Introduction to Competitive Aerobatics

1. Introduction to Competitive Aerobatics & Chapter 38

2. Today’s Discussion • Overview of competition aerobatics • Review of Tracy Aerobatic activities and efforts to minimize noise and maximize safety • Member profiles • Q&A and aerobatic display

3. Who am I? • President, Northern California Aerobatic Club • Married, father of 2 • Profession: Management Consultant • Aviation background • Model airplanes at age 14 • Rode bike to Livermore airport in high school; met people who taught me to fly; soloed at 16; introduced to aerobatics then to make me safer • Became flight instructor and charter pilot to pay way through college • Graduated in engineering; instead became bush pilot in Alaska • Returned from Alaska and worked as pilot for John Travolta • Took job as corporate jet pilot for 6 years for successful businessman • Went to business school 10 years ago and now fly for fun as often as I can

4. What is IAC Chapter 38 • Northern California Aerobatic Club • ~100 members • Members from across Western U.S., with most in the Bay Area • Majority don’t compete, just love aerobatics • Most competitors in lowest 3 categories • 4 compete in Unlimited and are/were members of U.S. National Team

5. Competition vs Airshow • No Low Flying • No Smoke • Judges • Precise Maneuvers • No money

6. Types of Airplanes

7. Competition Overview • Much like figure skating, pilots fly a routine that is scored by judges • Every figure has a maximum score of 10 points; “K” denotes how hard the figure is • Total points determined by multiplying pilot’s score, times the “K” then adding up across all figures • Five levels of competition: • Primary, Sportsman, Intermediate, Advanced, and Unlimited

8. The Aerobatic Sequenceletters = maneuvers Upright Flight Inverted Flight Roll Inside & Outside Snap Rolls Hammerhead Loop Upright & Inverted Spins Turn Humpty Bump

9. The Aerobatic Sequencewords = figures Immelmann Split S Avalanche Rolling Turn Cuban Eight Reverse Half Cuban Eight

10. The Aerobatic Sequencesentences = sequences Primary Sequence

11. Contests • 37 Regional Contests In the United States • From February through November • Chapter 38 sponsors the Paso Robles competition in June of every year • Six Regional awards based on points • US National Aerobatic Championships • September 2006 - Sherman/Denison, Texas • World Aerobatic Championships • Poland, 2006 • National teams from 15 to 20 countries

12. Competition & Judging • Sequences are flown in an aerobatic zone commonly called the “BOX” • Flights are graded by a team of 3 to 7 judges who are assisted by two people each • Each individual figures is graded as well as the sequence positioning within the box • Each Judge has a copy of the sequence

13. The Aerobatic “BOX”

14. Positive (+) Negative (-) G’s

15. Training • G Tolerance • Critiquing vs Coaching • Frustration • Dedication • Burnout

16. Why do we do it? • Challenging • Exciting • Rewarding • Skill building/safety • Camaraderie • Inspiring

17. Today’s Discussion • Overview of competition aerobatics • Review of Tracy Aerobatic activities and efforts to minimize noise and maximize safety • Member profiles • Q&A and aerobatic display

18. History of IAC 38 at Tracy • Aerobatics flown at the Tracy airport since 1984 • Active contributor to local community • Tracy Airport Day • Free Young Eagles flights for kids • $$,000’s spent for fuel every year • Suspended activity in 2004 due to increasing housing encroachment • Worked with FAA and City of Tracy for two years to refine activities for noise and safety

19. Tracy Aerobatic Box - 2004

20. What we’ve done in past two years • Identified additional aerobatic boxes at Calaveras and New Jerusalem airports • Redrew boundaries of Tracy box to increase distance from houses • Imposed new guidelines on our members to directly address community needs for minimizing noise and increasing safety • Reached out to the community

21. Tracy Aerobatic Box - 2006 Key Stats • 500 AGL-4000 feet MSL • >1000 feet further South than original boundary • Self-imposed northern boundary >1/2 mile from houses • No practicing, only critiquing • Rotate airports so only at Tracy ~1/3 as often as before >1,000 Feet 5,280 Feet Suggested Practice Location 5,000 Feet * 7 p.m. during Daylight Savings Time

22. Tracy Operating Guidelines: Self-Imposed by Chapter 38 • Shift usage between our three boxes to minimize noise at any one airport • Only use Tracy box for getting critiqued; if just practicing do this near Mt. Diablo • If taking off or landing from 25/07 please be aware of your prop setting and take noise abatement steps and reduce RPM / Power as soon as it is safe to do so. • Make sure yourcritiquer knows the location of our self-imposed NE boundary line – Runway 25 Extended Center line. Have them call you if you are likely to go out this direction and take a break. This will help us manage noise over the housing area and prevent aerobatic flight beyond the actual NE deadline which is 1000 feet south of Linne Road.

23. Tracy Operating Guidelines (continued) • When leaving / entering the box, where at all practical, avoid flying over the area NE of the box as this will help us all keep noise over the housing to a minimum. Do not fly North of runway 25/07 during maneuvers. • When entering the box initially for your sequence all entries regardless of wind direction are to be from the South West. • Pro-actively minimize / eliminate any turns / reentry into the box beyond the northern boundary.  This means if you need to reenter the box or turn around, do so from the East, South, or West of the box, not the North.  If you have to exit the box to the North, make sure your turns are shallow and you reposition yourself to re-enter on one of the other sides of the box. • If you fly a plane with a fixed pitch prop please manage engine speed to limit excessive noise.

24. Noise: What causes it and what we can do about it • Noise is predominantly caused by the propeller, not the engine • Engines with “fixed pitch” propellers will make more noise at high RPMs – reducing this will help • Wind effects perception of noise • Our highest performing airplanes make the most noise – only about 5% of our members fly these planes (~5 out of 100)

25. Today’s Discussion • Overview of competition aerobatics • Review of Tracy Aerobatic activities and efforts to minimize noise and maximize safety • Member profiles • Q&A and aerobatic display

26. Member Profiles Cecilia Aragon Howard Kirker Allyson Parker-Lauck • Former National Unlimited Team member • Aerobatic flight school owner in Tracy • Current Intermediate competitor • California Point Series Champion • Member of National Unlimited Team • Flight attendant for Southwest Airlines

27. Today’s Discussion • Overview of competition aerobatics • Review of Tracy Aerobatic activities and efforts to minimize noise and maximize safety • Member profiles • Q&A and aerobatic display

28. Q&A? • Happy to answer any questions… • Can talk about aerobatics, or about flying in general • Happy to talk one-on-one too, if you want to know more about what we do and/or how to get involved yourself • Stop and talk to our members outside, too

29. THANK YOU!

30. The Sequence • The Sequence, a series of figures flown by the competitor • Figures are represented by symbols developed by Jose L. Aresti of Spain for use in the world aerobatic competitions • Each figure is assigned a difficulty coefficient or “K factor”

31. Who am I? • President, Northern California Aerobatic Club • Married, father of 2 • Profession: Management Consultant • Aviation background • Model airplanes at age 14 • Rode bike to Livermore airport in high school; met people who taught me to fly; soloed at 16; introduced to aerobatics then to make me safer • Became flight instructor and charter pilot to pay way through college • Graduated in engineering; instead became bush pilot in Alaska • Returned from Alaska and worked as pilot for John Travolta • Took job as corporate jet pilot for 6 years for successful businessman • Went to business school 10 years ago and now fly for fun as often as I can