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25-635: The British Aerobatic Association (BAeA) handles all domestic aerobatic competitions in the United Kingdom . The association was formed on 1 May 1974. It's members teach and fly aerobatics at many airfields across the United Kingdom. The association is recognised by Royal Aero Club as the governing body of sport aerobatics. The BAeA holds 12-14 aerobatic events around the UK and Ireland each year. This article about an organisation in

50-472: A recorder (also called a writer or scribe ), who records the judges marks and comments, commentary and ancillary information on a competitor's score sheet. For some flight programs, a single individual may serve concurrently as assistant judge and recorder. A grading judge assesses the quality of each figure flown according to well-defined criteria and assigns it a numerical mark in steps of 0.5 between 0 and 10. Under FAI and some national aero clubs' rules,

75-403: A category starts, a competitor will mark the box by flying along its boundaries at its floor. This allows the judges to visualize the box in the sky and prepares them to adjudge an aircraft flying below the box floor. At a groundspeed of 300 kilometres per hour (190 mph) the pilot has 12 seconds from entering the box on the one side before exiting the box on the other. Each category within

100-509: A center line is marked along the middle of the X-Axis. The Y-Axis (called the B-Axis by some aero clubs) runs perpendicular to the X-Axis, toward and away from the judges. This axis is used for cross-box position correction. The official wind direction is always declared by contest officials to be along the X-Axis. This, however, does not always reflect reality, and generally during the course of

125-427: A competition are announced in advance. Within each category, each pilot flies one or more flight programs. They are: The aerobatic box is a volume of airspace in which the aircraft must remain while performing a sequence. Its length and width are each 1,000 metres (3,280 ft). Its height varies based on whether FAI, national aero club or local rules apply to the competition. White ground markers at each corner of

150-435: A competition may have between 3 and 9 grading judges , each of whom is accredited by the contest's sanctioning body. They are positioned between 150 and 250 metres (490 and 820 ft) back from the edge of the box, at the center of the X-Axis and facing that axis. Each grading judge is assisted by an assistant judge , who reads Aresti notation and verbalizes to the grading judge each figure to be flown, and if possible also

175-411: A competitor has crossed a boundary in order for the competitor earn a penalty. In FAI championships more accurate electronic feedback systems are required to provide a constant measurement of the aircraft position, and hence its excursions beyond the buffer zone if these occur; if such equipment is not available this task is confined to the judge's position grade. Deadline judges may be positioned along

200-480: A deadline, if one has been established by the contest's sanctioning body. They monitor and record each infringement of the deadline. The competitor earns a penalty for each such infringement, that penalty being more severe than an excursion out of the aerobatic box. Here is a précis of the principal "faults" that you should look for and the number of marks to deduct whilst you are applying standard CIVA rules of critique to sequence programmes at all levels. Several of

225-459: A pilot flies one or more flight programs . Each flight receives a total score from the judges; ranking each pilot's combined total scores for all flight programs within each category determines that category's winner. Five power categories are flown in the U.S. (and other countries that adopt the BAeA model). They vary by difficulty of the individual aerobatic maneuvers they contain, as well as

250-510: A sequence the competitor will drift either toward or away from the judging line. The competitor can extend or shorten maneuvers flown along the Y-Axis to obtain the desired positioning. The box floor is as high as 460 metres (1,510 ft) above ground level (AGL) for Primary level competitors and as low as 100 metres (328 ft) AGL for Unlimited level competitors. The box ceiling is as high as 1,000 metres (3,280 ft) above its floor. Before

275-503: A total raw score for the flight. Notational systems for aerobatic manoeuvers have been used since the 1920s. The first system accepted worldwide was published by French aviator François d'Huc Dressler in 1955 and 1956. It was used for international competitions through 1962. José Aresti's development of a notation for aerobatic figures began while serving as an instructor in the Jerez Pilot Training School in

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300-514: Is a constituent body of the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI). The sanctioning body establishes the rules that apply to the competition, including entry qualifications for all participants, operating procedures, and judging criteria. A pilot enters a competition in a category of his or her choice, which defines the level of difficulty of the aerobatic sequences to be flown. Within each category,

325-634: Is the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) standards document enumerating the aerobatic manoeuvers permitted in aerobatic competition . Designed by Spanish aviator Colonel José Luis Aresti Aguirre (1919–2003), each figure in the catalog is represented by lines, arrows, geometric shapes and numbers representing the precise form of a manoeuver to be flown. The catalog broadly classifies manoeuvers into numbered families. Families 1 through 8 depict basic figures, such as turns, loops and vertical lines; family 9 depicts rotational elements that can be added to basic figures to increase difficulty, change

