Great news for senior aerobatic pilots!

Calling all mature, but highly experienced seniors in our club and perhaps also those slightly more wrinkled but immensely talented and capable jockeys who are not necessarily part of the regular competition scene!

We have a new official class!

“The Bald Eagles”

Let long in the tooth, become short in the tooth!
Put some lead back in your pencil!
Come show off what you’re made of!
Kick ass of the other ballies!
Let geriatric become energetic!

But most importantly come and have fun!

The rules are simple, so here's the lowdown;

Criteria for entry:
• Must be 55 years old or over on the day of the contest
The Format:
Should facilitate minimum preparation time (for the pilot) thereby maximising mentoring
time on the day:
• Only one Free sequence, flown twice at Regionals/three times at Nationals
• Best flight only to count.
The Sequence:
It should be possible to design the sequence so that, for an Unlimited pilot:
• It is easy on the body (compared to legacy Unlimited)
• It can be flown in an Extra 300L or similar on the highveld
The Rules:
The rules governing the design of the sequence are proposed as follows:
1. Maximum 380K
2. 10 figures
3. No repetitions of catalogue reference numbers
4. At least one spin
5. At least three flick rolls
a. At least one of which must be vertical up
b. At least one of which must be negative


These Rules are also available in “The Briefing Room” on our website.

A personal account of my participation at the World Advanced Aerobatic Championships held at Jean Airport, Las Vegas, USA from 24 October to 4 November 2023.

By Tristan Eeles

About 12 months ago, my dad (Barrie Eeles) came to me and said we should go to the World Champs. As a young aerobatic pilot, I thought this would be fantastic. I was all in!! Little did I know what kind of an adventure I was about to embark on…

First off, I needed to make the team selection which would be at Nationals. At this point the training began to ramp up… with many weekends spent at Vereeniging, it all paid off. I was selected to represent South Africa at WAAC 2023. To be chosen was an honour and privilege!

Without any rest, the focus shifted straight to WAAC! But before anything, we needed an aircraft to fly in the US. Finding someone to rent an Extra 330SC is not a simple task to say the least. Fortunately, with my dad’s many past World Championship experiences and friends made, he got in contact with USA Unlimited Aerobatic pilot, Craig Gifford who agreed to kindly let us fly his Extra 330SC.

Once our aircraft was secured, we arranged Visa’s, FAA License Validations, Flight Tickets, Accommodation and Car Rental. All the paperwork was now in order, entries were submitted and it was at this point I realized there was no turning back. I knew I had to now put my head down and make the most of this opportunity!

This meant practice and training! We had many training camps all over the country with contests in between. I thought this worked really well as the contests could confirm if the training was working or not. A big thanks must go to Quintin Hawthorne, Johnnie Smith and Patrick Davidson for your time spent on the judging line and all your assistance as well as to Ricky Fouche for all the video work.

Before I knew it, it was time to pack our bags and jump on a plane to the USA. After a long 36-hour haul, we arrived in Las Vegas. We were eager to get to the airfield, start flying and make friends with the aircraft we would be flying. On arrival at Jean airfield, my dad and I looked at each other as if to say ‘are you sure we at the right place?’. Not a hangar in sight, a few aerobatic aircraft on the apron and a skydive aircraft on final approach. Once we saw our yellow Extra 330SC, we knew it had to be the right place.

    
Unfortunately, due to FAA delays with regards to our license validations, we lost two days of training. Once our validations came through, the time had come to see what Craig’s plane would be like but the aircraft was perfect apart from ‘very’ heavy ailerons. With some small tweaks to the spades, it felt better and we felt more comfortable.

All we needed now was our final team mate, Elton Bondi. Elton had quite a venturesome ferry from Texas to Las Vegas which I will leave for him to tell… none the less it was great to finally have Elton with us!
 

After a few days of training and familiarising ourselves with the surrounds of the aerobatic box, the contest was declared open at the opening ceremony. It was here where I was awarded my green blazer. A very special moment indeed, especially that my dad presented it to me!

 
The first flight was probably one I will never forget. The emotions were inexplicable -the nerves, the excitement and the thrill of wanting to perform. I think this is the feeling that brings you back!

Between the pilots, coaches and team managers, the amount of aerobatic experience at one aerodrome is not quite comprehensible. It is interesting to see how each team operates and how each pilot’s preparation is so different. I learnt a lot and came back with information to work with and practice. All different aspects, both from judges and pilots.

It was an honour to fly alongside my dad and Elton, two gentlemen who are experienced and well known on the world stage. This helped me tremendously and played a massive part with less to worry about as they know exactly how the World Champs operates.

The results for each flight were not quite what I was expecting and I think I speak on behalf of the team in that regard. Overall, I was happy with my final standing as well as making it into the final 25 pilots, selected from the field of 58, in order to fly the final Free Unknown program.

