Starting Aerobatics

Many people love "normal" flying. They enjoy PPL training and on completion, fly in fair weather, from A to B with their friends. Aerobatics provides a further challenge.

"I enjoy learning how to precisely fly aerobatic sequences that score better than my fellow competitors, I also enjoy the experience of being truly focused on the task rather than the normal toils of life." Lawrence Collier Commercial Pilot.

What will you do on your first lesson? A good starting point is to be taught how to fly a proper loop. Perhaps practice some low speed handling and then learn a balistic roll. The lesson would take 30 minutes and you will remember it for the rest of your life!

A goal for your early lessons may be to compete in a "Loop" magazine aerobatic beginners day "competition". You get two practices sessions with your instructor in the Adastral Extra 200 to practice the sequence which would be a loop, stall turn, half cuban, quarter clover and a roll.

You will fly the first judged sequence in the competition box with your instructor. On landing the judges give you the score sheets and a short debrief. After lunch you fly the sequence again, with the instructor on-board. The top three competitors get medals and photograph in the loop magazine.

The next step would be to enter a British Aerobatic Association beginners competition. This is a little more formal and you do it solo. Obviously you take a few more lessons before hand and again you can use the Adastral Extra.