Competition aerobatics
Competition aerobatics is an air sport in which judges rate the skill of pilots performing aerobatic flying. It is practiced in both piston-powered single-engine airplanes and also gliders.
An aerobatic competition is sanctioned by a national aero club, its designee, or in the case of international competitions, by the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale. 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, 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.
Categories
Five power categories are flown in the U.S.. They vary by difficulty of the individual aerobatic maneuvers they contain, as well as the combination of those maneuvers within the sequence. In order of increasing difficulty, the power categories are:- Primary
- Sportsman
- Intermediate/Yak-52
- Advanced
- Unlimited
Four glider categories are:
- Sportsman or Sports
- Intermediate
- Advanced
- Unlimited
Flight programs
Within each category, each pilot flies one or more flight programs. They are:- Known: Determined each year by the national aero club. It is flown by all competitors at all contests all year long. In the past this was known as the Q program.
- Free Known: At FAI championships each pilot integrates 5 'Known' figures with 5 of their own that are freely selected from the Aresti Catalog so that together the 10 figures meet the specified overall versatility and total-K requirements.
- Free: In this program, each pilot is given the opportunity to demonstrate his personal flying skills, creative talent and his aircraft performance by designing his own sequence.
- Unknown: This program is made known to the contestants only about 12 hours before the competition. The figures are chosen by either teams or pilots, each submitting a single figure. Under CIVA rules pilots fly up to three Free Unknown sequences. In Local contests often the governing body or the contest chief judge choose the unknown sequence. The pilots must not practice before flying the unknown sequence.
- Free Unknown: Teams or pilots together select 10 figures that they must all use in a similar fashion to the Free Known system, adding up to 4 additional figures that are employed principally to reposition or turn-around the aircraft to ensure smooth continuity of the whole sequence.
- 4-minute Free or Final Freestyle: Only the top unlimited pilots might be invited to fly this final program. In this program pilots strive to display their creativity and superior skills as performers, the judging here being almost entirely subjective as opposed to objective assessments of figures according to the Aresti system as used for all other programs.
Aerobatic box
The box has two axes, the identification of which is based on the location of the judges. The X-Axis, runs across the line of sight of the judges. It is along this axis that most figures are usually flown. In some contests a center line is marked along the middle of the X-Axis.
The Y-Axis 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 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 above ground level for Primary level competitors and as low as AGL for Unlimited level competitors. The box ceiling is as high as above its floor. Before 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 the pilot has 12 seconds from entering the box on the one side before exiting the box on the other.
Judging
Each category within 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 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 a recorder, 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, 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 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 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 may also be used and are positioned at the edge of the buffer zones, 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 a competitor has crossed a boundary in order for the competitor earn a penalty. In FAI championships more accurate electronic feedback systems are employed to provide a constant measurement of the aircraft position, and hence its excursions beyond the buffer zone if these occur.
Deadline judges may be positioned along 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.
Judging Downgrades Summary
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.At the entry to and exit from EVERY figure element
Family 1 - lines and angles
Family 2 - turns and rolling turns
| Rolling Turns | Deducción |
| Roll rate varied | 1 point/variation |
| Roll stopped or turn and then restarted | 2 points |
| Not an even integration of rolls at end | 1 point/5 deg |
| Not enough / too many rolls or a flick-roll seen | Mark = hard zero |
| Both Types | Deducción |
| Turn rate or radius varied | 1 point/variation |
| Climbing or diving in turn | 1 point/5 deg |
Family 3 - combinations of lines
Family 5 - stall turns
| The Turn | Deducción |
| Turn-around too wide | 1 point/wing length |
| Rolled or pitched n-deg in turn-around | 1 point/5 deg |
| Exit pull or push radius smaller or larger | 1 to 3 points |
Family 6 - Tail Slides
| The Slide | Deducción |
| No slide seen | Mark = Perception Zero |
| Yawed or rolled n-deg in slide | 1 point/5 deg |
| Exit pull/push radius smaller or larger | 1 to 3 points |
| Pitched the wrong way | Mark = Hard Zero |
Family 7 - Loops and Eights
| Eights | Deducción |
| Smaller or larger 2nd half | 1 to 3 points |
| Lower or higher 2nd half | 1 to 3 points |
| With Corners | Deducción |
| Longer or shorter 2nd etc. line length | 1 to 3 points |
| Larger or smaller 2nd etc. corner | 1 to 3 points |
| Up/down-line pos/neg/left/right n-deg | 1 point/5 deg |
| 1st/2nd etc. 45 steep or shallow | 1 point/5 deg |
| Horizontal segment off axis left/right/up/down | 1 point/5 deg |
Family 8 - Combinations of Lines, Angles and Loops
Family 9 - Rolls and Spins
| Hesitation Rolls | Deducción |
| Climbed or sank in knife | 1 to 2 points |
| Slower or faster 2nd etc. half/quarter/eighth | 1 to 3 points |
| Under/over rotated 1st/2nd etc. half/quarter/eighth | 1 point/5 deg |
| Hesitation missed | Mark = Hard Zero |
| Flick Rolls | Deducción |
| Part flicked and part aileron'd roll | 2 to 5 points |
| Not flicked | Mark = Perception Zero |
| Positive instead of negative, or neg instead of pos | Mark = Hard Zero |
| Combinations Of Rolls | Deducción |
| Any line between two rolls | At least 2 points |
| Significant line between rolls | Mark = Hard Zero |
| Same direction when opposite required | Mark = Hard Zero |
| Wrong number of rolls where linked | Mark = Hard Zero |
| Rolls immediately prior to or just after looping | Deducción |
| Any line between stopping loop/roll and starting roll/loop | At least 2 points |
| Roll starts before loop finishes | 1 point/5 deg |
| Significant line between rolls | Mark = Hard Zero |
| Spin Entry | Deducción |
| Entry not stalled, and/or "rolled" in – not spinning | Mark = Perception Zero |
| Flicked entry | Mark = Perception Zero |
| Spin Exit | Deducción |
| Spin rotation short or too far n-deg | 1 point/5 deg |
| Line after was positive or negative n-deg | 1 point/5 deg |
| No line drawn after | Mark = Hard Zero |
Governing bodies
The FAI is the international governing body for all airborne sports. Its Commission Internationale de Voltige Aerienne 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 the U.S., the International Aerobatic Club is the National Aeronautic Association's delegate for aerobatics.
In the UK, the Royal Aero Club designates the British Aerobatic Association to fill this roll. 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.