My experience of a World Championship was fantastic and it was even better that I got to fly alongside my dad, coach and mentor.
 
Elton participated in a rented Extra 330LX while my dad and I shared the Extra 330SC.

Final placings were;

23rd Overall. Barrie Eeles
24th Overall. Tristan Eeles
33rd Overall. Elton Bondi

5th Overall. Team SA

Detailed results can be viewed at www.civa-results.com

I look forward to the next one!

The third edition of the Sky Grand Prix was held at Virginia airport, Durban on the 16 June 2023.

Read Brian Spurr's article published in Pilots Post for an excellent account of the successful event.

Annual CIVA Conference report back

After the past few years of virtual conferences, this year’s annual CIVA Plenary conference was held in Lausanne Switzerland over the weekend of 12-13 November 2022, the first in person meeting since the COVID pandemic. Some 25 nations were represented. These meetings usually begin on a Friday with a meeting of the CIVA Bureau, the executive core of the organisation, followed by a semi formal dinner in the evening. Non-Bureau delegates were hosted to an excursion to the Lausanne Air Museum that afternoon. The conference sessions on Saturday and Sunday had to be extended due to some robust discussions over issues affecting CIVA contests, finishing well after the scheduled closure.

So, the real discussions kicked off on the Saturday morning with a detailed briefing from the FAI Secretary General Markus Haggeney who reported on the status of the significant changes made at the FAI over recent years. There had been a major overhaul of management a few years back after experiencing financial haemorrhaging and it seems that the interventions have borne positive results.
It was clear from the reports and debates that aerobatic activities have been radically affected by
- The Russia – Ukraine war
- COVID restrictions
- The economy

Some of the decisions taken at the conference include;

1. Free Known figures for 2023, with the following sets being selected;

2. The relegation of the Yak52 competition format to a Category 2 event. International contests will continue to be held in the Intermediate category though but expect some changes to the pilot qualification and aircraft use.

3. Future Contests
- The bid from Italy to host European Aerobatic Championship 2023 was provisionally accepted. The likely venue is Pavullo from 8-16 September 2023.
- The revised bid from Lithuania to host the World Glider Aerobatic Championship 2023 was rejected. Poland have indicated that they are willing to consider hosting the event. Dates and venue to be confirmed.
- The revised bid from the USA to host World Advanced Aerobatic Championship was accepted. Venue to be Las Vegas with revised dates 24 October 2023 to 4 November 2023.
- A bid from Romania to host the European Intermediate Championships 2023 is pending approval by the bureau. Venue is Deva with dates to be advised.

4. Special Events

Approval given to South Africa to host the SkyGP in Durban in June 2023.

5. Rule changes

- a. Additional figures permitted for Unlimited programmes 2,3 and 4;
7.4.2.3
7.4.2.4

b. two flick rolls per figure will be permitted, for maximum two figures for Unlimited programmes 2, 3 and 4.
c. Gender distinction in Unlimited power aerobatic programmes to be removed.
d. The Chief Judge now has the power to veto any video review, and confirm a HZ if necessary.
e. The score grade of a PZ has been discontinued. A revision of the judging criteria will need to be done to replace decisions where a PZ was previously applicable.

6. Election of CIVA officials

President: Nick Buckenham
Vice presidents: Matthieu Roulet FRA
Hanspeter Rohner SWI
Tamas Abranyi HUN
Jerzy Makula POL
Rules Committee: Mattieu Roulet (Chair), Hanspeter Rohner, Pierre Varloteaux, Phillipe Kuchler, Pekka Havbrandt, Mike Heuer.
Judging Committee: Pierre Varloteaux (Chair), Quintin Hawthorne, Steve Todd, Mike Gallaway, Mady Delcroix, Alex Moore.
Glider: Pekka Havbrandt (Chair), Mady Delcroix, Ferenc Toth, Phillipe Kuchler, Jerzy Makula, Phillipe Hilker.
ICT: Ringo Massa (Chair), Eduardo Bolster , Vladimir Machula, Chris Sills, Karri Kempi.
Catalogue: Jim Bourke (Chair), Nick Buckenham, Leone Gambardella, Aarron Deliu, Eduardo Bolster, Cyrial Talon.

7. Election of Championship Officials

1. WGAC – Poland
Jury: Phillipe Kuchler, Mady Delcroix, Ferenc Toth
Chief Judge: Vladimir Machula
2. WAAC – USA
Jury: Mike Heuer, Tamas Abranyi, Pierre Varloteaux.
Chief Judge: Nick Buckenham
3. EAC – Italy
Jury: Pierre Varloteaux, Pekka Havbrandt, Steve Todd.
Chief Judge: Nick Buckenham
4. EIAC – Romania
Jury: Jerzy Makula, Guy Auger, Quintin Hawthorne
Chief Judge: Nick Buckenham

Next Plenary meeting: Krakow, Poland in November 2023
Quintin Hawthorne
16 November 2022

'A big tree has fallen'  John Gaillard 1945 - 2022

If you have attended an Aerobatic championship in South Africa, or indeed even a world championship at any time from 1970s right up to this year, then chances are that you would have seen, and certainty noticed John Louis Gaillard.   

