Confidence building

But the element of fear does not always fade, and if the prospect of stalling an airplane makes you as uneasy as I once was (even after passing my private pilot checkride), consider spending an hour or two in an aerobatic airplane with a competent instructor whose skills you trust.

Where to begin

International Aerobatic Club (IAC) volunteers maintain an online directory of aerobatic flight schools, with listings in most states as well as several other countries. The same schools and instructors often offer upset recovery training, which may be required for professional pilots in some situations, depending on the operator, aircraft, and insurance. This is a variation of aerobatic training that can achieve the fundamental goal of building confidence and a deep understanding of how to avoid or recover from (unplanned) aircraft upsets.

Many of these same instructors also offer the spin endorsement you will need to earn a flight instructor certificate.

For some pilots, a taste of aerobatic flight is enough to inspire a lifetime of friendly competition, and the IAC sanctions aerobatic contests around the country. Contestants fly in one of five categories, from Primary to Unlimited, depending on experience and ability. Primary competition requires mastering a short sequence of relatively simple maneuvers. As pilots gain experience, and fly more capable aircraft, many aspire to master the mind-bending complexity of an Unlimited sequence.

Each journey begins with the simplest maneuvers, for good reason. It’s difficult to predict enthusiasm ahead of experience, so you can start with a goal to simply experience aerobatic flight. Schedule an introductory ride and have a good conversation with your chosen instructor about what you seek to accomplish.

Even one lesson will probably help you develop a finer “feel” for how the airplane moves and how it responds in various attitudes. With enough repetition, you will begin to feel comfortable in a tight harness and know what to expect—and what to do next—if the airplane starts to spin out of a stall. Setting that initial goal will help guide you to the right instructor and airplane. While aerobatics can be taught in a variety of airplanes, the American Champion Decathlon family is probably the most popular line of aerobatic trainers, with variants including the 160-horsepower Citabria, the 180-horsepower Super Decathlon, and the 210-horsepower Xtreme Decathlon. There are differences between these models beyond horsepower, but they are all well-suited to beginners.

You will also find many Extra Aircraft at schools (or operated by individual instructors), particularly those that teach upset recovery. Designer Walter Extra became an aerobatic legend for good reason, and his single-seat EA–330SC was by far the most popular choice of contestants in the 2024 World Aerobatic Championships. With 300 horsepower, two-seat Extras still put a lot more energy at your fingertips than any Decathlon. If your goal is to fine-tune your aircraft control skill, the downside of an Extra is that extra horsepower can cover up a variety of mistakes. A little extra drag from misplaced rudder or ailerons during a maneuver will not be as obvious in an Extra, but it can sap enough energy out of a Super Decathlon sequence to leave you short on the next vertical upline—if competition is indeed your aim. If nothing else, it can be inconvenient.

Flying a less powerful aircraft puts a premium on not wasting any of the energy you have available. Over time, it may also sharpen your perception of subtle motion and prepare you to fly any airplane with more precision.

There’s also the matter of cost, and any Decathlon will be easier on the wallet than any Extra, or a certified Pitts S–2C, for that matter.

What to expect

Ideally, you’ll do most of the flying, right from the start. Depending on your comfort level with tailwheel aircraft (nearly all aerobatic airplanes share this configuration), you might need a hand with takeoff and landing, but you should be able to perform the maneuvers at altitude under your instructor’s direction. Having your own hands and feet on the controls goes a long way toward curbing the anxiety that many people have about rolling an airplane upside-down.

Starting slow is also typical. Expect to spend time on the ground with your instructor, briefing the flight ahead including emergency procedures such as the use of your parachute. The FAA requires wearing such parachutes (FAR 91.307) in order to intentionally exceed 60 degrees of bank or 30 degrees of pitch above or below the horizon, excluding spins required for a certificate or rating (see “CFI to CFI: You Spin Me Round,” p. 46). While emergency parachutes have been used, they are rarely deployed, particularly in training. A competent instructor should guide you well away from the risks that can lead to parachute use.

