Hall of Fame Inductee Lew Shattuck and New IAC Website

This Year’s Hall of Fame Inductee: Lew Shattuck

I was very pleased to see that Lew Shattuck was selected by the Hall of Fame committee to be this year’s inductee. I understand we have a feature article on Lew this issue, so I won’t try to add to the list of facts already presented there, but I do want to say that he is certainly eminently deserving of this award. Lew is a fun guy with a wry sense of humor and a tell-it-like-it-is attitude that I really enjoy. I was very fortunate to receive some of my very first aerobatic coaching from Lew at an IAC 77 camp in Ephrata, WA. He has been flying aerobatics for longer than I’ve been alive, and people don’t describe me as particularly young. He is a very capable coach who knows how to inspire confidence while picking apart the things that hold his students back.

Lew doesn’t look down at his feet when he talks to you; you have all of his attention. He offers a firm handshake. He is helpful. He corrects but doesn’t condescend. If you solicit his opinion he will tell you exactly what he thinks. In our culture today, not a lot of people are like that, and maybe not enough people value that. I don’t meet a lot of people like Lew, but every time I do I enjoy the heck out of them. If you know Lew then lucky you.

New IAC Web Site

By now you’ve seen the new IAC web site, which is the culmination of a project we began over a year ago. The IAC web site has always been a volunteer effort, but that could only take us so far. The site had become technologically outdated with poor support for mobile devices and security issues becoming more common. The effort to update the site was too large to expect any volunteer group to handle it. So, the IAC Board heard proposals and enlisted the help of a vendor, Perficient, to get the job done.

I think everyone will agree that the new site looks much more vibrant and attractive than the old site. In addition to the obvious visual differences, the site will also be easier for our volunteers to maintain. We have a very large archive of content on the web site that they steward.

My thanks to everyone on the volunteer IT Team for all the work they do: Tom Myers (Chair), “Bwana” Bob Buckley, Brennon York, and DJ Molny. Our members have come to expect a very high level of results from this group of intelligent and entertaining folks. We can’t thank them enough. I also want to thank Lorrie Penner for helping out with the transition with her editing skills.

Our new web site offers a much simpler menu system that we think will be a lot easier for everyone to follow. We’ve put the most important stuff on top: Sign In, Airventure, Nationals, and our Shop. Those are the items we want everyone to notice right away. Under that we have our information organized according to what people want to do, so for example we have the word “Celebrate” where we will find information on Aerobatics Day, and we have the word “Compete” under which we can find information about the “Contest Calendar”.

Send Videos!

Our new web site has videos that play on the front page. I love this feature, but for this to work we need to receive fresh video content. We are looking for short videos of aerobatic aircraft that really tell the story of what the IAC is about. Something between 30 seconds and one minute seems about right. It’s ok if the content includes interview excerpts or just video of planes. Please, if you can make a professional video, we’d love to get some new content so that our web site can be engaging for everyone who stops by.

Sustain the IAC

One link you will notice in the header of the new IAC web site is “Sustain”. That’s our polite way of saying “Please give us your money!” Seriously now, the IAC is always looking for donations to support its mission: to spread the joy of aerobatic flight as widely as we can. You sustain the IAC by being a member, by helping us bring more people together at our events, by buying our merchandise, by volunteering, and by making a small (or large) donation. You can donate right on the site via a PayPal link, or you can contact me or our Executive Director, Steve Kurtzahn, if you prefer.

In the Loop

Speaking of IAC media offerings, did you know that the IAC has a mailing list that reaches thousands of aerobatic enthusiasts each month? Our email newsletter, In the Loop, is probably already coming to your inbox if you are an IAC member. If you aren’t seeing it, check your email program’s spam settings. In the Loop is a great way to learn all about the latest happenings in the aerobatic world, so don’t miss out!

Thank You

Enjoy what is left of the sunshine in your area before winter sets in. As always, you can reach out to me at president@iac.org!