If you were a competitor, a judge, an official, or an enthusiastic spectator taking part in, or simply enjoying a championship then you would have experienced much of the broad, colourful and larger than life kaleidoscope that was the legendary John Gaillard.   

There is always a palpable tension before any contest, this is experienced by both rookie competitors and seasoned veterans.  John once a competitor himself understood this natural anxiety, and true to his empathetic warm self would always been seen before a contest sharing a joke over coffee, making contestants and novice judges alike feel at ease, he worked tirelessly to recruit and train a new generation of judges.   His empathetic, generous, and developmental spirit will be missed.

And when the formalities began John was always the consummate professional.   His pre-contest briefings were always thorough, never once did he slacken whether it be a world championship or a small local contest, he always maintained a high standard.  Safety was a responsibly that he took very seriously.  On the judging line he saved many a pilot from a hazard, by calling them to break-off when an unwary aircraft flew through the aerobatic box unannounced.   His guardianship will be missed.

As a Contest Director, a Judge, a Jury member and as the Chief Judge a role he held both in South Africa and Internationally for many years, John developed a reputation as a knowledgeable, firm and fair official.  Never scared to make a controversial call once he was certain of the facts.  His professionalism and fair judgment will be missed.

And after the days flying John was always found sharing a drink and a story with competitors, officials, and enthusiasts, always with his trademark mischievous grin and a twinkle in his eye.  His warm humour, camaraderie and friendship will be missed.

But there was more to John.  Many who served with him on the Sport Aerobatic Club committee will remember him as the eternal optimist, he loved the club, and was dedicated to it.  In both tough times and in good, John was the guiding light and the foundation that lifted the club when it needed lifting and encouraged us to achieve things, we never thought possible.  John was a dreamer who achieved great things and encouraged those around him to do the same. John chaired the South African Sport Aerobatic club for several years.

In 2018 John was awarded the highly coveted Lifetime Achievement award by the Aeroclub of South Africa.   Part of his citation is quoted below; it summarises his incomparable contribution to aerobatics.

John Louis Gaillard had been involved with aerobatics since the 1970s.

He initially competed in a Stampe Biplane, and was sufficiently fortunate (and skilful) to have survived a catastrophic engine failure after take-off at the old Baragwaneth aerodrome.  Not deterred by this experience, John continued to play a very active and leading role in aerobatics for the rest of his life.   

By the 1980s John had captained the South Africa team at several world championships.  He also became very proficient at judging local contests and was soon invited to judge at international events.   

A particularly testing moment occurred internationally when John called a zero score for an incorrectly flown figure by a very popular leading pilot, none of the other judges saw the error and hence all scored the pilot highly, this made John even more unpopular.  
Even under significant pressure as still novice judge back then, John refused to back down on what he saw to be true.  A subsequent review of the video recording proved John to be correct.   From this moment Johns reputation as a fair and precise judge grew enormously and he was soon appointed as the World Chief Judge for many world Championships.  A post he was again asked to hold at the 2022 World Aerobatic Championships in Poland.   His declining health meant he had to turn down this coveted role only a few weeks ago.

So well regarded was John across the world, that he is often invited to be the Chief Judge at the National Championships of other countries, as well as to train their judges.  John judged aerobatics across North America, South America, throughout West, Central and Eastern Europe, China, Australia and of course in South Africa.

In addition to judging, John was also the South African representative on CIVA, the FAI body responsible for overseeing aerobatics internationally.  At the time of passing, he was world Vice Chairman.

John pioneered two world firsts in aerobatics, both of which have gone on to become popular fixed events in the international aerobatics calendar.  Prior to 1995, international aerobatic competition only occurred at the Unlimited level.  John pioneered the very first international contest at the Advanced level which was hosted in Cape Town in 1995.  The Advanced class have been competing internationally ever since.   

And again in 2013 John again pioneered the first international contest at the Intermediate level which was again organised by John and successfully hosted in Mossel Bay.   To top this all John was the initiator and Contest Director at the successful 2017 Unlimited Aerobatics Contest held last year in Malelane, a first for South Africa.

Despite his achievements and international recognition, John always remained humble, and always enjoyed the sport for its own sake.   Up until a few weeks before his passing he could be found judging and enjoying small local contests, as well as coaching junior pilots.   

