Where to Begin Part II - Categories

Once you have a spinning and aerobatic endorsements, you are able to come along to club events and fly. But which grade?

‘Entry’ Category

This category is designed for beginners with a new aerobatic endorsement. The aerobatic sequence is comprised of basic aerobatic figures you should have just been instructed in (www.aerobaticsaustralia.com.au and click 'sequences'). Any aerobatic aircraft will be able to fly the sequence, so you should practice until you are comfortable flying the sequence right through while maintaining your position over a ground feature. Coming along to Club training days are invaluable at this stage, or at any stage, to get useful feedback and tips on how to refine your flying.

After your first competition, or a few of training days, and once getting confident in handling the aircraft down to 3000ft AGL, you may want to organise getting a 1500ft AGL Low Level Permission. See the 'Links' page (on nsw.aerobatcs.asn.au) for people who can do this for you, and have a read of CAAP-155 ('Documents' page!) so you know what is required.

Graduate Category

If you have more aerobatic experience and are comfortable with aerobatics, you can kick-off in Graduate if you wish – or any level if you want to! The difficulty of the individual figures isn’t much different to Entry, just more figures in the sequence to get through.

Sportsman

Again, at first glance not much of a step from Graduate, just more figures in the sequence to practice. The big change-up is the option to fly a Free of your own design rather than the Known sequence twice in competition. The Free must be of similar standard as the Known, and have the same total ‘K’ or difficulty. This adds another facet to the sport, as now you must practice and be proficient at two sequences. And, you must design your own sequence! This is a whole new learning experience, and is a vital skill for higher grades. I'll post some thoughts on Free design later on.

Aerobatics is peculiar in that the grade you fly is not determined by the type or capability of the aircraft you have, but by the pilot. You can fly your megabuck wondership with the flame paintjob in Entry if you want to! The key thing is to fly the grade you are comfortable with and have practised, while grinning the whole time (most important). It won’t be long, with critique and competition exposure, that you will be moving up the grades and making much better use of the machine belted to your butt.

Check back for Intermediate, Advanced and Unlimited Categories next week .

So, you want to be an aerobatic pilot....,

Over the next few weeks I'll be adding information relevant to aerobatics pilots, judges, and others interested in the sport. The best place to start is usually at the beginning, so off we go!

The Beginning

Like many other beginners, you probably aren’t quite sure how to go about getting involved in competition aerobatics. But, like most sports, the first thing to do is join your local club ( nsw.aerobatics.asn.au ) where you will find many like-minded people who can point you in the right direction.

The first step, if you already have a pilot licence, is to get an aerobatic endorsement. Flying schools that can do this are listed on the contacts page of our website. The syllabus and aircraft type may vary between schools, but as a minimum you will need to be able to fly the basic aerobatic manoeuvres: barrel roll, loop, slow roll, roll of the top and stall turn. You will also need a spinning endorsement, which most schools should include in their aerobatic syllabus.

Some Furphy’s you may hear:

1. ‘You need a parachute to fly aerobatics.’ This furphy arose because in the USA the International Aerobatic Club requires a parachute to be worn in their competitions (IAC also require a secondary lap belt or restraint, which is the source of the double harnesses now commonplace), and the US FAA requires parachutes when doing aerobatics dual. In Australia it is not mandatory to wear a parachute while flying aerobatics. However, some aircraft flight manuals specify that a parachute is mandatory in the aircraft (eg. Extra), so check for your aircraft type. If you want to wear one, that’s fine, but it is a personal choice.

2. ‘You need a Low Level Waiver/Permission to compete.’ No, in the lower grades (up to Sportsman) you can come along and fly above 3000ft AGL without a problem. Once involved in the sport you can then decide if you wish to progress to lower altitudes and higher grades. CASA Delegates able to issue low level aerobatic permissions are listed on our website also.

3. ‘It costs a lot to join the AAC and there aren’t many competitions.’ This was true once, but now you can elect to join only your local State Club and only pay their membership fee ($38 p.a. in NSW). This will allow you to fly in all NSW Club Training Days, Club Competitions and the annual State Championship. Check the calendar on the website, but we have something on every month except Dec/Jan . So you can get value for money and not have to travel interstate.

4. ‘I need a specialist aerobatic aircraft.’ You will need an aircraft that is approved for aerobatics, true, but any aerobatic training aircraft can be flown competitively up to and including Sportsman category. Intermediate category is where basic aerobatic aircraft start to become limiting. You don’t even need inverted fuel and oil systems in the lower grades (Entry, Graduate, Sportsman). Victa, Citabria, Aerobat, Tiger Moth, Tipsy Nipper, Robin/Alpha, Stampe, Skybolt, RV-4/6/7/8, T-18, Cassutt, Corby Starlet, Sonerai – and many more, can get you into the sport at an affordable price.

So give it some thought and make some enquiries. Next time we'll look at the competition categories.

Don't forget our next training weekend is the 8-9th August at Cowra.