by Gerry Molidor, IAC 14825
Preparation
Nothing is more special than being a part of our U.S. National Aerobatic Championships. Every time I visit the Grayson County Airport, aka the former Perrin Air Force Base, I reminisce what it must have been like back in the 1940s and ’50s when classes of self-motivated bright young pilots competed with each other to be the best in their class. Here we are more than 50 years later in the same place, and the same sort of thing is still happening.
The December issue of Sport Aerobatics will feature this year’s Nationals, but I would like to thank Katie Kyer and IAC Chapter 24 right now for a great job. The weather was beautiful all week, but it was Kate and her Chapter that kept things running like a wellmaintained machine. It was very enjoyable, and everyone working or not had a great time. Thank you for a job well done, and I’m proud of your professionalism.
At a dinner at the Old Buzzards saloon, I ran into longtime IAC member and friend Randy Henderson. He surprised us all with the announcement that he recently had become a proud daddy. Congratulations to Randy and Diana! As you know, Randy and Diana have been in the air show business with the Texas T-Cart for a long time. As a veteran air show performer and ACE (aerobatic competency evaluator), Randy has mentored a lot of air show rookies, and we went on that evening discussing his belief on the importance of having IAC flying involvement in the career path of performers.
Specifically, Randy encouraged me not to glorify the air show business for fear that too many young pilots would prematurely race off to get their low level cards to dazzle the crowds at shows across this land. I agree that we have to do more to encourage proper preparation of pilots destined for the air show side of aerobatics. I’d like to touch on a few areas that I feel are important and what veterans like to see in somebody new.
Trying to get into the air show business with the current waiver system could very easily be construed as the old-timers trying to hold back the new talent or competition. Nothing could be further from the truth. The fact is that, finally, people got tired of seeing pilots getting hurt learning that the ground is hard while attempting to break into the business. Not to mention that it is very difficult to show up at an air show and not try to upstage the lineup. What pilots should be doing is seeing how well they can execute a very precise and well-rehearsed plan. Veterans in the business make it look so easy. That’s because they have meticulously prepared themselves for what they are about to do, and they are good.
Probably the most important attribute of an air show pilot (or any pilot for that matter) is a good attitude. I’ve always admired unassuming pilots that don’t talk much about themselves and then fly the living heck out of an airplane. No brag, just excellent stick and rudder along with good headwork. Veterans in any line of flying are looking for a hint that new pilots might be thinking, “Hey, I know that I don’t know a lot of things yet, but the thing that really concerns me is what I don’t know that I don’t know.” A pilot that honestly feels this way will most likely be around for a long time because he will be hungry for knowledge and won’t assume anything.
Now, where does the IAC fit in this process? Remember, I never said in order to be an air show performer 3 Preparation What pilots should be doing is seeing how well they can execute a very precise and well-rehearsed plan. Continued on page 31 “PRESIDENT’S PAGE” continued from page 3 that you had to have IAC competition experience, but it would be wise to receive the same kind of time-tested critique from somewhere. The IAC breeds an attitude and a planned approach to a very dynamic business. It adds structure to activities that in the air show world will ultimately be up to the individual pilots to provide for themselves. It forces pilots to learn the fundamentals methodically before moving on to more complicated flying. It forces pilots to eventually understand and become proficient with positive and negative rotation at higher altitude before moving it down to a minimum margin level. I think this area of the flight envelope coupled with gyroscopic effects is least understood by pilots anxious to get into the low level scene. Unfortunately, it just happens to carry the most liability, too.
By the time a competition pilot becomes proficient at flying Advanced or, better yet, Unlimited, veterans won’t have a problem with someone wanting to transition to air show work. In fact, many will go out of their way to help. But watch the eyebrows rise if someone comes in after a year in Sportsman and then launches off into an aggressive air show effort. Randy Henderson’s point to me was that he felt the IAC system provided him with some basic knowledge and skills to keep him out of trouble during his rookie years. If you have air show aspirations, we wish you all the best and will help in any way we can. But do your homework and take your time getting there. Remember that good judgment comes from experience, and experience comes from poor judgment. Do the poor judgment training up high. Fly safely and have fun!