John participated in Sport Aerobatics from all perspectives, as a competing pilot, as a judge, as an organiser and as an official.  He is probably one of the most recognised and long-standing names in aerobatics, and there can be no doubt that a large part of the success and stature that South Africa has achieved in world aerobatics can be accredited to John Gaillard.   

Never scared of confrontation, John was respected for his research, foresight, fairness and wisdom in addressing areas that others steer clear of and welcome his input.

We offer our sincere condolences to his family and to Jenny, and we remind her that she will always have a large extended family at the Sport Aerobatic Club, and there will always be a place for her as an official at our contests in future.

We will all miss John greatly and we will remember him with much fondness, and we will no doubt speak well of him very often.   

None of us will forget his voice on the radio

“this is the Chief Judge, change frequency to 129.3 and call - over”

Aerobatic Box is now yours Chief Judge, have a good flight and don’t forget to wag your wings …Over!

Nationals 2022 held at Wings Park, East London.

All I can say is WOW! What a great event!
I spent the last few months agonizing over how to handle the decisions involved in hosting the nationals; should we postpone, should we push through, what if it is a total disaster in terms of attendance, etc. Exhausting! Anyway, consensus was reached and thankfully we decided to hold nationals regardless!
Most of us wanted to arrive on Tuesday but the weather was terrible so we decided to leave on Wednesday. I took off from Klerksdorp in freezing weather an hour and a half late as a result of carb icing. I first thought the fuel we put in was off, so we drained it all out and refilled with fresh fuel. On start I realized that it must have been carb icing because the motor ran perfectly. The carb iced up whilst idling with the temp sitting at minus 3 degrees C!

Read more: Nationals 2022 held at Wings Park

The year 2021 will go down in history as another year affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. Nothing is as we knew it. Aerobatics has not been immune to the erratic social changes associated with the lockdowns and protocols brought about by the pandemic. Our aerobatic calendar was prepared with a whole lot of ‘maybe’ and all subject to change, much like our lives. So many amongst us have lost their jobs and have had to deal with illness and a lot of negativity. Traditionally, the national aerobatic championships is an event that we all look forward to, where we all get together and share in the competitive camaraderie of the sport. So, this year’s event scheduled for Bloemfontein was pencilled in and not a certainty until just a few weeks to go. Unfortunately factors other than the pandemic forced the committee to change the venue to Phalaborwa with a strong bid from their local pilot Ingmar Bezuidenhout.

Read more: Nationals 2021 - Normal during a not so normal time

A new, much larger committee was elected at the recent AGM which was held virtually as a result of the Covid-19 restrictions. Traditionally the AGM would have been held at the Nationals, which this year has had to be postponed due to the pandemic, but it was decided to go ahead with the meeting on the originally scheduled date.
Cliff Lotter was the unanimous choice to fulfill the role of Chairman and Dusty Hughes elected  to be his wingman. Retaining their previous portfolios was Annie Boon (Secretary), Quintin Hawthorne (Treasurer), and John Gaillard (CIVA Rep) while John Gaillard decided to step down as Chief Judge and Quintin Hawthorne elected to replace him. All provincial regions are now represented with a selection of enthusiastic club members.

Outgoing chair Gary Glasson had been faced with some unprecedented challenges during his tenure, all of which he managed successfully with the support of his deputy Eugene du Preez. The new CAA requirements for recreational aviation organisations after the demise of RAASA placed a huge emphasis on reviewing the way SAC managed its affairs. Gary spent an enormous amount of time attending to this task. He has earned some time off to practice for the Nationals.

Good luck to the 2021 committee!

The Aero Club of South Africa Centenary celebrations, due to be held in 2020, had to be postponed to 2021 as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. It was hosted by the Middelburg Flying Club and held in conjunction with the annual EAA Convention resulting in a great turnout of aircraft and airmen. While it was well supported by most of the recreational aviation sections, the Sport Aerobatic Club of South Africa dominated proceedings with a selection of aerobatic aircraft, formations and demonstrations. Read the reports published by Pilots Post and Flightline Weekly.

 2020 will forever be remembered for the impact that the coronavirus pandemic had on the world. The virus, labelled Covid-19, spread quickly and reached every corner of the globe by March when almost every country closed their borders in an attempt to stem its tide. Only world wars and plagues had resulted in universal ‘lockdowns’ of this ilk in the past, most of which were followed by years of protracted economic hardship. Locally, the airline and tourism economies were decimated, resulting in wholesale job losses.

The restrictions on international travel forced all the scheduled international aerobatic championships to be postponed to 2021 while there was only limited aerobatic competition in some countries during the lockdown. Despite being postponed several times from the originally scheduled dates in June, the lockdown restrictions were lifted sufficiently to allow for the South African Nationals to be held at the end of September albeit with required health protocols in place. Not many people had believed that any sporting activity would take place during the remainder of the year though, so the news was a relief to most aerobatic pilots.

Read more: 2020 National Championships