Aerobatics for the Rest of Us

The typical GA pilot might enjoy an occasional hundred-dollar hamburger, go to fly-ins, and take long cross-country vacations every couple of years. A few of us even make the pilgrimage to KOSH for AirVenture, a seven-day celebration of everything we love, including physics-defying aerobatics. It is inspiring to watch, but, as mere mortals, performing such maneuvers is not something you’ll ever achieve, right?

You may be gratified to learn that these impressive maneuvers are actually within reach. You may not perfect the Cuban eight to Michael Goulian’s standards, but you’ll experience an amazing transformation while trying.

Just some basic upset and aerobatics training make the typical GA pilot atypical in the best possible way. With some guided experience rolling beyond 60° and pitching beyond 30°, you can become a much safer and justifiably confident pilot.

Besides, when you're hangar-flying with your friends, it’s pretty cool to say, “So, I was practicing hammerheads the other day, and (insert humble brag here).”

The first step in your aerobatic journey is finding a qualified instructor. The International Aerobatic Club has a list of flight schools and instructors offering aerobatic training.

You'll learn a lot from aerobatic instruction. 

• Dutch rolls — to fine-tune your ability to stay coordinated.
• Pushovers — to give you the muscle memory you need in scenarios like engine failure near the ground.
• Fully developed stalls — to learn AoA management and experience the envelope in a way the ACS doesn’t require (like performing a falling leaf stall).
• Aileron rolls — to be able to level the wings from any angle.
• Accelerated stalls — that require you to snap-roll left and recover.
• Base-to-final stalls/spins — for obvious reasons.
• Hammerheads — to understand many things about stalling, attitude, and airspeed.
• Spins — until you can do them on your own like it's nothing.

It is amazing how aerobatic maneuvers give you an understanding of how airplanes really fly and turn what was once frightening into pure joy. More importantly, and the justification for doing all this, they help you get back right-side up in case of a chance encounter with wake turbulence or falling off into a spin during a base-to-final stall. 

For the first time, you’ll experience where your airplane’s limitations lie. Respect and understanding will replace fear. Learning some basic aerobatics and completing an Upset Prevention and Recovery Training (UPRT) course will go a long way toward making you a safer and happier pilot.

I encourage you to seek out aerobatic instructors and enthusiasts who have found the freedom of true three-dimensional fun with an airplane.

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