Over, Under, Sideways, Down: The Art and Science of Aerobatic Flight

Flying a clean aerobatic competition with no outs and no zeros can be just as satisfying as winning.

Thursday, November 17, 2022 at 11:34 AM ET

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Aerobatic competitions in the U.S. include five classes, with increasingly difficult maneuvers and sequences. [Courtesy: Tyson Rininger]

Key Takeaways:

The author recounts a memorable, perfectly executed flight at the 2011 FAI World Aerobatic Championship in Italy, reflecting on their initial introduction to aerobatic flying in 1978.
Aerobatic competitions are categorized into five classes with increasing difficulty, utilizing Aresti symbols and K-factors for scoring across "Known," "Free," and "Unknown" flight rounds; the International Aerobatic Club is a key resource for aspiring pilots.
The article emphasizes that achieving a clean, error-free flight is as satisfying as winning, introducing the concept of a "Soul Flyer" who participates for the pure pleasure and skill of the sport.

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How on earth did I get here? This is a question I have pondered many times while flying. Sometimes it’s because nothing is going my way. But on this day in 2011, at the FAI (Fédération Aéronautique Internationale) World Aerobatic Championship in Foligno, Italy, everything was just right.

I was doing circles at 4,000 feet agl in my Extra 300S, waiting nervously for the chief judge to radio me. Soon I would do flips and turns inside an invisible box in the skies in an attempt to impress the judges. As a kid I would spin airplanes around with a remote control. Now I was inside the airplane. The silence ended and I heard the chief judge’s thick British accent: “Contestant 34, the box is yours.”