05/02/2003 | Posted by Mike at 10:07 PM
This Year's Championships
The 2003 aerobatic contest season is about to begin and there are three exciting FAI Aerobatic Championships on the calendar this year at which hundreds of aerobatic pilots will be competing. I know that I can speak for FAI and CIVA when I say that we expect these to be some of the best organised and administered competitions in our long history. My thanks to the various organisers for stepping forward and offering to host these important events --- and to keep the traditions of aerobatic competition alive even in these difficult economic times.
The XXII World Aerobatic Championships is being organised this year by IAC, the American aerobatic association, and will take place in Lakeland, Florida, USA on 25th June through 4th July. Contest Director is Phil Knight, an experienced Unlimited pilot, former member of the US Team, and an accomplished organiser and judge. Phil's experience is extensive and he is doing a good job of putting this important event together. He is supported by an outstanding staff.
I am also delighted that Advanced European Aerobatic Championships will be organised this year in Karlsborg, Sweden --- the first time for an FAI Championships in Scandanavia. The Swedes, Finns, Danes, and Norwegians have been active in CIVA for years and have been putting on domestic and regional competitions for the last 20 years. I know the competition will be a good one and is headed by Lars-Göran Arvidsson, Sweden's Alternate Delegate to CIVA. He also has a lot of good help and support. The contest will be held on 25th July through 2nd August.
Finally, once again, Hungary has stepped up to the challenge and will organise the X World Glider Aerobatic Championships. Hungary has a long tradition in both powered and glider aerobatics and have successfully hosted many competitions in the past. It will be held in Pér, Hungary on 2nd through 15th August.
CIVA Meets in Germany
CIVA held its plenary meeting at the Burg Rabenstein, north of Nürnberg, Germany on the 16th of November 2002. The meeting was hosted by the Deutscher Aero Club (DAeC) and organised by Hans Vogtmann of Creussen, Germany. Hans has been a tireless worker on behalf of CIVA for many years and frequently serves as our representative to the organisers in the months prior to various Championships --- helping them get the details right and making these contests a success. The meeting, its surroundings, the venue, and the social events were some of the best I have ever experienced in 18 years of attending CIVA meetings. The beautiful castle, the stunning countryside, and the attention to detail in the meeting organisation made our plenary both enjoyable and productive. I will discuss some of the details in this column. Full minutes of the meeting can be found on the Meetings page on this website as well.
World Air Games
The III.World Air Games were an important agenda item for CIVA this year. The Bureau of CIVA has been working with the World Air Games Coordinating Committee (WAGCC) and its chairman, B. J. Worth (USA), for some time now in preparing our specifications for the Games.
One thing was obvious early in the discussions --- the Games must be smaller, more compact, more centrally located, and feature the top competitors in the world. They also must be able to be televised and easily understood if we are to expect wide media coverage of the event in the future. Thus, CIVA's mission --- as directed by the WAGCC and the FAI itself --- is to provide a format that will fit into this new concept.
While the work is far from finished and regulations must be written and approved, we envision a fairly small "masters" type of event featuring the world's best pilots flying free style sequences to music. In fact, this is what has been done at the World Grand Prix of Aerobatics (WGPA) events, directed by Jean-Louis Monnet, for many years. Thus, we actually hope to have the World Air Games --- from an aerobatic standpoint --- as a Grand Prix style event. These have been immensely successful in Asia as consistently reported by our CIVA officials who have worked the WGPA in Motegi, Japan. I believe that a Grand Prix at the Games will greatly enhance the overall impact of the WAG as I have long believed that aerobatics is one of the most spectacular of air sports.
We will announce more news on this subject soon.
Rules Changes for 2003
Much of CIVA's work centers around the various rules changes proposed by member countries and subsequently considered by Sub-Committees.
The CIVA Rules, Judging, and Glider Aerobatic Sub-Committees play an extremely important role in our work. Each year, members of these sub-committees are elected at the plenary meeting of CIVA. These positions are highly sought after and usually a large number of candidates run for the positions. Members of sub-committees not only include Delegates and Alternate Delegates but also highly regarded members of the aerobatic community who have considerable experience in our sport.
The Sub-Committees discuss each proposal in detail and then issue their recommendations to the plenary. Any rules proposal which does not survive sub-committee discussions is not presented at plenary. The sub-committees can also modify and alter proposals as well before presentation to plenary. Of course, this gives the sub-committees a tremendous amount of power but their work has always been highly regarded by Delegates and most of their recommendations are usually adopted, though not without some spirited discussions at times. It is the nature of competition aerobatics.
