Jerry Esquenazi to compete at the US National Aerobatic Championships

[mdevans9]

Yes Jerry, very well done. Inspirational, actually. Looking forward to seeing you do very well at Farmville!

Best regards,

Merrill

[RV8Squaz]

Originally Posted by mdevans9

Yes Jerry, very well done. Inspirational, actually. Looking forward to seeing you do very well at Farmville!

Best regards,

Merrill

Originally Posted by MarkW

Good job Jerry.
Thanks for representing at Nationals.
You successes continue to impress me with you resent entry into the IAC game.

Thank you very much Mark and Merrill. I promise to keep you and the VAF community posted on my progress. I appreciate your support very much.

[ronschreck]

It's over! The 2018 US National Aerobatic Championships wrapped up with the awards banquet on Friday evening. Our two RV competitors didn't walk away with awards but did do us proud. Jerry Esquenazi finished with a very respectable 6th place in the field of 19 Sportsman competitors and Galen Killam finished 16th. Both pilots improved their placement in the standings after their first flight but weather and ATC delays precluded a third flight so further improvement was not possible. Here are the final results for the category:



Standings for the RV Aerobatic Series is unchanged:



We celebrated at the awards banquet along with competitors from all categories. Notably, Rob Holland again came out on top and claimed his place in the record books as US National Unlimited Aerobatic Champion for eight years in a row! The record was previously held by the late Leo Loudenslager with seven wins. Congratulations, Rob. You can see all the results HERE.

I was unable to compete due to recent spine surgery but I did judge all of the Unlimited flights and the final flight in the Advanced category. I was also on the jury that decided several protests during the contest.

Many have asked if the Nationals will be held in Oshkosh next year. That decision will be made by the IAC Board of Directors and I'll report on that right here as soon as information is available.

Despite the mosquitoes (the Wisconsin national bird, I'm told), the ATC delays and the cold and cloudy weather, we managed to pull it off. My thanks to Jerry Esquenazi, my companion and friend who made the adventure a true joy.

Jerry and Ron at the banquet:

[RV8Squaz]

Originally Posted by ronschreck

I was unable to compete due to recent spine surgery but I did judge all of the Unlimited flights and the final flight in the Advanced category. I was also on the jury that decided several protests during the contest.

I want to emphasize that Ron “volunteered” for these positions. He was handpicked by the contest organizers to serve as an Unlimited judge and a jury member. This was a huge time and financial commitment to go through and not compete (9 nights in a hotel, rental car, etc.) Thank you Ron! He did an exceptional job in both capacities. He was a little busier than expected as a jury member. The jury hears and resolves official protests. As a an Unlimited judge, he had to sort through extremely complicated figures (maneuvers) and assess an accurate grade and submit comments in mere seconds. Well done Ron!

[N8RV]

Jerry, I remember well the first time you flew your newly completed RV to Oshkosh. What a beauty! (the plane, NOT you)

Congrats on placing well at the Nationals. I'm sure you'll only improve with time and experience. Well done, sir!

[RV8Squaz]

Originally Posted by N8RV

Jerry, I remember well the first time you flew your newly completed RV to Oshkosh. What a beauty! (the plane, NOT you)

Congrats on placing well at the Nationals. I'm sure you'll only improve with time and experience. Well done, sir!

Hey Don,

Great to hear from you. Thank you very much for your compliments and congrats!

I was always impressed by your airplane too. You did a great job replicating that little fighter look and feel. I bet you must miss it. Do you ever see it again?

[1flyingyogi]

Congrats Jerry and Ron for doing a great job representing RVs and motivating other RV pilots like me. Susan Bell (first place) is a girl from one of my local IAC contests (I belong to two). She's awesome! Really nice sweet girl, but also one fierce competitor!