Latest News

Government Relations - special provisions in contest waivers being reviewed

September 9, 2022

This past week there was much discussion online regarding the surprising decision that the Riverside, California FSDO personnel would be performing ramp checks for inspector training during the Redlands Aerobatic Contest, hosted by IAC chapter 26. The FSDO also interpreted verbiage in the Certificate of Waiver to include verifying Flight Review currency at the contest. 

The IAC Government Relations Chair John Smutny had numerous discussions with the Riverside FSDO and the regional representative of the FAA's National Aviation Events Program prior to the contest to clarify the...

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Contest Director Statement - Boundaries at US Nationals

August 31, 2022

BOUNDARY JUDGES AT THE 2022 U.S. NATIONALS

In a revision to our earlier announcement to not have boundary judges in place at the 2022 U.S. National Aerobatic Championships, we will now plan to have the equipment, communications, and transportation available to have the boundaries judged and guarded. The influx of pre-registrations in recent days has caused me and our key officials to re-evaluate the situation and to put what we will need in place for the competition.

However, the use of boundary judges will still depend on adequate volunteers for our week-long event with...

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Hall of Fame recipient announced

August 23, 2022

Maurice Hunter “Pappy” Spinks has been selected by the IAC Hall of Fame committee and approved by the IAC board of directors to be inducted into the International Aerobatic Hall of Fame for 2022. The official ceremonies will take place at the EAA Aviation Museum in Oshkosh, Wisconsin on November 10, 2022.

Pappy was the president of the Aerobatic Club of America, an active competitor and the sponsor of the U.S. National Aerobatic Championships in 1967-71 at the Oak Grove Airport in Texas. The move from Reno, Nevada to Oak Grove, helped increase the participation of the national...

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U.S. Aerobatic Glider teams in Issoudin France

August 20, 2022

On August 15, Jason Stephens (Unlimited), Shad Coulson, Mallory Lynch and Joe Gerner (Advanced) took the long journey to Issoudin, France for the 2022 World Glider Aerobatic Championships. The first couple of days were spent acclimating to the new time zone and enjoying some of the rich history and cuisine that France has to offer. They spent the next couple of days in practice. The first official day was August 18.

Jason flew 7th out of 17 Unlimited competitors in an MDM-1 Fox. The Free Known program was flown in the morning and when the category finished he landed in 11th place....

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U.S. Unlimited Aerobatic Team wins Bronze at WAC 2022

August 10, 2022

Congratulations to the U.S. Unlimited Aerobatic Team on earning a third-place bronze overall at WAC 2022. Rob Holland, Jeff Boerboon and Craig Gifford’s scores were added up for Team USA to land them on the podium.

Rob turned in solid performances on the Free Known and the second Free Unknowns earning a silver medal in each flight. Jeff stayed in the top 12 on three of his flights coming in at 26th on the third Free Unknown. Craig Gifford had a slow start in 41st place on his first flight, but consistently moved up each flight and finished the third Free ...

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John Gaillard Gone West

August 7, 2022

Dear (CIVA) Delegates, friends and all aerobatic followers,

I am very sorry to tell you that our friend and colleague John Gaillard passed away peacefully at home yesterday afternoon. John had been strongly involved in the aerobatic sports movement in South Africa for a great many years, where his passing will be deeply mourned. He was also currently a CIVA Vice President, had previously chaired our Judging Committee for some years, was Chief Judge at a good number of CIVA aerobatic championships at all levels, and without doubt has been instrumental in guiding a wide...

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