2009 NSW Champs Pics (thanks Kaos et al)

NSW Champs Trophy Presentation

No, it wasn't a black tie dinner event televised live with red carpet and paparazzi etc. To give you some idea, my 11y.o. son was the official photographer, thus some fuzziness, and the venue was the Temora Aero Club after the flying, sweat and all!

Graduate pilots Ben Brazier (1st) and Matt Robert (2nd). Just like it should be at kindy, everyone went home with a ribbon!




I don't have a group Sportsman shot, as we presented them Sunday night after they had finished all programmes in case some needed to leave to work Monday (Graduate presentation was held over due to a computer glitch Sunday - fat farmer fingers....). Rob Noonan (1st, pictured with Bryscen Teape-Davis Best and Fairest trophy) also scooped the highest % award (82.84%). Dan O'Donnell was 2nd and David Foord 3rd.







Intermediate top placings were filled by excuse-finding should-be Advanced pilots! Next year you milk-drinkers will be made fly in tutus if you stay in Intermediate. Jeremy Miller 1st, Guy Hanby 2nd and John Lee 3rd.

Advanced was a full field with some newcomers to the category who did very well, as well as established players. Tony Blair 1st, Russell Bell 2nd and David Clemence 3rd.









It was good to have an Unlimited field this year at the NSW Champs. They had a fair crack at some tough world-class sequences. Richard Wiltshire 1st, Glenn Graham 2nd and Paul Bennet 3rd.

NSW Champs Results

Hi all, just a quick one with more detail to follow when time permits.

34 competing pilots,
110 flights launched in 2.5 days,
no wx delays,
no technical or safety incidents.

Rob Noonan, Vic. - Highest % overall 82.84% Sportsman
BTP Memorial Best and Fairest - Rob Noonan, Vic.
Teams Trophy - NSW 14 points, Vic 7 Points, Qld 3 points, WA 3 points.
Unlimited - Richard Wiltshire, NSW.
Advanced - Tony Blair, NSW.
Intermediate - Jeremy Miller, WA.
Sportsman - Rob Noonan, Vic.
Graduate - Ben Brazier, QLD.

Full results are at www.gspotaerobatics.com/results/2009/indexpage.htm
and more pics and info at www. theaussieaviator.net - thanks Glenn.

Thanks to all who participated. planned, prepared andworked to make it happen. Thanks also to X-COM and GME for their support with equipment.

More photos from Temora

Michael Greig, new owner of this Giles 202, has only a few hours in this aeroplane and is already competing in Sportsman with a very decent first-time result!
Morning brief!
Guy Hanby competed in KGZ (Laser):
Starter, Cam McDonald did a great job of getting competitors on the starting line:

Pics from Day 1 of 2009 NSW Aerobatic Championship, Temora NSW

Joel Haski and XRB (Extra 200) - flown in Advanced by both Joel Haski and Laurent Lamy:Glenn Graham and Paul Bennet competed in Unlimited in IPB (Pitts S-1S):
Richard Wiltshire competed in Unlimited in his DR-107 :
Mark McNichol from NSW competed in his Edge 540S in Sportsman (leading at last count!):
Paul Monoghan's YMP (Pitts S-1S) competing in Sportsman:

Results to date

Lack of available manpower has meant we can't seem to get time to blog! The Aussie Aviator has been updating the results in live from Temora today - check it out here!

2009 NSW Champs - blog 1

Sorry for the delay in getting info online. Steep learning curve for many. both in the office and in the air!

A record attendance this year, 33 registered pilots and a delectable collection of machines. Categories from Graduate to Unlimited are being contested, but it will be a long days night to get all through over the weekend.

So far we have flown the Unlimite and Advanced Q, Intermediate practice and just finished working through Sportsman/Graduate practice. We should start the Unlimited Free in the next half hour.

Weather is kind with the duty thunderies staying away from the box so far, and the cloud base is high enough not to be a concern. A quick change to the judging line to the other side of the field and away we go!

Pics coming...

2009 Contest Results

The International competition season is over for 2009, and once again the French and Russian teams dominated. Looking back to 2008, the European Aerobatic Championships, Mikhail Mamistov (RUS) won over Renaud Ecalle (FR) and Oleg Shpolyansky (RUS). There were, in fact, six Russians in the top ten. In the other spots were two French, one Spaniard and one British and one from the USA (H/C).

