One Year as IAC President

I’m one year into my term as IAC President! It has been quite a year for a bunch of reasons, most obviously because the Coronavirus pandemic was such a horrible pain in the bottom for me, you, and everyone else. I’ve heard from our Treasurer, Jordan Ashley, that we’ve done a solid job of keeping things on track financially. Along with all of you I believe and hope that the pandemic restrictions are a thing of the past, but again like all of you we’ve proven we can adapt to challenges!

In fact, we’ve managed to gain members despite the pandemic. I’ve recently been informed that we just passed 4,000 members. The last time we had over 4,000 members without a “six month free” program to boost our numbers was in 2008!

I have to thank our decidedly deferential Executive Director, Steve Kurtzahn, and our deliriously delightful Editor, Lorrie Penner, for this success. Steve has made a personal effort to contact and make sure we retain members despite the many other things on his plate. Lorrie has made the most of her shift in responsibilities, as we transitioned our media efforts from 12 issues of Sport Aerobatics annually to 6 printed issues plus a lot of online content. I can only imagine all the good we can do for the sport and our members if we continue to grow!

I’m typing this a few days before the start of Airventure. I’ll be using Airventure week to further the IAC’s goals by participating in as many interviews and talks as possible. The projections are that this Airventure will be the biggest ever by a wide amount. This gives us an amazing opportunity to reach many new people with our message about the joy of precision flying.

Recently I was interviewed for a podcast with an objectively offensive title by Mark Pollard and Jeff Petrocelli. Sometimes they call their podcast “Fly Cool Stuff” which is a variant that passes our editorial standards. We had a great time talking about airplanes and the IAC. These two are as entertaining as they are sharp. While there is a bit of toilet humor involved, the love they have for this sport shows in the hard work they do. With each episode they demonstrate how to build energy and excitement for this sport while having an absolute blast doing it. Their podcast is worth checking into.

I will take a moment now to get one last word in on National Aerobatics Day. Let me say that nothing in the past year has been as satisfying as watching all the social media posts and text messages come in during that day. This “guerilla marketing” initiative was cheap, fun, and effective. We learned a lot about what worked and what did not work this year so expect a few changes for next time, but overall, I think we have something special on our hands. I was especially heartened to see so many people from outside the USA join in. Perhaps “International Aerobatics Day” is a better name. I hope you formed new lasting friendships on N.A.D.

Speaking of events outside the USA, I was extremely disappointed that Team USA felt forced to withdraw from the World Advanced Aerobatic Championships. There was clearly no other choice left to us, so the decision was the right one, but I’m very discouraged by the chain of events that lead up to the USA being unable to participate for the first time in history. The many issues surrounding the event simply did not get settled in a manner timely enough to allow for our participation. We are hopeful that we can work things out with our international partners, CIVA and the FAI. The next CIVA plenary happens to be in the USA. Our CIVA representative, Mike Gallaway, and NAA President Greg Principato will lead the effort to institute reforms that will protect our interests in future world championships.

Let me take a moment now to thank the people who put so much effort into preparing for two years to attend this WAAC. They spent a great deal of time and money hoping only for a chance to bring glory to their homeland. Thank you Team Manager Mike Heuer, Team Coach Rob Holland, Team Captain Jeff Petrocelli, and all the team members and assistants who gave so much.

I now begin the second year of my first term! I look forward to a successful and highly popular IAC National Aerobatic Championships headed by the able and affable Doug Bartlett. See you there!