Over the past few weeks you've had a chance to visit the web and preview Oshkosh: The Spirit of Aviation, EAA's beautiful new video about AirVenture Oshkosh. Now you can see the complete, 17-minute version, which is available for viewing or download through the AirVenture website. Stream it online through EAA's embedded video player or download to your own system and view whenever you'd like. Several resolutions are available, allowing you to choose the most compatible version for your system, including portable players…
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February 8, 2008
The 2007 Collegiate National Champion in the IAC Collegiate Program is Andrew Bochnovic from Southern Illinois University (SIU) with a three-contest percentage of 86.87%.
The race for the second and third place individual awards was close with Jacob Allen from the United States Air Force Academy (USAFA) claiming second with 79.744% and Greg Gilmer of the University of North Dakota (UND) coming in third with 79.743%. Winners receive Eagle Individual Collegiate Awards sponsored by American Champion Aircraft Corporation.
The 2007 Collegiate National Championship Team Award once…
Read moreFebruary 8, 2008
The final results are in for the 2007 regional series competition. Forty-two (42) competitors out of 65 total series participants received awards. Fifty-two (52) pilots successfully competed at the 3 or more contests needed to qualify for the series in their respective region.
The regional series began in 2002. To be eligible, a pilot must fly at least three contests during the year (two for the Northwest Region due to unavailability of contest sites) and one contest may include the U.S. Nationals. If more than three contests are flown, the highest scores are used to arrive at each…
Read moreFebruary 8, 2008
Joe Haycraft of Naples, Florida, is the winner of the 2007 L. Paul Soucy Award with a three-contest score of 89.87%. The next closest challenger received 86.71%.
To be eligible for the trophy, a pilot must have flown at least three contests during the season, one of which is the U.S. National Aerobatic Championships. The best two contests flown plus the pilot’s U.S. Nationals scores are used to determine the ranking.
The award was conceived and donated by L. Paul Soucy of Louisville, Kentucky, one of the IAC’s first members and a board director who passed away in 1971. The…
Read moreJanuary 28, 2008
The International Aerobatic Club and EAA are working directly with FAA to obtain a categorical exclusion from overly burdensome environmental impact requirements that are currently proposed when pilots apply for an aerobatic practice area box. This development came during the annual EAA/FAA Recreational Aviation Summit on Jan. 23 at the EAA Aviation Center in Oshkosh.
Vicki Cruse, IAC president, represented the organization during the session. This annual meeting, unmatched anywhere else in the aviation community, included key aviation issues such as general aviation safety,…
Read moreJanuary 11, 2008
Though aviation authorities in many countries have established formal certification criteria for aerobatic instructors, the U.S. Federal Aviation Regulations (FARs) contain no provisions for a specific “aerobatic instructor” rating or certification. Given the success of industry-based programs such as the NAFI Master Instructor Program and the ICAS Aerobatic Competency Evaluation (ACE) Program, the National Association of Flight Instructors and the International Aerobatic Club (IAC) have jointly developed a broad — and strictly voluntary — aerobatic instruction designation program.
… Read moreNovember 15, 2007
Debby Rihn-Harvey is an aerobatic competency evaluator for the International Council of Air Shows and an FAA designated pilot examiner who administers flight exams for private pilot through airline transport pilot certificates. In September 2006, Debby became the highest-ranked overall aerobatic competitor in the United States. She has been the women’s National Champion nine times and is the longest standing member of the U.S. Unlimited Aerobatic Team. During her 25 years with the team, Debby has represented the United States in 13 World Aerobatic Championships in North…
Read moreNovember 15, 2007
William “Bill” Kershner spent a lifetime teaching the art of flying, particularly aerobatics. He was an educator and ardent promoter of aerobatics and personally taught aerobatics to more than 600 pilots. He was a guest lecturer at the University of Tennessee Space Institute in Tullahoma, Tennessee, lectured and demonstrated spins to engineers and test pilots at the U.S. Naval Test Pilot School in Patuxent, Maryland, and lectured at the FBI Academy. His training manuals, including The Student Pilot’s Flight Manual and The Basic Aerobatic Manual, have sold more than 1.3 million copies. The…
Read moreOctober 7, 2007
The FAA has approved an exemption requested by EAA on behalf of the International Aerobatic Club allowing IAC pilots greater operating flexibility when making practice and competition flights at contest sites, and removing a requirement that the aircraft flight manual be in the plane when practicing or competing.
A two-year exemption (through September 30, 2009) was granted allowing IAC pilots participating in IAC-sanctioned aerobatic competitions to carry less than the VFR fuel requirements under certain conditions. Fuel…
Read moreMarch 6, 2007
EAA and IAC are continuing their work on the complex issues surrounding waivered aerobatic training and competition areas with FAA officials. During a meeting last week, discussion centered on two areas: Policy surrounding application for the issuance and approval of waivered aerobatic practice areas and contest boxes (known as Chapter 48 of the FAA Inspector’s Handbook), and the Environmental Information Document (EID), which will figure prominently in those applications. Attending were Doug Macnair, EAA vice president of government relations, and Vicki Cruse, president of the…
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