A quick update on what’s happening within the community that is the Australian Aerobatic Club.
President’s Address Winter 2016
2016 SA Champs
2016 Qld Champs
Training Camps
Poland WAACs
Website Update
NSW States and Nationals Update
New Logo Competition
Apologies for the lack of recent updating from within the Australian Aerobatic Community, despite the fact that , as they say in the classics, “its all happening !”
SA Champs 2016
Well done to the South Australians who, in early April, put on another excellent Championship, which is why their competition continues to grow year on year. 18 pilots registered, with the Intermediate (CIVA) dominating proceedings with 7 pilots keen to get a taste for international style aerobatic competition.
Congratulations to Simon Stone who headed up a great team that prepared Murray Bridge to perfection. The clubhouse became a haven for hungry competitors, officials and support crew. Di Stone’s catering is legendary amongst the Aerobatic Community and is a significant reason why the SA Champs are so popular.
Also legendary is the Murray River accommodation experience, organised by Jesse Jury. Extra-curricular activities not only included the usual Water Skiing Master Class under the tutelage of Professor Dave Campbell, but also some more sedate and leisurely boating in the form of Lyndon Tretheway’s Putt Putt. Having the overwhelming majority of participants together in such an idyllic location makes for a seriously social experience, but one that probably comes at the cost of the quality of flying the next day!!
Graduate – Dave Campbell
Sportsman – John Buttrose
Intermediate AUS – Brendan Reidy
Intermediate CIVA – James Hart
Advanced – Cass Moller
Unlimited – Jesse Jury
Also great to see was another dedicated judging line that provided Judging Ratings Indices ( a statistical measure of judging quality and consistency) much better than ratings required of CIVA international judges.
Jeremy Miller (Chief)
Simon Stone
Geoff Johnston
David Clemence
Competition flights were processed safely and efficiently due to the flexibility and ease of running judging lines that do not need to be changed over. This is paramount now given the increased complexity and number of flights required at competitions flown under the AAC Regulations. It also means that we can end the day’s flying earlier for social purposes, or even consider weather breaks in cases of extreme temperatures.
Finally I would like to acknowledge the dedication of Jeremy Miller ( Chief Judge, Pilot briefings, Co-scorer ) who drove all the way from Broken Hill just for the pleasure of bossing around aerobatic pilots!!
And finally, finally, Pete Townsend and Cass Moller’s extreme dedication to our sport in Australia is an inspiration to young AND old. I cannot remember a time when their wasn’t at least one of them attending a comp, whether it be Watts Bridge or Murrayfield, Tocumwal, Narromine, Temora or Murray Bridge. Their input and leadership is greatly valued, as it was over the SA Champs.
Queensland State Aerobatic Championships 2016.
Unfortunately I was unable to make the the big trek up North but it was great to see the Registration of 15 pilots, with strong Advanced and Sportsman fields. Contest Director Stephen Hudson again did a great job in getting through all the flights in a short format which saw the first competition flight scheduled for midday on Friday, and the finish of the comp by Sunday afternoon. No doubt the Chief Judge Greg Diedrich was a very busy man on the line, with a lot of paperwork to get through.
Many thanks to all the administrators, especially to Stephen Hudson, for putting on another successful and well organised Queensland Championships at the picturesque Watts Bridge Airfield. Keep an eye out for next year’s date and pop it in your diary!!
Training Camps.
Since the introduction of three free unknowns in the CIVA categories, the workload for competitors has become almost overwhelming, significantly reducing the time available for socialising and bonding. One way of combating this phenomenon is to organise a training camp! You may even improve your flying if all goes to plan.
Gold Stars to the SA chapter for organising a Rob Noonan Training Camp at Murray Bridge back in June. Well done also to Jesse Jury who managed some how, to get ex World Champion Francois Le Vot out to Temora in July. And in the days prior to the NSW Champs, the NSW chapter are running a two day camp with Aerobatic Legend and author Alan Cassidy ( Contact NSW President Anthony Crichton Brown for details – anthonycb@westnet.com.au )
As we all know, the Unlimited and Advanced pilots can be very precious at times, and have the potential to overwhelm the sanity of any coach conducting a camp, so from the 29th of September, Paul Andronicou is conducting a 4 day camp at Tocumwal catering for the aspiring intermediate to aspiring advanced level. Paul is one of the most experienced Unlimited aerobatic pilots in Australia, both domestically and internationally. He is passionate about improving the quality of Australian competition aerobatics, and with his recent coaching by Coco Bessier, the legendary Coach of the French Team, and Ex World Champ Francois Le Vot, Paul is in a unique position to provide some of the best training available in this country. Click here for more details of the Tocumwal Aerobatic Camp 2016, but be quick as there are only 6 places available which can only be secured by a Direct Deposit Transfer.
World Advanced Aerobatic Championships.
Hot off the press is that the Chief Judge of Australia, Jeremy Miller, has just returned from official assisting judging duties at the WAACs in Poland. Jeremy was assisting our favourite international judge Ladslow Liszkay (One of the two CIVA judges we had at our last Nationals).
Not only has Jeremy strengthened the AAC’s relationship with CIVA, he has also been asked to be an official judge at next year’s WACs in South Africa. Go Jeremy !!! This will be the first time we have had an Australian international judge for at least 15 years or so. For Jeremy’s full report, click here.
Website Update.
Thanks again to Dave Knowles, our website continues to get better and better. This year’s Vics and SA champs saw the use of Competitors Document Uploads. This has meant that pilots no longer have to repeatedly send in all the documentation required for competition entry. All those documents will always be available to the Contest Secretary, enabling the overwhelming majority of the registration process to be done prior to the comp. Pilots will need to ensure that any time-sensitive documents are up to date PRIOR to entering any competition. Dave and Cass Moller continue to work on streamlining the whole competition entry process, with online entry forms coming soon.
At time of writing, the Judges Home Study Course is undergoing an extensive update, thanks to Jeremy Miller and Dave Knowles. Unfortunately this has meant a temporary unavailability of the course on the Website, which hopefully won’t last very long.
Upcoming Events.
We are only a few weeks out from the 2016 NSW Aerobatic Championships at Narromine Sept 15-18. Rumour has it that the turnout will be good, given the engagement of Jagdgeschwader 1 headed by Baron Manfred von Richthofen. http://www.redbaron.com.au
Info and entry forms are available here.
Thanks to the organising team Anthony Crichton Browne, Cass Moller, Brad Mulcahy and Peter Townsend, who are certain to run a slick and professional competition.
A dedicated judging line will again be a feature of this year’s Nationals. Quintin Hawthorne and Ladslow Liszkay, the two international CIVA judges from South Africa, loved it so much last year, that they are coming back again for more Aussie Pilot abuse! In-fact all of last year’s judging line up are set to return ( Jeremy Miller – Vic Grant Benns – NZ, Simon Stone – SA ). Two fresh faces that are set to turn up on the judging panel are Captain Phyllis Unicomb and Yours Truly! If any competitors have any concerns regarding the Judging Panel for the 2016 Australian Aerobatic Championships please contact; http://www.crimestoppers.com.au
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New Logo for the AAC
The hard working National Committee has decided that it is time that the AAC updates its logo. Trent Stewart is heading up this initiative and is running a competition for the best design as voted by the committee. The winner gets free entry to the 2016 Nationals OR free 2017 Full AAC membership including State Chapter.
