The World Aerobatic Championships come to the USA once every
10 years or so. This year, they were held at North Texas Regional Airport in
Grayson County, TX. The good news was– everyone had a great time. The bad news
was – the weather did NOT cooperate.
Aerobatics
Before racing in the Biplane Class at Reno, I was involved
in local IAC Competition. The challenge of flying competitive aerobatics was
something I very much enjoyed and something I may plan to return to – now that
things are rocky at RARA. I found that I couldn’t do both at the same time –
the airplane I was using needed to be changed for each sport and I didn’t have
the time or resources to do it each year. But, if the Reno Air Races are over (more on
this next month) –it is likely will I will throw my time and energy back into
Aerobatics.
Beautiful Aerobatic Machines
Local or Regional competitions are followed by a National Competition
(also in September – see the problem?). This National Competition in the US
produces a US Team – either the WAC (World Aerobatic Championship) - for
Unlimited Competitors or the AWAC (Advanced World Aerobatic Championship) for
Advanced Competitors. Each National Team can have up to 8 male members and 3
female members.
WAC
This year, eighteen countries were represented along with
Hors Concours Competitors – who were not part of any national team, but were
flying in the contest for themselves. Nearly 80 of the world’s best aerobatic
pilots were there after traveling to the US and either finding a plane to borrow,
or bring their own from home.
Weather
The week started out windy and rainy and the weather was the
story. Doug Sowder, IAC President, was in charge of Wind Reports. He would set
up a Wind Balloon several times a day to obtain the current winds, not just at
ground level, but at the altitude the competitors were flying. Most reports
were “out of limits” for International Competition – based on FAI rules. The
daily joke was “What time is the 7am pilot brief”… since it was delayed and
delayed and delayed each day.
Weather posed a major problem all week
When the winds died down, the rains began. For 2 days, we
couldn’t fly at all and didn’t even bother to go to the airport.
Recreation
What do you do with 80 competitive pilots and dozens of
volunteers when you can’t fly?
One night, we went to the Rodeo. The next day we went to see
the movie “Rush” and then Go-Kart Racing! It was all we could do not to go stir
crazy.
Finally
The flying resumed. A standard international WAC contest consists
of 2 sections – the first set of flights include Known (or Compulsory),
Freestyle (something you put together yourself in accordance with very strict
standards) and 2 Unknowns (routines that were pieced together based on
recommended figures). Because of the delays, not everyone was able to fly the first
Unknown and no second Unknown flight was even attempted.
Aresti Code Figures for the first Unknown
The second section is the 4-minute Freestyle. This is more
of an airshow type routine – with smoke and music and non-standard figures. Saturday
– the final day of the competition – was set aside to make sure we were able to
finish the 4-minute routines. Oddly enough, the US seems to excel in this area.
Four Minute Freestyle
Several famous names were listed amongst the competitors including
three Red Bull Air Racers: Hannes Arch, Martin Sonka and Nicolas Ivanoff. Previous
World Champions were onsite also including Mikhail Mamistov, Victor Chmal and
Patrick Paris. There is a separate individual championship for women, with
returning champion Svetlana Kapanina was beat out by Aude Lemordant from
France. And USA Team Member, Rob Holland won the 4-minute Freestyle – his forte
being a highly sought after airshow pilot.
The last time an American won the Championship was in 1988
when Henry Haigh won in Red Deer, Canada flying a Superstar. Rob Holland has
won the 4-Minute twice since then – and Zach Heffley won the 4-minute in 2007.
The French Team came away with the Gold, riding on great
performances by Francois LeVot (the overall winner), Olivier Masurel, Francois
Rallet, Ivanoff and Alexandre Leboulanger – all finishing in the top ten. The
USA Team earned the Silver with Rob Holland, Michael Racy and Nikolay Timofeev in
the top 10. The Russian Team walked away with the Bronze, with Mamistov finishing
second overall.
Friendships
The best part of attending the WAC 2013 is the Friendships. The
names may not roll off the tongue of the average pilot, but these people are Rockstars
to some of us. Each of them is a world level competitor and an inspiration.
This level of flying requires non-stop focus and determination. I walked away
with a book filled with autographs, Better Aerobatics by Alan Cassidy – who was
also on-site as a Judge.
Even with the wind and the rain – I know I’m glad I
volunteered to be part of the Team. Special appreciation to Chris Rudd, the Contest
Director; Lorrie Penner, the Assistant
Contest Director; Joy McKinney, the Volunteer Coordinator, Lynn Bowes, the
Registrar; Douglas Lovell for the Website, etc., and all the other volunteers
who made this experience possible. Special thanks to Laurie Zaleski and Patty
Anderson for their photographs.
Next
Don’t forget to buy your Aviation Calendar at http://www.cafepress.com/aviation_calendar
-- Great gift idea for the pilot in your life!
Next month we’ll take a look at what’s happening with the
Reno Air Races. Happy Holidays!
Until then…
