Becoming an aerobatic or airshow pilot is a dream for many, but there are many steps to go through to achieve that goal.

Start With Primary Pilot Training

As with becoming any type of specialized pilot, the first step to becoming an airshow pilot is to become a private pilot. Such training teaches the basics of aircraft control, energy management, and aeronautical decision making.

Many airshow pilots also consider getting a commercial pilot certificate, regardless of whether they plan to fly in the events for a living. The additional training provides more expertise and aircraft control, and it builds upon the concepts learned during private pilot training to make an aviator more complete and well-rounded.

Specialized Aerobatic Training

After primary training, aerobatic pilots then need to go through aerobatic pilot training to hone their stunt skills.

A number of flight schools around the country provide acrobatic training in aircraft such as the Cessna Aerobat, Pitts Special, or American Champion Decathlon.

In addition to special training, aerobatic flight schools employ instructors with significant experience flying acrobatics. Real-world experience is a great benefit to help newer pilots learn the trade of aerobatic aviation.

To become a stunt pilot, one must complete at least 10 hours with an aerobatic instructor on top of the requirements to achieve an FAA pilot certificate. It is recommended that aerobatic training not be completed until a pilot receives their primary training and certification to make the process of becoming a stunt pilot easier.

It is important to note that one can become a stunt pilot with only an endorsement. This means that they fly with an instructor until it’s determined they are proficient to act as an aerobatic pilot by themselves. No additional FAA exam is required.

Maintaining proficiency as a stunt pilot is no easy feat.

After receiving their endorsement, a pilot should practice regularly to make sure their skills, decision making, and reaction times stay sharp. This is especially important for pilots performing at airshows or flying in formation with other aerobatic aircraft.

Career Opportunities for Aerobatic Pilots

Some stunt pilots are happy to fly only for themselves. They may enjoy the adrenaline of flying aerobatics or want access to a unique sector of aviation not available to all.

However, some decide to continue into a career as an aerobatic pilot. Many go on to fly as instructors or in fields such as aerial photography or film. Still others become test pilots, flying new or modified aircraft to ensure their performance and safety.

Again, flying in airshows is a top attraction for many stunt pilots. Some airshows are operated by volunteers flying antique or unique aircraft, while others are professional pilots who tour the country—or world—as part of an act. Major airshows across the country attract hundreds or thousands of paying viewers excited to witness a special facet of aviation.

Some stunt pilots are even sponsored by companies or branches of the military. Acrobatic flying can be such a spectacle that planes painted in certain colors can bring significant visibility in key demographics.

In addition, large companies and the military are among the few who have the resources to fund and maintain fleets of aerobatic aircraft, often jets, as they tour.

Resources to Start Training

There are a number of organizations that help pilots work toward acrobatic training and maintain proficiency as stunt pilots.

The International Aerobatic Club (IAC), for example, sponsors events and educational programs to help pilots attain and maintain their aerobatic proficiency. The Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) is also a great place to make connections with pilots who have the knowledge and skills to help with aerobatic training.

Local pilots will know the best places to start aerobatic training. Participating in local IAC and EAA chapters, or stopping in at the local FBO, could help prospective pilots learn more about how and where to get started.

A great way to test out aerobatic flying is to visit a flight school with planes that can perform basic spins.

Every flight instructor in the U.S. is required to complete spins during their instructor training and thus have experience with the maneuver. Getting flight time practicing spins can help pilots decide whether acrobatic flight is a path they would like to pursue more in depth. If not, simply practicing spins can provide an adrenaline rush and help pilots hone their basic airmanship.

Ultimately, acrobatic flying is an exciting path to take. Whether you want to pursue acrobatics as a career or simply want to learn to improve your flying skills, there are resources across the country to help you pursue your passions.

Acrobatics help you learn energy management in new ways usually not accessible to standard category airplanes and can help you apply a wider variety of principles to your day-to-day flying.

The post How to Become an Aerobatic or Airshow Pilot appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

The aircraft, a successor to the Extra 330SC, features a wider cockpit, shorter fuselage, redesigned cowling, increased control stick clearance, and improved headroom compared to its predecessor.

• READ MORE: EAA AirVenture Reports Attendance Boost

Extra said the 330SX model is much easier to fly, allowing pilots to achieve higher scores in aerobatic competitions.

“The introduction of our high-performance aileron package delivers superior roll authority,” Extra said. “It ensures that both at a competition level and on the air show stage pilots will benefit with crisper maneuverability at all airspeeds.”

Competition aerobatic pilot Bob Freeman was the first U.S. customer for the aircraft and was scheduled to fly one during the daily airshow at AirVenture.  

• READ MORE: Donation Expands Bob Hoover Academy Fleet

“We were thrilled to officially unveil the Extra SX to North America, showing our prototype SX001 and the Freeman Airshows SX!” Extra said in a social media post.

According to Aircraft Owners and Pilots Assocation, the aircraft has a retail price of $550,000 and deliveries take about a year to fulfill. Extra has sold 10 of the 330SX models and produced five so far.

Editor’s Note: This article first appeared on AVweb.

