Third Term Begins

Thank you for your support as I enter my third term as IAC President. It’s an honor to serve you. I promise you my best.

Congrats to Linda Meyers

Our newest inductee to the International Aerobatic Club Hall of Fame is the very accomplished Linda Meyers. Linda has a storied history in aerobatics both as a pilot and as a volunteer. While I never had the pleasure of receiving Linda’s instruction, I’ve watched from a short distance while she works with pilots and they are very lucky to have her incredible experience and professional demeanor on their side. The results speak for themselves with many top pilots crediting Linda for their success. My congratulations to you, Linda, both for the award and for the profound effect you’ve had on this sport and the people who love it. Well done!

Nationals

Sadly, I was unable to attend the IAC National Aerobatic Championships this year, but I have heard enough rave reviews to know that it was a success. My thanks to Shad Coulson for agreeing to be the man in charge again this year. This is absolutely without question the hardest volunteer position the IAC has to offer. There is a ton of work to do and never enough thanks. Frankly, if you mess it up, you will never hear the end of it. Only a brave few have dared to try it even once, and possibly it could be said that only those volunteers lacking self-preservation instinct would give it a second or third go! We are lucky to have you, Shad!

Those of us who couldn’t attend were able to relax in our homes and watch the fun on the IAC’s livestream. This is getting better and better every year. We owe erstwhile IAC editor Lorrie Penner, and Nationals videographer Forrest Fox, a great round of applause for the vision and hard work they donated to our aerobatic cause. If you missed the livestream you can catch up on the IAC’s YouTube channel.

Programs

Each year at the IAC’s Fall Board meeting, we receive reports from our program chairs. Sometimes people ask me how they can pitch in, so I thought it would be good to briefly run down the list of programs to give everyone an idea of what type of work there is to do. Reaching out to me, or to a program chair, is a great way to get involved at the national level as a volunteer.

• Achievement Awards — responsible for the SMOOTH and STAR awards earned in practice sessions or in aerobatic contests. Sets the standards for the awards and mails out certificates to members who earn them.

• Airventure Committee — responsible for the planning and operations of our EAA Airventure offerings. If you haven’t been to Airventure you will probably be surprised to learn that the IAC has incredible real estate right at show center. The Airventure committee plans for merchandising, forum presentations, parking, and hospitality of our many guests during the show.

• Annual Awards — this committee is responsible for gathering candidates for the IAC’s non-flying awards, which are given each year to our judges, innovators, and volunteers.

• Ballot Certification — responsible for counting votes after an IAC election.

• CIVA Relations — represents the USA at CIVA which is the international governing body of aerobatics.

• Collegiate Program — promotes aerobatics at the college level by developing teams that compete in the Collegiate points series.

• Contest Sanctioning — provides sanctioning to contests so that they can be insured and so they can have official results recorded in the IAC Contest Database (iaccdb.iac.org)

• Executive Committee — A small committee of IAC board members that can be tasked by the board with issues that do not require the full board’s attention.

• Finance Committee — Chaired by the IAC Treasurer, this committee creates the budget and handles IAC investments.

• Glider Aerobatics — ensures that the opinions and needs glider pilots are represented in our rule making and any other issues that are addressed by the board.

• Government Relations — Works with government agencies to ensure that aerobatic rights are protected and acts as a support group for IACers who are having trouble with waivers or regulatory issues.

• Hall of Fame Committee — collects nominations and chooses the Aerobatic Hall of Fame inductee, subject to board approval.

• Historian — records the history of aerobatics, collects memorabilia, and reminds us of our traditions.

• Judges Program — recruits and trains judges, and informs the rule making process.

• Nominations — seeks and collects nominations for IAC elections.

• Rules Committee — maintains the IAC rule book. Each year the committee asks for proposals, publishes those proposals to the membership, collects member feedback, meets and debates the proposals, and issues a set of recommendations to the board.

• Safety Committee — promotes safe operations and practices during aerobatic training and competitions.

• Sequence Committee — creates and maintains all IAC sequences.

• Technical Committee — provides IT support for the IAC’s web site and other digital offerings.

Drop Me a Line

Need something? Grateful for something? Angry about something? Want to tell someone a story? Want to share a picture of your new airplane?? I like hearing from you! As always, I can be reached at president@iac.org.