The 2006 aerobatic season is underway. In fact, fully one-third of the California contests are already in the books. I finished in second place at the Borrego MiniFest and a distant sixth at Apple Valley. I haven’t written anything about it as yet, mainly because I’ve been too busy flying to write about flying. This is a good thing. But… Read more →
Category: Aerobatics
What is a “Surface Area”?
When I start teaching aerobatics to a pilot, one of the first things we discuss is when and where aerobatics are allowed. Or, more accurately, where they are prohibited. As anyone who’s familiar with government regulation will attest, the Code of Federal Regulations doesn’t tell you what you can do. It only tells you what you cannot do. One of the places… Read more →
Bob Hoover
A CPA member found a video I saw years ago and haven’t been able to find since. It’s a great clip from a BBC television program about Robert “Bob” Hoover, one of the world’s all time greatest pilots. Click on the photo at the right to view the video. It shows Hoover shutting down both engines and then performing an aileron… Read more →
The Two Sides of Aerobatics
I just got home a few minutes ago, exhausted after spending two long days in an intensive class studying the finer points of judging competitive aerobatics. My employer sponsored this seminar, better know as a “judges school”, where those of us who are involved in the sport can satisfy one of the requirements for becoming an accredited IAC aerobatic judge.… Read more →
Farewell Marta
Well, it had to happen. Sooner or later, everyone who flies loses a friend to an accident. I’ve been lucky — since 1998 there hasn’t been a single person I can think of who’s been killed in an aircraft — but that changed recently when an odd mechanical failure claimed the life of Marta Meyer. I was in Las Vegas… Read more →
Extra, Extra!
This is my newest ride! What do you think? Sunrise needs another Extra instructor and I draw the lucky straw. I started getting familiar with this baby today. The cockpit checkout was interesting; it’s far more sparse than other Extras I’ve flown. This aircraft is one of the older 300 models (no -L or -S suffix, just a plain old… Read more →
I Learned About Flying From That
So I recently got back from my third aerobatic contest, the Northern California Aerobatic Challenge at Paso Robles. I finished in second place, a nice surprise considering some serious obstacles were encountered along the way. After the Apple Valley contest (where I finished in sixth place), the plane developed a crack in the right fuel tank. Replacing this tank definitely… Read more →
Borrego MiniFest
It’s hard to believe that nearly a month has passed since I flew my first aerobatic competition. But alas, that’s what the calendar tells me. In fact, I’m getting ready to leave for another one — this time at Apple Valley — on Thursday morning. I’m stepping up to the Sportsman category because I did pretty well at Borrego —… Read more →