1	RUS	M	Mikhail Mamistov	SU 26M	RF00631	(3093.18)	3749.43	3641.74	7391.17	79.05
2	FRA	M	Renaud Ecalle	E 300SC	D-EXSC	(2909.44)	3731.64	3623.45	7355.09	78.66
3	RUS	M	Oleg Spolyansky	SU 26M	RF00665	(2955.70)	3698.03	3630.24	7328.27	78.38
4	RUS	F	Svetlana Kapanina	SU 26M	RF01059	(2859.87)	3717.90	3591.00	7308.90	78.17
5	RUS	F	Elena Klimovitch	SU 26M	RF00631	(2966.43)	3746.09	3561.47	7307.56	78.16
6	ESP	M	Castor Fantoba	SU 26M	EC-HPD	(2955.22)	3570.31	3589.81	7160.12	76.58
7	FRA	M	Nicolas Ivanoff	Cap 232	F-GMRG	(2833.00)	3625.91	3533.23	7159.14	76.57
H/C	USA	M	Michael Racy	SU 26M	RF00631	(2748.79)	3591.55	3546.65	7138.20	76.34
8	RUS	M	Alexanter Krotov	SU 26M	RF00665	(2892.02)	3694.22	3414.76	7108.98	76.03
9	RUS	M	Andrey Bespalov	SU 26M	RF00665	(2685.19)	3521.26	3526.38	7047.64	75.38
10	GBR	M	Tom Cassells	Cap 232	F-GOTC	(2642.92)	3503.34	3440.13	6943.47	74.26

At the truncated WAC just completed, many of the same names appeared, but this time Renaud Ecalle finished on top, in both the classic and 4 min Free. How much these results would have changed had Unknown programmes been flown? I suspect the Russians would have moved up as their Unknown performances are always strong.

1	FRA	M	Renaud Ecalle	Extra 330SC	F-TGCI	2615,18	3540,08	6155,26	78,51
2	RUS	M	Alexander Krotov	Sukhoi 26M3	RA-00665	2589,71	3362,74	5952,45	75,92
3	FRA	M	Francois Le Vot	Extra 330SC	F-TGCJ	2602,43	3344,18	5946,61	75,85
4	RUS	M	Mikhail Mamistov	Sukhoi 26M3	RA-00665	2519,26	3404,39	5923,65	75,56
5	FRA	M	Pierre Varloteaux	Extra 330SC	F-TGCJ	2520,54	3368,22	5888,76	75,11
6	RUS	M	Oleg Shpolyanskiy	Sukhoi 26M3	RA-00665	2481,39	3403,24	5884,63	75,06
7	GBR	M	Gerald Cooper	CAP 232	G-OGBR	2544,12	3325,86	5869,98	74,87
8	USA	M	Jeff Boerboon	Extra-330SC	D-EXUS	2562,02	3291,49	5853,51	74,66
9	RUS	F	Elena Klimovich	Sukhoi 26M3	RA-01059	2506,25	3344,85	5851,10	74,63
10	GBR	M	Mark Jefferies	Extra 330SC	G-IIHI	2499,67	3350,66	5850,33	74,62

The European Advanced Aerobatic Championships were held in Poland this year also. Again dominated by the Russia/FSU and France, but a Swede won!. Some people to watch in the future if they can force their way into their National Unlimited teams ahead of the established names.

1	SWE	Daniel Ryfa	Yak 55M	N-55XZ	2660,50	2886,43	3060,62	8607,54	78,11
2	RUS	Anton Berkutov	SP55	RF00916	2674,26	2850,90	3048,98	8574,14	77,81
3	FRA	Simon Fick	CAP 231	F-GVFF	2698,90	2862,64	2915,43	8476,97	76,92
4	FRA	Simon de la Breteche	CAP 231	F-GUCF	2679,33	2830,96	2953,45	8463,75	76,80
5	LTU	Eltonas Meleckis	Yak 55M	LY-AQW	2669,25	2785,47	2918,16	8372,89	75,98
6	FRA	Baptiste Vignes	CAP 231	F-GVFF	2647,50	2607,63	3085,26	8340,39	75,68
7	FRA	Julian Erhard	CAP 231	F-GDTT	2527,44	2761,33	3042,15	8330,92	75,60
8	RUS	Sergey Iliukhin	SP55	FR00916	2630,32	2674,33	2946,18	8250,82	74,87
9	RUS	Maxim Barabanov	SP55	RF00916	2520,04	2718,17	2946,41	8184,62	74,27
10	CZE	Petr Kopfstein	Sukhoi 29	OK-HXA	2589,27	2737,73	2787,54	8114,54	73,63

