Flying, Fun and Food
2025 Estrella Classic Success
By Lorrie Penner, IAC 431036
For the third year in a row the U.S. National Aerobatic Championships for the Unlimited and Advanced Glider categories were held in conjunction with the Estrella Classic on March 20 - 22, 2025, in Maricopa, Arizona.
It was a warm delight for all involved who came from cold places; Washington, Ohio, Colorado, Pennsylvania, Virginia, New York and even the United Kingdom (UK). Dan Weston from the UK said of the glider competition, “ I wish this would go on and on. Epic time in the USA with Arizona Soaring and crew, flying in the desert.”
The pilot headcount of 30 included new and returning cadets from the U.S. Air Force Academy (USAFA) as well as officers. The civilian contingent was made up of a range of experienced contest pilots from the Primary category through the Advanced category.
The Estrella Classic Flights
The primary category delivered the most exciting and unexpected finish of the day. In his third year in the primary category, Larry Ruggiero (civilian pilot) steadily moved from fourth place in the first flight to third place in the second flight. USAFA cadets Charles Fox and George Fish were flying well with Fox being in the lead after two flights. Suddenly in the third flight Larry pulled out all the stops and flew the highest score of all the Primary flights for the contest, a rare 87.20%! This exceptional flight put him at the top with an overall score of 80.59%. Fox finished in second with 79.59% and Fish finished in third with 78.34%.
Newcomers in 2024; Ameila (Mia) Anderson (2024 US National Primary Glider Champion) and Victoria (Tori) Thom, both civilian pilots, moved up from the Primary category to the Sportsman category at this contest. Their battle for first place ended the same as last year’s Estrella Classic with Tori coming in first and Mia coming in second. The scores were tight in the first two flights with Tori’s first place finish in the third flight deciding the victor. Her total overall score was 74.01%. Mia finished second with 70.88% and first-time competitor Robbin Riester finished in third with 70.52%.
Returning 2024 Intermediate Estrella Classic winner Greg Borovykh found himself surrounded by two USAFA cadets, and Robin Simmons who had moved up from the Sportsman category. The four men all flew MDM-1 Fox aerobatic gliders with Simmons placing second in the first two flights and David Petzold (placing first in the Known) and Brandon Humphreys (placing first in the Free). Going into the Unknown, Simmons was leading the pack.
In the end, the Unknown was the critical flight. Simmons had never flown an Unknown in competition, Borovykh did have this valuable experience as did Petzold. Borovykh had a great score (73.98%) and placed first in the Unknown, however cumulative points from the previous two flights put Petzold on top with an overall score of 75.06%. Borovykh finished in second (72.81%) and Humphreys (72.54%) finished in third. Simmons came in close behind in fourth with 72.00%.
The U.S Nationals Advanced and Unlimited flights
A quick shout out to Jim Bourke for his participation as the sole competitor in the Unlimited category. Although a couple of other pilots had planned to participate, life and illness got in the way. We enjoyed Jim’s flying and he appeared to enjoy it as well.
The Advanced category saw eight competitors flying for the rights to be called the U.S. National Advanced Glider Aerobatic Champion. The two civilian pilots were Shad Coulson (2023 U.S. National Advanced Glider Champion) and Dave Watson (2023 Intermediate winner at the Estrella Classic). The remaining field of pilots were all from the USAFA.
Joseph Tschetter (USAFA) had moved up from Intermediate to the Advanced category in 2024 winning a third place medal in the Unknown at the Salina Classic. Luke Lipetska and Samuel Ellenson (USAFA) had also moved up to Advanced and Lipetska won first place overall at the Salina Classic and Ellenson was second place overall.
During the 2025 championship, Coulson stayed in first place for the entire contest ending as the 2-time U.S. National Aerobatic Advanced Glider Champion with a score of 76.97%. Tschetter came in second and Dave Watson placed third. Lupetska came in fourth only 1.09% points behind Watson.
The Volunteers
Once again, Shad Coulson acted as the contest director. He is always gracious in his recognition of volunteer efforts and singled out a number of people at the banquet. The current field of judges attending the Estrella Classic have returned multiple years.
Thanks go out to Peggy Riedinger (chief judge), Jeff Baker (Chief Judge assistant), Yuichi Takagi, Gordon Penner, and Matthew Smith who spent every flight out on the judges line; either as a scoring judge or an assistant judge. Mark Matticola served as a Chief Judge, and Jim Bourke, Keith Doyne, Dave Watson and Ben Harvey served as scoring judges.
Thank you to all of the competitors who served as assistant judges and recorders as well as score runners.
One of the first people the competitors see is the registrar. Thank you to Amber Lejcar for greeting all the pilots and keeping the paperwork straight as well as acting in her regular work capacity as the business office manager at the airport. She made juggling the daily business and the contest look easy.
Also in the office you find the scoring director. I have been privileged to serve in this capacity for six years for the Estrella Classic. This was the best contest over the six years for me, first because the contest was so well organized and second there were no technical difficulties to overcome. Whenever you are working with technology, either the computer or the printer will give you fits - not so this time!
Although not “volunteers” the Arizona Soaring employees who flew the tow planes were absolutely superb! Thank you for your dedication to towing 90 flights in a professional and safe manner.
The Food
One of my favorite aspects of this contest was the food. It was homemade by the lovely hands of Cierra Grundelach- wife of tow pilot Croy. There is something about the smell of cooking food right there in the hangar that appeals to the senses and gives the meal the feel of home or a family barbeque. Everything was fabulously delicious; a different meal each day - tacos, hamburgers and barbeque sandwiches. She also baked cookies! Yum.
The Sponsors
To help out with the expenses of trophies, food, t-shirts and office supplies, sponsors graciously support the contest through monetary or product contributions. The Estrella Classic organizers would like to thank, Knife Edge Software, Softie Parachute, Meryl Lynch, Frank Eckert and LIFT Aviation.
Last thoughts
Many of you reading this will be getting ready for a contest in your area soon. Or you may be wondering about dipping your toe in for the first time. Whether you are a competitor or a volunteer please consider making it to a contest. Flying is the main attraction, and if you enjoy aviation to any degree at all, well, it is fun! In most cases, it is also tasty - I have been to very few contests where you couldn’t get a great meal, whether it is homemade, from a favorite local restaurant or from the local food truck vendor.
The aerobatic community is just that - a community of like-minded people. We watch out for each other, encourage and support. It is a wonderful feeling to find “your people”. The IAC can be your family too - give it a try.
BIO
Lorrie Penner has been involved in the IAC for over 20 years as a volunteer locally and nationally. She was the IAC executive director for three years and the editor of Sport Aerobatics and In the Loop for nearly 6 years. She currently serves her local chapter in Ohio as their Treasurer and volunteers at the Ohio Aerobatic Open annually.
Lorrie has a PPL for power and glider aircraft.
