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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…

The final results are in for the 2007 regional series competition. Forty-two (42) competitors out of 65 total series participants received awards. Fifty-two (52) pilots successfully competed at the 3 or more contests needed to qualify for the series in their respective region.

The regional series began in 2002. To be eligible, a pilot must fly at least three contests during the year (two for the Northwest Region due to unavailability of contest sites) and one contest may include the U.S. Nationals. If more than three contests are flown, the highest scores are used to arrive at each…

Joe Haycraft of Naples, Florida, is the winner of the 2007 L. Paul Soucy Award with a three-contest score of 89.87%. The next closest challenger received 86.71%.

To be eligible for the trophy, a pilot must have flown at least three contests during the season, one of which is the U.S. National Aerobatic Championships. The best two contests flown plus the pilot’s U.S. Nationals scores are used to determine the ranking.

The award was conceived and donated by L. Paul Soucy of Louisville, Kentucky, one of the IAC’s first members and a board director who passed away in 1971. The…

The International Aerobatic Club and EAA are working directly with FAA to obtain a categorical exclusion from overly burdensome environmental impact requirements that are currently proposed when pilots apply for an aerobatic practice area box. This development came during the annual EAA/FAA Recreational Aviation Summit on Jan. 23 at the EAA Aviation Center in Oshkosh.

Vicki Cruse, IAC president, represented the organization during the session. This annual meeting, unmatched anywhere else in the aviation community, included key aviation issues such as general aviation safety,…

Though aviation authorities in many countries have established formal certification criteria for aerobatic instructors, the U.S. Federal Aviation Regulations (FARs) contain no provisions for a specific “aerobatic instructor” rating or certification. Given the success of industry-based programs such as the NAFI Master Instructor Program and the ICAS Aerobatic Competency Evaluation (ACE) Program, the National Association of Flight Instructors and the International Aerobatic Club (IAC) have jointly developed a broad — and strictly voluntary — aerobatic instruction designation program.

William “Bill” Kershner spent a lifetime teaching the art of flying, particularly aerobatics. He was an educator and ardent promoter of aerobatics and personally taught aerobatics to more than 600 pilots. He was a guest lecturer at the University of Tennessee Space Institute in Tullahoma, Tennessee, lectured and demonstrated spins to engineers and test pilots at the U.S. Naval Test Pilot School in Patuxent, Maryland, and lectured at the FBI Academy. His training manuals, including The Student Pilot’s Flight Manual and The Basic Aerobatic Manual, have sold more than 1.3 million copies. The…

A two-year exemption (through September 30, 2009) was granted allowing IAC pilots participating in IAC-sanctioned aerobatic competitions to carry less than the VFR fuel requirements under certain conditions. Fuel…