At the British Senior Championships Gerald Cooper had an excellent weekend in Unlimited, in a small field after the WAC effort, winning both classic and Freestyle competitions.

1	Gerald Cooper	CAP-232	G-OGBR	2827.43	3488.28	3750.22	3474.52	13540.45	72.14
2	Tom Cassells	CAP-232	F-GOTC	2719.33	3380.53	3690.74	3052.98	12843.59	68.43
3	Richard Pickin	CAP-232	G-IIRP	2416.76	3163.11	2812.46	2904.55	11296.89	60.19
4	Stephen Madle	Extra-230	G-CBUA	2278.34	2356.58	2581.86	2421.13	9637.90	51.35
5	Julian Murfitt	Extra-230	G-CBUA	1930.35	2811.24	2424.50	2449.86	9615.95	51.23

At Advanced level there was an extended list of competitors, no doubt motivated by the 2010 AWAC in Sweden. Remarkable to see two S-2As in the top 10!

1	Alan Cassidy	Pitts S-2A	G-ODDS	2130.72	2582.90	2432.62	2627.43	9773.67	72.34
2	Paul Tomlinson	Edge-360	G-ZVKO	2095.73	2607.18	2373.94	2681.00	9757.85	72.23
3	Marco Kalweit	Pitts S-2C	G-FDPS	2147.84	2576.58	2213.21	2426.66	9364.29	69.31
4	Gary Ferriman	Extra-230	G-ROMP	2122.90	2607.88	2301.68	2219.16	9251.63	68.48
5	Michael Pickin	CAP 232	G-IIRP	1744.46	2450.98	2245.63	2685.54	9126.60	67.55
6	Nick Richards	Extra-300L	D-ETTO	1931.60	2597.39	1902.77	2684.38	9116.14	67.48
7	David Jenkins	Laser Z200	G-LAZA	1979.94	2597.81	2014.16	2166.75	8758.66	64.83
8	Simon Johnson	Pitts S-1T	N-666BM	2012.43	2335.36	1999.32	2374.90	8722.01	64.56
9	Nick Wakefield	Pitts S-1T	G-WILD	1727.89	1890.68	2365.26	2734.59	8718.42	64.53
10	Cas Smith	Pitts S-2A	G-ICAS	1856.88	2453.10	1903.41	2436.38	8649.78	64.03

The US Nationals have also just wound up. Debbie Rihn-Harvey won again at Unlimited.

1	Debby Rihn Harvey	CAP 232	N232DD	2680.17	3802.57	3095.00	9577.75	80.55
2	Jeff Boerboon	Extra 330EX	N73KG	2722.22	3657.15	3157.17	9536.54	80.21
3	Zach Heffley	Sukhoi 26	N60650	2660.74	3483.44	3277.52	9421.71	79.24
4	Hubie Tolson	Sukhoi 31	N69SU	2441.54	3722.06	3087.03	9250.62	77.80
5	Mike Rinker	Sukhoi 26M	N12SU	2484.99	3678.78	2949.81	9113.58	76.65
6	Douglas Bartlett	Edge 540	N540HT	2732.74	3359.29	2864.20	8956.22	75.33
7	Hector Ramirez	Extra 300S	N429HR	2512.39	3352.16	2933.85	8798.40	74.00
8	Robert Phillips	Sukhoi 26	N926M	2465.78	3433.24	2850.09	8749.11	73.58
9	Norm DeWitt	Edge 540	N9ND	2338.35	3542.04	2853.88	8734.26	73.46
10	Wyche Coleman III	Wolfpitts Pro	N703WT	2279.09	3449.87	2970.28	8699.24	73.16

And the US Advanced comp was well fought, with a US Advanced Team picked for 2010.

