The U.S. National Aerobatic Championships took place this week at the Wittman Regional Airport in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, bringing the country’s best aerobatic pilots together to battle it out in the skies. Rob Holland took home the gold in the Unlimited category for the 8th consecutive year, breaking the all-time record set by Leo Loudenslager in 1982.
The competition brings a cumulative score from three rounds of flying: Known, Free and Unknown. Holland won all three rounds, bringing a total score of 11,028 points, more than 80 percent of the maximum total in this extreme precision sport.
Holland’s win comes despite inconceivable roadblocks this year. He damaged his MX Aircraft MXS airplane after a catastrophic engine failure during a ferry flight from one airshow to another in April. While the airplane was broken, Holland walked away without major injuries. As a result, he has been performing in a two-seat MX2, while all other competitors flew single-seat aerobatic airplanes.
