National Aerobatics Day and Glider Aerobatics

National Aerobatics Day

The reception has been very positive for National Aerobatics Day which is coming up soon on June 26. Please join in on the fun by making plans to enjoy aerobatics on that day with your like-minded friends.

National Aerobatics Day will be supported by many IAC and EAA chapters. Some examples of the ideas I’ve heard include setting aside the day for practice and critique, hosting a fly-in, giving aerobatic rides, doing some formation flying to grab a hamburger, getting volunteers together to repaint box markers, group spin training, and introductory aerobatic ground school for new competitors. Honestly, the idea of painting box markers doesn’t sound as fun to me as flying in formation to get a yummy hamburger, but to each their own!

The IAC is grateful for the support from the EAA, ICAS, the NAA, and all of our chapters who are helping to promote our beloved sport. Stay safe and put a smile on your face doing what you love!

Please let me know how you are celebrating National Aerobatics Day so the IAC can help you make your event a success!

Try Glider Aerobatics

I’ve had my glider rating for about a year now and hopefully by the time you read this I’ll have participated in my first glider contest. I’ve learned a lot already, though I have a long way to go to be a great Unlimited glider pilot.

One of the things I’ve learned is that in a glider things happen very slow, then very fast. What I mean by this is that as long as you are in (near) horizontal flight, the airspeeds are low and it feels like you have all day to get set up for the next maneuver. But as soon as you point the nose away from the horizon in either direction, you must be very quick with the controls. In a glider you obviously can’t climb vertically for very long, we all know that, but descents are just as challenging. Speed builds up quickly, even on a 45 degree downline, and there is no time at all to contemplate the inputs for a snap roll on a vertical down line in a glider. The time to load the snap is NOW!

Gliders of course also have taught me a lot about energy management and I’m way more comfortable with the idea of an engine out situation in my Extra than I was before. These are great reasons for every aerobatic pilot to fly gliders: it will make you safer and more confident.

One thing I did not anticipate with flying gliders is how humbling it is when I make a mistake. If I mess up a tailslide in my Extra I just set back up and try again. In a glider I have to wait about 20 or thirty minutes to land, get myself out of the plane, queue up, connect to the tow plane, get myself strapped back in, and get back up to altitude. That’s a lot of time to rue a mistake. It’s more important in a glider to plan your flight on the ground, anticipate your energy state, visualize what you will see, imagine all the control inputs, and execute everything correctly. You only have one shot to get it right in a glider. All hope is lost if you make a major mistake at the beginning of an Unlimited glider sequence!

You can see these added challenges as advantages or disadvantages, depending on your perspective. But some things about gliders are just flat out better. For example, you do not have to hold a medical certificate to fly a glider. That opens up aerobatics to a lot of people. Another advantage is that the g loading is a bit lower than when flying a powered aircraft. In Unlimited Power competition I am regularly exceeding +9 gs and probably hitting -9 as well, though I’m not sure because my g meter doesn’t register anything past -5 gs. In my glider I can fly all the sequences experience at most +6 and -4. Flying a glider isn’t easier in a technical sense, because the challenge of flying a sequence still relies on precise timing and correct movement of the controls, but it’s a lot less headache-inducing all the same.

If you have an interest in gliders contact the IAC’s glider chair, Jason Stephens. Jason can steer you in the right direction.

Chapter Leader Roundtable

This year we’ve been improving communication with IAC Chapters by holding quarterly “roundtable” video conference calls. I’ve learned a lot about what chapters are experiencing and we’ve been able to make some headway with longstanding problems.

I’ve mentioned several times that I think our IAC Government Liaison program is possibly our most important work, though often underrecognized, and that our chief liaison, Bruce Ballew, does a fantastic job taking care of chapters. Several chapter leaders expressed frustration over the process of getting FAA waivers. This is always going to be a tough thing to improve because FAA staff tend to rotate and it seems like we never finish the job of training new FSDO staff on the process. This is something we are working very hard to improve so do not hesitate to reach out if you need help.

Another sore spot is the EAA’s process of providing certificates of insurance for contests. We’ve made some progress here as well. In fact, I like to believe we’ve solved the major communication hurdles we faced and we have everyone working from the same script. But I recognize that may be wishful thinking. Again, if you get stuck working through an issue we want to help you out so please bring IAC HQ into the conversation and let us grease the skids for you.

Want to give me your thoughts, suggestions, comments, complaints, or money? Contact me at president@iac.org.