1	Reinaldo Beyer	Extra 300L	N779R	1948.07	2600.87	2648.79	2851.88	10049.61	79.32
2	Ben Freelove	Extra 300L	N703KC	2062.97	2405.96	2710.15	2752.55	9931.62	78.39
3	Malcolm Pond	Edge 540	N540SA	2063.97	2522.79	2632.16	2646.28	9865.19	77.86
4	Michael Gallaway	Pitts S-1T	N991GB	1941.80	2581.92	2558.63	2637.74	9720.09	76.72
5	Bob Freeman	Giles G-200	N200GZ	2007.16	2574.20	2186.01	2889.86	9657.23	76.22
6	Robbie Gibbs	Extra 230	N230GA	1965.21	2556.07	2125.97	2912.14	9559.38	75.45
7	Doug Sowder	Extra 300L	N25AP	1978.44	2238.18	2610.12	2651.39	9478.13	74.81
8	Craig Dobesh	Pitts S1-XTC	N4477X	2065.54	2558.70	2101.54	2736.54	9462.32	74.68
9	Kelly Adams	Staudacher S300	N804Q	1947.05	2526.13	2493.20	2371.64	9338.02	73.70
10	Bryan Taylor	Giles G-202	N202NS	1971.99	2519.20	2351.32	2428.82	9271.33	73.18

Good to see those Giles' in the mix!
Interesting that Rob Holland, current Advanced World Champion, didn't compete at this US Nats. If he chooses to defend his title he may have to do so as hours concours.

It seems apparent from these results that those countries with a well established method of selecting, training and supporting their teams get the best results. France 1st, Russia 2nd, USA 3rd and UK 4th WAC 2009.

Roll-on 2010 and another EAC and AWAC.

Aerobatic Aircraft

Any aerobatic aircraft will do to get started, so I won’t spend time on the basic aircraft here. Learn to fly whatever you have as well as you can, and learn the ‘craft’ of sport aerobatics on the way. There is a lot to learn. When you get to the stage of wanting/needing a more capable aircraft, then here are some options. I’ve stuck with the single-seat types as if you run an alternator and second seat you aren’t really serious....
If you have unlimited disposable income, you can skip this section!

Pitts S-1S,C,T,D: Very available at affordable prices. Lots of ‘corporate knowledge’ on how to fly one and their capabilities are well known. Flown hard they will require regular and ongoing maintenance. Four-aileron models needed for Advanced and symmetrical-section wings for Unlimited. Not truly competitive at Unlimited levels these days, but flown well on the right day can still be on the podium.

Yak-50: A classic aerobatic aircraft but getting hard to find at the right price.
‘Classic’ premium has overtaken their aerobatic price, I suspect. Can still perform well at Advanced level. Regular inspections needed on hard-flown examples.

Yak-55, 55M: Very affordable performance for the dollar, pity about the fuel and oil burn (as for Yak-50). Tight cockpit for tall pilots. Heavy ailerons and a big aircraft to push around the sky, and hangar. Good thrust to weight ratio, but drag makes them struggle at the higher levels.

SP-55: Rare but can be found at a good price on occasion. Should be competitive at Unlimited, but not in the league of the Sukhoi’s apparently.

Laser Variants: An excellent Intermediate/Advanced aircraft, though again will struggle at Unlimited. Price parallels quality of these homebuilt aircraft, and they hold their value well due to reputation and economical 4-cylinder engines.

DR-107: An excellent performing homebuilt capable of consistent Unlimited performances if built light and in the right hands. Economical to maintain and operate with good range and cruise speed to get to the next interstate competition. Can be bought for good prices in the US and imported. Buyer beware, of course. Drawback is time to build, if that is your desire.

Giles-200,202: Again, an excellent performing 4-cylinder design, unfortunately kits are no longer available new. Excellent performance for the dollar, but at the upper end of ‘affordability’ used, especially the two-seat model. Capable of Unlimited performance all day long. Excellent maintainability.

Edge-360,540S: The 360 is rare. The wire braced tail 540S turns up at a good price on occasion. The later cantilever tail model is hard to find and expensive to buy. They are very popular in the US but not used in competition elsewhere much (i.e. Europe). I think poor visibility is their weakest point compared to the European monoplanes.