350-491: The United Kingdom is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This article about an aviation -related organization is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Competition aerobatics An aerobatic competition is sanctioned by a national aero club, its designee, or in the case of international competitions, by CIVA, the Commission Internationale de Voltige Aerienne, which

375-746: The 1940s. By the end of 1961 Aresti published a dictionary of some 3,000 aerobatic manoeuvers, the Sistema Aerocryptographica Aresti . Then employed throughout Spain, the Spanish Aero Club urged its adoption internationally. The FAI's Aerobatics Commission, CIVA , elected to use the catalog beginning at the World Aerobatic Championships held in Bilbao, Spain in 1964; it has been in use worldwide and has evolved continually since then. Though

400-978: The U.S., the International Aerobatic Club (IAC) is the National Aeronautic Association 's delegate for aerobatics. In the UK , the Royal Aero Club designates the British Aerobatic Association (BAeA) to fill this role. In South Africa the FAI appoints the Aeroclub of South Africa which in turn appoints the Sport Aerobatic Club of South Africa to manage all aerobatic events. Aresti notation The Aresti Catalog

425-588: The aforementioned concepts are shown in the 1980 film Cloud Dancer , whose technical advisor and chief pilot was the former world champion aerobatic pilot Tom Poberezny . The FAI is the international governing body for all airborne sports. Its Commission Internationale de Voltige Aerienne (CIVA) governs competition aerobatics. While FAI itself oversees international competitions, it recognizes national aero clubs to regulate competition aerobatics locally. A national aero club often delegates this responsibility to an affiliate organization focused on aerobatics. In

450-452: The box make it visible to the pilot from the air. For most categories, penalties are assessed for flight outside the aerobatic box. The box has two axes, the identification of which is based on the location of the judges. The X-Axis (called the A-Axis by some aero clubs), runs across the line of sight of the judges. It is along this axis that most figures are usually flown. In some contests

475-511: The combination of those maneuvers within the sequence. In order of increasing difficulty, the power categories are: Some aero clubs include a Classic category for airplanes without inverted fuel and oil systems. The sequences flown are similar to those flown in the Sportsman category. A one-design Yak-52 class exists in many countries which is flown in conjunction with the intermediate class. Four glider categories are: Categories flown in

500-433: The competitor has flown below the floor of the box or above its ceiling. Each grading judge is further charged with assessing whether a competitor is flying safely and advocating for the competitor's disqualification if not. A chief judge oversees the operation of the judging line. He or she is often responsible for sequencing competitors into the aerobatic box, identifying and resolving judging and safety issues, reviewing

525-501: The direction of flight or invert the g-loading of the aircraft. In Aresti notation, solid lines represent upright or positive-g manoeuvers and dashed lines represent inverted or negative-g manoeuvers; these are sometimes depicted in red. Thick dot represents the beginning of the manoeuver, while a short perpendicular line represents the end. Stalled wing manoeuvers such as spins and snap (flick) rolls are represented by triangles. Arrows represent rolling manoeuvers with numbers representing

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550-425: The edge of the buffer zones, 50 metres (160 ft) along each axis beyond marked corners of the aerobatic box. They monitor and record each excursion beyond the buffer zone; the competitor earns a penalty for each such excursion. Each corner judge guards 2 of the 4 lines that define the box. In most competitions, 2 corner judges are used, located at opposing corners. Two judges guard each line; they must agree that

575-517: The extent and number of segments of the roll. The catalog assigns each manoeuver a unique identifier , called a catalog number , and difficulty factor, represented by the symbol K . When a basic figure is combined with one or more rolling elements, the resultant figure K is the sum of all component K s. During an aerobatics competition, judges grade the execution of each manoeuver with a value between 10 (perfect) and 0 (highly flawed). Each figure's grades are multiplied by its K and summed to yield

600-429: The judge may also assign a mark of "Hard Zero" to indicate that the wrong figure was flown, or a "Perception Zero" if a mandatory though subtle element of the figure is perceived to have been missing. At the conclusion of each flight, the grading judge assigns a Presentation or Positioning mark based on the competitor's placement of figures within the aerobatic box throughout the sequence. A grading judge also determines if

625-431: The judges marking sheets, assessing penalties, monitoring the aerobatic box for traffic conflicts, conducting briefings for pilots and judging line personnel, and certifying scores. A chief judge is typically assisted by 2 or more individuals. In some competitions, a chief judge may concurrently serve as a grading judge. Corner judges (also called boundary judges or line judges ) may also be used and are positioned at

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