The post Extra 330SX Unveiled at EAA AirVenture appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

I was doing circles at 4,000 feet agl in my Extra 300S, waiting nervously for the chief judge to radio me. Soon I would do flips and turns inside an invisible box in the skies in an attempt to impress the judges. As a kid I would spin airplanes around with a remote control. Now I was inside the airplane. The silence ended and I heard the chief judge’s thick British accent: “Contestant 34, the box is yours.”

I dove in and all doubts disappeared. The flight went really well, and after I landed, my teammates—who were standing on the edge of the taxiway—gave me a thumbs up. Best of all, our marvelous team coach, former two-time world champion Sergey Rakhmanin, ran towards me smiling. “This is the best I have ever seen you fly!” he said. I was thrilled. But his next sentence brought me back to reality. “What have you been waiting for?” We both laughed.

My introduction to aerobatics came in 1978 while working at a local hobby shop. A regular customer, Don Chapton, asked if I would like to go for a ride in a Super Decathlon. Full of excitement, I met Don the next day at Sunrise Aviation at John Wayne/Orange CountyAirport (KSNA) in Santa Ana, California. We looped, rolled, and spun over the Pacific Ocean. This was my first introduction to G force—the force pushing the pilot into the seat during positive G maneuvers and out of the seat during negative Gs. If you don’t have a friend who can introduce you to aerobatic flying, the International Aerobatic Club is a wonderful resource. This organization has regional chapters and sanctions aerobatic contests throughout the country. Joining a chapter is an easy way to get involved. 

Aerobatic competitions in the U.S. include five classes: Primary, Sportsman, Intermediate, Advanced, and Unlimited, with increasingly difficult maneuvers and sequences. The floor of the box sits at 1,500 feet agl for the Primary and Sportsman classes and drops progressively. In the Unlimited class, the floor is only 328 feet agl. To help the pilot keep track of the sequence, the maneuvers are drawn using a symbolic language developed in the 1930s by Jose Aresti of Spain. Aresti created a symbol for each aerobatic maneuver, categorized them, and assigned them a numeric level of difficulty called a K-factor. It’s an aerobatic shorthand used in a similar way that musicians use sheet music. Each maneuver is graded from zero to 10 multiplied by the K-factor. A forgotten or unrecognizable maneuver receives a zero. In a typical contest, three flights are flown. The first round is called the “Known”—a predetermined sequence flown by everyone in the class. The second round is the “Free.” This sequence is built by each pilot but there are very specific requirements for how it can be constructed. The third round is the “Unknown,” which is only flown in the Intermediate, Advanced, and Unlimited classes.

Flying a clean contest with no outs and no zeros can be just as satisfying as winning. The surfing community has coined the phrase “Soul Surfer”—for one who surfs for the sheer pleasure of surfing. This has its place in aerobatics too. That pilot’s a “Soul Flyer.”

The post Over, Under, Sideways, Down: The Art and Science of Aerobatic Flight appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

The new division, Extra Aircraft USA, will provide factory-authorized maintenance and spare parts services for all Extra owners based in North America. It will also be the receiving point where company staff members will perform pre-delivery checks on new Extra aircraft entering the continent from the German factory. 

AOG and Spares Support

“I am very pleased to continue our success in the USA and announce this new Extra facility for our North American customers. We will provide AOG and complete spares support from DeLand backed up by the factory in Germany,” Extra said. “We will also grow our service offerings for scheduled maintenance such as annual inspections and the 1,000-hour inspection as well as unscheduled maintenance,” he added.

The company named Duncan Koerbel, a longtime aerospace executive and aerobatic pilot with 1,000 hours in Extra aircraft, as general manager of its new U.S. unit. Koerbel will work with Walter Extra’s sons, maintenance manager Eric Extra and production manager Marcus Extra, “to position the new factory-direct model to support the fleet well into the future,” the company said.

“It is safe to say I have a working knowledge of our customer base,” Koerbel told FLYING, reflecting on his six years of aerobatics competition and working through the ranks, from primary to advanced, of the International Aerobatic Club.

A T-34 Mentor to an Extra 300S in the Championships

He said his first experience with aerobatics came in a T-34 Mentor while he was working at Beechcraft in the 1980s. He was hooked, but had to wait a few decades until what he called “a unique set of circumstances,” which included his children graduating from college, allowed him to get serious about competing.

• READ MORE: Extra Aircraft Secures FAA Certification on Extra NG

He said he looks forward to flying his Extra 300S to the U.S. National Aerobatic Championships, which begin this Sunday in Salina, Kansas.

Extra began building aerobatic aircraft in the 1980s and through years of development gained the rare distinction of producing machines that are essentially off-the-shelf contest winners. Pilots who are serious about competition tend to fly Extras.

“We have an excellent order backlog and continue to be pleased with the demand for our new NG as well as the 330SC which was just flown to its eighth world championship in Poland,” Marcus Extra said. The new operation in DeLand “will allow us to be even closer to our customers.” he added.

Eric Extra said the USA facility will be operational late this year to support the delivery of the next Extra NG and begin spare parts and maintenance operations.

“We have initially leased hangar facilities in DeLand but are exploring a purpose-built option for the long-term future. Marcus and I are excited to continue to grow the company our father founded forty years ago,” he said.

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