Rebel, Staudacher, Hurricane et al: There were many ‘super-laser’ 6-cylinder machines produced during the 90’s in the US that can now be had for a good price. Most were conventional in construction (steel tube fuse, wire braced tail, wood/composite wings). Excellent value and Unlimited capable due to their high thrust to weight ratios, but may not have the roll-rate and handling qualities of the better respected machines.

CAP, MX, Sukhoi – go for it if you have the dosh.

Where to Begin Part IV - Advanced

Advanced

The steps between grades do not get any smaller. Advanced is a big step and should not be taken lightly. A lot of preparation can and should be done while still competing at Intermediate level. This will help your Intermediate flying immensely, and lessen the (di)stress when you do decide to enter your first Advanced competition.

New figures you will need to master are: vertical down positive full and partial flicks, partial positive flicks on level and +/-45 degree lines, rolling circles (upright, inverted, inwards and outwards), inverted spins (both clockwise and counterclockwise, as viewed from above) and opposite rolls on all lines.

Oh, and a lot more pushing. Lots and lots. And then some more. A good thing to do at this stage is to fly some simple inverted stalls and reinforce in your brain exactly where the inverted stall stick position is. When you find yourself pushing out of a figure a little below your comfort altitude, you don’t want to be wondering where the inverted stall stick position is. The last thing your confidence needs at this stage is a high-speed negative flick on a down-line at low altitude. We’re not up to that part yet.

You will need to get comfortable pushing around and out of figures, and this takes time to adjust to. Talk to people, do some research, and make a plan on how you are going to approach it. Self-assess your physiological condition after negative g practice and pace your work-up based on how you feel and the signs your body gives you. When you find yourself wanting a better g meter that goes past negative 5, you’re making progress!

CIVA Section 6 will be mandatory reading – but you won’t mind (how weird are you?) and you will find an extensive list of permitted Unknown figures, and their combinations, to practice. You’ll find it hard to make petty conversation at dinner parties, and will be prone to start rap-miming pull-push-push humpties with ¾ snap down onto the b-axis while standing in queues.

Your Box-Craft and ability to handle wind in the box will need to be first-class in Advanced. Wind correction and positioning should start to become second-nature and all brain cells will need to be on duty to keep orientation, presentation and figures tidy while pushing lots of g.

Good luck! And keep smiling.

Where to Begin Part III - Intermediate

Intermediate

Life starts to become a lot more interesting in Intermediate. You will need a more capable aircraft than what you may have learnt in, unless you really like to punish your mount or are already suitably equipped! You will also need to get a Low Level Permission to 1000ft AGL as the lower level for Intermediate is 1200ft.

Intermediate is a big step and should be approached methodically considering all the changes: possible new aircraft, new lower limit, new figures and coping with an Unknown sequence as well! You don’t want to max yourself out to the point safety is compromised.

Specific new figures you will have to fly are positive flicks on horizontal and +/-45 degree lines, and sustained inverted flight including inverted steep turns, and even a rolling turn on occasion. Your training sessions will have to include the Known (as it is scored in competiton, unlike in Advanced and Unlimited) and your Free sequence, as well as the permitted Unknown figures in Appendix 3 of the AAC Rule book. This is a high workload after the relative ease of Sportsman.

Once you have your head, hands and feet around most of the Intermediate stuff, it is a good time to get some extra aerobatic tuition and get signed up for inverted spinning, if you haven't already. This will give you more confidence inverted and allow you to safely start practice on some Advanced manoeuvres, lessening the step when/if you decide to move up a grade. About now you also want to start playing around with those dastardly rolling turns....

Advanced next week.

Cowra 9th August.

Beautiful weather, again, at Cowra. The aeroclub had a flying day on as well, so there were aircraft coming and going all day. Colin and I both got good training flights in, with Reggae on the radio. Some more locals also had joyflights with Colin. The BBQ was on max burner for lunch with some excellent egg and bacon rolls served up. One chap thought they were so good he had a second chew on one in the front of Colin's Extra.....

The flight home was memorable with smooth air and the low sun casting our shadows onto the wing, which Langdon used to advantage by making a dog, chicken and waterhorse silhouettes!! Excellent.

Our next weekend is the 12-13th September. We'll be having a judging seminar Saturday evening over pizza and beer (or wine, your choice).