Power aerobatics

Power Aerobatics
or Go to Glider aerobatics....

In the UK the sport of aerobatic competition flying with powered aircraft has developed its rules over may years in parallel with the international format laid down for World and European championships at unlimited and advanced levels. At these events the Aresti system of aerobatic notation as defined by CIVA (Commission Internationale Voltige Arienne - the governing body FAI's aerobatic section) is used to define formalised sequences of aerobatic figures, the contestants being assessed by a panel of experienced judges whilst they fly. At most non-championship competitions two or more sequences of perhaps eight to fifteen figures are flown by each pilot, the winner being he or she who has the highest cumulative score after the judges marks have been multiplied by the difficulty coefficient (known as the 'K') for each figure and any penalties deducted. Accurate flying of difficult and sometimes extremely complex manoeuvres to rigidly applied criteria, in front of not only the judges but your peers as well, is the essence of this sport. For an aspiring champion the seemingly endless learning curve whilst striving to do the job better each time provides huge personal rewards.

In Britain we divide the flying into five distinct competition skill LEVELS and five flight PROGRAMMES

The five LEVELS

Beginners
The first step on the ladder. This is a 'trial' rather than a contest, nevertheless a daunting prospect at the time for most contenders. The sequence always comprises the same five relatively simple "known" figures, but placed in a different order each year. Very ordinary club aircraft such as the Cessna-152 Aerobat can win at this level, as there is no sustained inverted flying. The contestants, particularly the winner, are strongly encouraged to move up to Standard at the earliest opportunity.
Standard
The base "real aerobatics" level. Usually the most popular class and often with up to thirty contestants, the flying includes a wide variety of generally positive-G figures interspersed with occasional zero-G or transitory fragments of inverted flying. The wide range of aircraft eligible and the minimal advantage afforded by high performance types makes it possible for almost any seriously committed pilot to participate with as fair a chance of winning as the next. Contests generally include both 'known' and 'unknown' sequences, providing great scope for gaining the skill and experience necessary to move up.
Intermediate
The pilot is now invited to exercise his or her skills in a rather more energetic style of flying that includes inverted flying, flick rolls, hesitation rolls on vertical lines and in an environment much more demanding of commitment and ability. The 'Free' programme is also introduced, requiring the pilot to design a personal sequence to meet exacting figure and K-factor criteria, and free-format flying is sometimes seen through the BAeA's Apprentices arena with its mixture of Aresti-like figures and the pilots own turn-rounds. The 'mark' aircraft for sequence design remains the venerable Stampe, still a hard act to beat in the right hands.
Advanced
The precursor to the top world-class level. Here the demands are further extended into rolling circles, tail-slides and rather harder negative-G 'pushes' to inverted from down-lines, and to achieve more than occasional success a high-performance specialist aircraft and a more serious commitment to training are pre-requisite. The alternating World and European Advanced Championships established during the 1990's now provide a clear focus for the best advanced pilots in each country to aim for international honours. In the UK the 4-minute freestyle is also occasionally on the menu, and the Apprentices class when this is on offer to Intermediate pilots.
Unlimited
The "world-class" international top level. Slowly gaining in numbers as the general availability of modern high-performance carbon-fibre monoplanes gradually improves, this class represents the ultimate in aerobatic sequence complexity and extreme personal challenge. Dominated internationally by a handful of pilots who are fiercely committed to practice and training schedules that are often underwritten by commercial or government sources, unlimited competitions are by their nature more occasional and rather more serious than those at the lower levels. In the UK we run two events with unlimited classes, an early-season affair in Wales (recently Pembrey for the first time) and the British Nationals - which in recent years has remained at Sywell, Northants.

The five PROGRAMMES

'Known' sequences. These are designed and published for each level before the season starts, and represent the most formal aspect of most contests. Each pilot is able to practice the known at their current level as often as time and resources allow, so that from the contestants viewpoint there are no surprises at the contest itself. At international Advanced and Unlimited events this sequence is often known as the 'Q' or Qualifying programme, and although a 60% plus score is mandatory to show an acceptable level of competence the scores themselves are usually disregarded in the final totals.
'Free' sequences. Required from Intermediate level upwards, here the range of figures allowed without repetition sets each pilot a 'personal' sequence design challenge whose result should embody the best possible match between the imposed criteria, the individuals aviating skills, and the equipment available. For mid-field pilots this programme often becomes more of a damage limitation exercise than an attention grabber. Again all should be well practiced and thoroughly 'known' before the day of the event - it's too late when the sequence starts!
'Unknown' sequences are usually deemed to represent the major challenge. Designed for each level from Standard up before the contest but only presented to the pilot on the day of the event itself, practice is not allowed and hence the sequence must be flown first-time-right every time in order to achieve good marks. Although at advanced and unlimited events - particularly the major championships - these sequences may be constructed on the previous day from individual figures submitted by the pilots, the degree of skill, experience and planning required to fly an unknown successfully generally separates the best from the rest.
Timed free-style flying. The usual form here is the internationally accepted "four-minute freestyle", where the pilot quite literally has a timed four minute slot to impress the judges and - apart from those relating to safety - few hard and fast rules are applied. Generally it is technique and complexity that are rewarded, low-speed gyroscopic propellor effects being the pilots best friend in the business of tumbling and cavorting the aircraft about the sky whilst endeavouring to appear planned and 'in control' ! Penalties are awarded for under or over-running the time-slot, whilst the main judging criteria are precision, versatility, harmony and rhythm, and originality.... although at this level the likelihood that anything truly original will be flown is not high.
Apprentices and Masters. A BAeA innovation that attempts to bridge the gap between the formal Aresti flying and true free-style affairs from intermediate level upwards. Here up to six particularly challenging or "awkward" figures that look as though they might be from the Aresti catalogue but certainly aren't (and hence are most unlikely to have been practiced beforehand!) are flown by each pilot, but with free-format turn round elements strongly encouraged in-between the mandatory bits. The marking balances the two aspects, and provides a generally less serious interlude to the more formalised Aresti figure flying.