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The University of North Dakota will become the recipient of the 2008 Collegiate Program Traveling Team Trophy, which found its home at Southern Illinois University for the last two years. Congratulations also go out to Charlie Wilkinson of Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University – Daytona Beach for his first place win in the individual category.

Team rankings were as follows: 1) University of North Dakota with 86.74%, 2) Embry Riddle -Daytona Beach with 83.10%, and 3) United States Air Force Academy with 82.23%. Qualified collegiate teams must have at least three (3) pilots competing…

Aresti Systems of Spain has announced the availability of the 2009 Aresti System Aerobatic Catalogs in Power and Glider versions. This year introduces a new, less expensive version of the catalog that is good for the 2009 year only. This catalog, referred to as the Anticrisis Catalog, and is available for $20. The Traditional Catalog is the notebook-style version, in which the pages are replaceable each year with revisions provided by Aresti Systems. The 2009 Traditional Catalog is available for $57 and the 2009 update for the Traditional Version only is $10 (not needed if you purchase…

The IAC Board of Directors has elected Doug Sowder, of Spokane, Washington, as the interim Director to fill the vacancy left by the untimely death of Erica Simpson. Doug will represent the Northwest Region, with Robert Armstrong being named as the Southwest Regional representative. Doug was previously on the IAC Board for a one-year term from 2005 to 2006. He is an Advanced competitor who was also a volunteer, and aircraft renter, at the 2008 Advanced World Championships in Pendleton, Oregon. When not flying, Doug is a ski-lift engineer in the Spokane area.

The members of the 2008 US Unlimited Aerobatic Team who will compete at the 2009 World Aerobatic Championships to be held in the United Kingdom August 18-30, 2009 are Robert Armstrong, Jeff Boerboon, Dan Clark, Vicki Cruse, David Martin, Allyson Parker-Lauck, Michael Racy, Debby Rihn-Harvey, and Hubie Tolson. Zach Heffley is the alternate.

Scholarship fund established for fallen pilot, IAC Director

Funeral services for Erica Simpson, IAC director and commercial pilot, will be held Saturday, September 13, in her hometown of Port Wing, Wisconsin. Simpson, 32, died September 6 in an aircraft accident during a practice flight at Reno’s Stead Field where she was preparing to compete in this week’s annual National Championship Air Races & Air Show. According to the FAA spokesman Ian Gregor, her aircraft, a Cassutt IIIM Little Lynn, suffered a catastrophic structural failure as she was performing a roll during…

Suzanne Chance, of Aurora, Colorado, (Greater Metro Denver area) is the new editor of Sport Aerobatics magazine, official publication of the International Aerobatic Club (IAC). She comes to the IAC with experience in aviation technical writing and editing, as well as a recently found love for aerobatic flight.

“I have been a writer/editor for 30 years, writing newspaper articles, copywriting marketing and press releases, serving as an acquisitions editor for a major reference book publisher, technical writing, a novelist, and many more things,” Chance said.

Chance was…

After a disappointing “wind-out” that grounded pilots on Saturday, Kirby Chambliss, EAA 261512, of Flying Crown Ranch, Arizona, scored a thrilling first-place finish during the Red Bull Air Races’ first visit to Detroit, Michigan/Windsor, Ontario, Canada last weekend. A crowd estimated at 750,000 turned out to watch the high-performance flying and aerobatic competition from both sides of the Detroit River.

Saturday’s scheduled qualifying races for the 12 competitors had to be canceled due to sustained high winds. The race’s…

The FAA is reportedly in the final stages of extending the required parachute re-packing interval from 120 days to 180 days. EAA and the International Aerobatic Club (IAC) were part of the widespread effort led by the Parachute Industry Association and the United States Parachute Association in favor of the change.

“We’re very pleased that this change is going through,” said Lisa Popp, IAC executive director. “Obviously, the change will benefit our members whom we require to wear a parachute during any of the 45-plus aerobatic competitions we sanction annually in the United States…

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…

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…