Thank You or So Long?

I get to write this column before I know the results of the election. I’m talking about the IAC election here, not any of the trivial local, state, or federal government elections you might hear about more often on your favorite non-aerobatic news source.

Depending on how the all-important IAC election goes, either you will continue hearing from me in this space or you will be hearing from Robert Armstrong for the next two years. So, if it’s my last column, let me take a moment to thank you for the pleasure of serving as IAC President and rest assured I remain dedicated to helping the IAC in whatever capacity the President and board supports.

Regardless of who wins the election, there is a challenge ahead for the IAC. Our wonderful magazine is unfortunately no longer drawing the advertising revenue it once did. This is not the magazine’s fault, it’s just the nature of print publication in our current age. Going forward, publishing the magazine means that the publication costs are being paid for by the membership dues rather than advertising.

The IAC has generally followed a philosophy that each activity should be paid for by itself. In other words, the feeling has been that the competition registration fees should bear the costs of competition activities, the IAC Nationals should pay for itself with its own registration fees and sponsorships, Airventure should pay for itself with merchandising and sponsorships, the magazine should pay for itself with advertising revenue, and on down the line with every IAC product being supported by its own revenue stream as much as possible. I think there is a lot of wisdom to this in general, but I also think at times it is the wrong approach, because, by definition, in a non-profit there will always be endeavors that are services with no profit motive. Also, with this method there is not a lot of room for new ideas since new ideas start with zero income. So, the situation we are in with the magazine is forcing us to rethink our philosophy about finances in general. That’s good for us, as all challenges are good for us, because it forces us to think creatively.

The IAC faces other challenges: the availability and expense of insurance are serious problems for many aerobatic pilots, the aerobatic waiver process is still challenging in many regions, airspace is becoming more restricted, and the recent period of high inflation in our economy hasn’t had enough time to settle evenly throughout the economy, which is a fancy way of saying that people are forced to forego some fun things like flying so they can dedicated money to their more basic needs. All of these challenges can and will be addressed by our energetic and capable IAC board, so don’t worry, but do work together and keep telling me and your board members what concerns you.

Presuming you’ve decided to retain me as IAC President, I look forward to working on those issues with the board and with all of you, and I thank you for your support.

New Figures?

In addition to being IAC President, I am also the Chair of CIVA’s Aresti Committee. Previously, I also served as Chair of CIVA’s Catalogue Committee, but that position is now held by Daniel Genevey.

Daniel recently proposed two new figures for inclusion in the Aresti Catalogue. These two new figures are very interesting for people who fly Free Unknown programs, as they allow pilots a new option for exchanging one energy state for another.

I don’t see any downside to adding an optional roll element to the horizontal line before/after the 5/8ths loop.

I’ve recommended that these figures be called “Drivers” because 1) I like golf, and these figures remind me of a golf Driver if I imagine the vertical line is long and I squint just right, 2) we already have “Wedges” so it fits the motif, and 3) the purpose of these figures is to “drive” from one part of the box to another.

New figure proposals are rare but there has been a lot of talk about figures like these for many years, and I think these proposals may have merit. It will take a lot of thought and dialog to determine whether they are worthy of being added to the catalog. I haven’t heard from any opponents yet, but I’m sure they will make good points, so to me the jury is still out.

A big challenge to adding figures to the catalog is that the Aresti family has apparently no interest in this subject anymore. At one time they vigorously defended their copyright of the catalog, but lately they appear entirely unreachable. That may make additions to the catalog impossible in an official sense.

Possibly it’s time for CIVA to branch the catalog, but everyone must keep in mind this is not a workaround for the copyright issues. The Aresti family can and very well may claim that any work created is derivative and therefore, their property, and they can seek to penalize CIVA or remove any unauthorized changes from public view. Therefore, it is risky to change the catalog without the support of the Aresti family. There is a long history of drama over this issue that probably felt important many years ago but today just makes me sad. In the spirit of Colonel Aresti, aerobatics must be free to evolve. It isn’t a fitting tribute to let the catalog stagnate.

TTFN!

That’s all from me this issue. Please remember you can always reach me, or whoever is the current President, at president@iac.org.