Whether your goal is competition aerobatics or overcoming a fear of stalls, aerobatic instruction starts with the basics. My initial goal in tracking down aerobatic instructor Bob Cipolli was spin training in a Super Decathlon. In the air, the first order of business was a power-off stall and a delayed recovery. Keep holding the stick back, and the airplane will wallow its way earthward. Starting with plenty of altitude (at least 3,000 feet agl), there was time to get a feel for how the stalled airplane can still be steered, at least to a degree, with rudder inputs that stop short of causing a spin.Even one lesson will probably help you develop a finer “feel” for how the airplane moves and how it responds in various attitudes.After a few repetitions I was ready to try an actual competition spin, which is technically an incipient spin that begins and ends with the aircraft on a specified heading. Stick all the way back, and don’t wait for the stall: Push the rudder to the floor and the world will obediently start to rotate. My still-vivid memory of the first is a greenish-brown blur of trees below a blue-white blur where the sky used to be, but over time, with repetitions, my brain caught up, and I was able to pick out particular trees or ridges below and judge precisely when to arrest the spin in order to exit on the desired heading.

I had confidence in my instructor, who told me on that first flight, “There’s nothing you can get us into that I can’t get us out of.” You’ll want to find someone who inspires that kind of confidence, too, because it will build your own without having to endure as much anxiety, a natural reaction to aerobatic maneuvers that prompts some pilots to stick more strictly to straight-and-level flight.

If you’re anxious about G-force, rest assured there’s no need to rush that. While flying a perfectly round loop in a Super Decathlon requires about a 3-G pull, maybe more, depending on entry speed, it’s possible to loop with a little less than that.

Depending on how you feel in the airplane, it may be preferable to begin exploring the inverted realm with a nice, slow aileron roll. One benefit of this maneuver is that it focuses your attention on the horizon, specifically on keeping the nose of the aircraft rotating around a particular point just above that horizon, which can mitigate stress—and even motion sickness—to a degree. It is also how we learn to feel how the rudder and elevator inputs both “reverse” when the aircraft is inverted, while the aileron inputs and roll response do not.

It’s common to roll the airplane inverted as soon as the aerobatic practice area is reached and confirmed clear of traffic. This safety check will reveal any loose items you may have missed when strapping in.

Into the box

Whether or not you choose to compete, most of your aerobatic flying will probably be in some version of “the box,” an approximation of the compact area in which all contest flights take place. The IAC (and, for international competition, the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale) requires contest organizers to establish and visually designate with markers or other visual references on the ground a block of airspace that is 3,281 feet square (on the X and Y axis), with an upper vertical limit of 3,500 feet agl for lower categories. The low limit, for the lower categories, is 1,500 feet, and it’s easy enough to maintain with margin to spare, provided you pay attention to each maneuver’s entry altitude.

Your instructor will have selected an appropriate area that could be larger than contest regulations require and well away from airways and populated areas, where it is safe to conduct aerobatic maneuvers. Staying off airways reduces the likelihood of encountering other aircraft that are unaware of the kind of maneuvers you are flying, although it does not guarantee any such thing. It is useful that aerobatic maneuvers are generally flown with eyes outside, referencing wing-mounted sight gauges against the horizon to judge pitch, because there’s no absolution from the responsibility to see and avoid other aircraft during aerobatic flight. Quite the contrary, in fact.

You can begin your familiarization even before your first appointment. Ask your instructor specifically where you’ll be practicing, and you can find the location on Google Earth, and scope things out a bit. This is also the beginning of a detailed plan for the flight, a sequence of known steps that can help keep nerves calm when approaching the maneuvers that remain unknown.

In the end, this is the point of flying aerobatics: replacing unknowns with experience. Gaining confidence in the airplane to respond as you expect, and confidence in your ability to direct it, also usually comes with improved airmanship in the bargain. Even an hour or two might be enough to make a lasting difference in your rudder work, and if it turns into a hobby, you can expect to meet many like-minded people and forge lasting friendships. FT

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