by Taylor Mershon, IAC 442603
Now that the dust has settled from the high-energy excitement of the 2025 U.S. National Aerobatic Championships, the IAC would like to extend a huge ‘Thank You!” to the aerobatic community who gathered in Salina, KS, to volunteer and collaborate with one another to make this contest a reality—and a great success! Throughout the past year, Contest Director Shad Coulson has poured an incredible amount of time and energy into the creation of this event’s positive, safety-focused, and community-oriented atmosphere. Hundreds of IAC volunteers filled the vital roles that ensured the event could proceed with the smoothness of a well-oiled machine, and lots of volunteers were quite new to the sport, so we also saw a glimpse of the landscape of outstanding people who may comprise the IAC’s future.
There were several “first” or “first in X amount of times” achievements made at this year’s nationals, including the first new national champion of the Unlimited category (and of the 4-Minute free) in over 13 years, Jeff Boerboon. Jeff flew his heart out in his Extra 330SC, securing his spot as team captain of the U.S. National Aerobatic Unlimited Team. The pilots who competed alongside him and also made the U.S. National Aerobatic Unlimited Team are: Britt Lincoln, A.J. Wilder, Craig Gifford, Ekaterina Volkova, Aaron McCartan, Marco Bouw, Johnny Wacker, Francis Barros, and Goody Thomas. This team will compete for the U.S.A. in the 2026 World Aerobatic Championships in Batavia, New York, United States.
The 2025-26 U.S. Unlimited Aerobatic Team, photo by Lorrie Penner.
The second place Unlimited Category aerobatic champion is Craig Gifford, followed by 3rd place A.J. Wilder. For the 4-Minute Free, after Jeff Boerboon in first with a score of 83.40% came Craig Gifford in second with 80.10% and then Yuichi Takagi in third with 79.60%. The Advanced category winners of the competition were Martin Flournoy in first with 76.39%, Don Hartmann in second with 78.68%, and Michael Lents in third with 75.09%. You can check out all the scores here and (for gliders) here.
"The Big Hangar", Photo by Taylor L. Mershon
