. Intermediate introduces the Unknown (read un-practiced and barely memorized) program! Talk about a challenge!!!
Another challenging piece… The aerobatic box! When I was in the Air Force, I was used to doing aerobatics in an approximately 10 x 15 mile sector of a MOA, at 8000-13000’. In my RV-8, I usually performed my “gentleman” aerobatics in an undefined space away from airways, etc at 4000-6000’. The aerobatic box is a 3300’ x 3300’ square that is 2000’ high starting at 1500’ AGL for Primary and Sportsman. Don’t think that’s all that small? At RV speeds, it’s about 10 seconds from end to end and you have to string 2-3 figures with a short horizontal line between each figure in that space!
A typical contest will take up several days, so it is a bit of a financial and time commitment. For this contest, the aerobatic box was open for practice from Saturday to Wednesday. Competition occurred Thursday through Saturday and Sunday was a rain date. Costs could include entrance fee, hotel, hangar, and fuel. Some competitors that lived close by went home for the evening saving $ on hotel and hangar. Smaller contests will be a two day event. The Nationals in September was about a week. The entrance fees vary. They cover the costs to run the event, food, water, other drinks, t-shirt, awards, and in Sebring’s case, a very very nice banquet.
Here’s the practice sign-up board. There I am at 11:00 and 2:15.
The positions to run the contest are filled by volunteer competitors when not actively competing. I was a line judge and used the sight gage below. I learned a lot being out there.
My station with the sight gage:
The order of flight for Primary and Sportsman included 3 RVs, a few Extras, and bunch of Pitts’ and Decathlons:
The three RVs together:
A typical judge’s scoresheet:
So how did I do… Well, pretty good for my first shot at a contest, #5 out 14! I exceeded my goals of not being last and not embarrassing myself, so I was very pleased with the results!
I even came home with this:
Whether you’re new to aerobatics or have some time upside down under your belt, rest assured you will find IAC competition challenging and rewarding. I am sure you’re gonna learn something, it will make you a better pilot, and most importantly… you will have FUN!!! After all, that’s what it’s all about.
I have many people to thank and I'm sure I'm going miss a few, but here goes: First and foremost Ron Shreck for giving me the nudge to finally do something I wanted to do since I was 19 years old. I'm naming Ron the ambassador of RV aerobatic competition! Bill McLean for coaching me and becoming an instant friend, Curt Sullivant, the other fellow RV competitor flying a beautiful RV-7. I met him on day one and we shared an instant RV bond! Mark Fullerton also for coaching and educating me. This guy has more plaques, trophies, and awards than I could count. He flies a a fire breathing competition aerobatic monoplane. Marty Flournoy, also a highly decorated champion for guiding me. He flies a gorgeous black MX2. Ron Hill, a fellow competitor, that gave me a critical tip during competition. Marcus Cade, a friend of a friend (now a friend), that flew out to Sebring during a practice day just to help and coach me. He flies an Extra. IAC Chapter 23 for putting on the contest and doing everything to help me as a first time competitor and make me feel welcome. My support team back home, the Falcon RV Squadron, Peachtree City, GA for encouraging me and keeping up with my progress. And of course my family, especially my wife Ledy for not saying, "What, are you crazy!" and fully supporting me.
IAC Sebring Aerobatic Championship Fall 2016 PIREP - long
Sebring Sportsmanship Award goes to...
Linear Mode