Once again, this last year there were many proposals. Let me summarize what CIVA did and why.
Judge Performance Factors (JPF)
Those of you active in competition know that CIVA uses a fairly simple method of evaluating judge performance which we call "Judge Performance Factors (JPF)". The aerobatic contest scoring software we use automatically provides these numbers and the International Jury uses them to review the quality of judging at every Championships. JPFs are also taken into account when after each flight programme and, in the past, judges have been deleted from the line if they did not perform up to our standards. A full explanation of the JPFs can be found in the appendixes of the various Parts to CIVA Regulations.
Beginning this year, JPFs will be manually adjusted upward for those judges who fail to see zeroes or zero when they shouldn't, as determined by the majority of the Board of Judges. "Majority rule" is a key feature of our regulations in various areas but remember that sometimes this majority is achieved after a review of the video of the flight takes place. Thus, there are many safeguards built into the system.
It is CIVA's view that JPFs must be adjusted if a judge is not seeing zeroes, for example, that occur and is subsequently overruled by the majority of the judging panel. In the past, the zero has been raised to at least the lowest mark given by another judge and then fed into the computer. Now these judges will be identified and their JPFs changed accordingly. This will give us more realistic JPFs.
Programme 4
Also known as the "Four Minute Free", this flight programme is one of the most exciting and innovative in aerobatic competition. It is always enjoyed and favored by spectators and the media as well. It was introduced into the WAC in 1972 and has been a feature of the Championships ever since.
In recent years, however, it has been flown as a separate trophy event. The results from Programme 4 have not been included in the overall results to determine the World Champion. This was because there was concern on CIVA's part over the judging criteria and the subjectivity of the judging.
In 2001, CIVA introduced new judging criteria for the flight which was the result of considerable work on the part of an experienced working group. It is much more detailed today and the criteria for the various marks are well defined. Since we introduced the new criteria, there have been no proposals to change it.
Thus, CIVA agreed to re-introduce Programme 4 into the final results beginning on 1 January 2003 ---- after two years of experience with the judging criteria including the World Championships in Spain in 2001 and the European Aerobatic Championships in Lithuania in 2002. However, some of our Delegates were not satisfied that the aerobatic world is ready for this change just yet, so a proposal was introduced by France to delay the inclusion of this flight programme into the flight results until 1 January 2004. This was agreed by CIVA in November.
I am hopeful there will be no further delays. This flight programme is immensely popular with the public and also requires a pilot to show elements of skill beyond the technical flying which is featured in classical competition. He or she must show innovation, versatility, creativity, style, and flair. While these elements can be different to judge than say, for example, the roundness of a loop, they are all a part of the wonderful world of aerobatics. I hope we can return to more of the artistry that characterized our sport in the early years.
Unlimited Pilots in Advanced
For several years, CIVA has had a rule which prevents Unlimited pilots from flying in Advanced Championships for at least one calendar year after they have competed in an FAI Unlimited Championships. This year, that limit is increased to two years.
CIVA does not want Advanced to be invaded by Unlimited pilots seeking medals and trophies, as was made clear when the one-year rule was adopted. To make this even more strict, the two-year limit was almost unanimously supported.
Keeping the Advanced category truly "Advanced" is a difficult task for CIVA. We wrestle with it each year, usually when it comes to the approval of aircraft types for the category. The decisions we take in this regard take into account many factors --- including what is available in the way of aircraft.
This year, however, we did approve the introduction of outward rolling turns into the Advanced Unknown list of figures. These figures, though more difficult than rolling circles to the inside, do not pose performance issues for aircraft --- just more practice for pilots.
Order of Flight
In powered FAI aerobatic competitions, the order of flight for pilots is determined by the rank order of the official standings after the previous flight(s). This year, that will change slightly.
There will be an order of flight random drawing among the top 10 pilots only after Programme Q and all subsequent programmes. This will alleviate the concerns of some who feel that judging is affected by rank order and may also provide a bit of relief from the stress of competition as it comes to the end of a flight.
I expect this will be the subject of many future discussions. While using rank order has been controversial since its introduction 10 years ago, it has been quite popular with the organizers, with judges, and with the media and public. The excitement increases as the flight programme rolls to a close --- and everyone's eyes are on the pilot in the box for those last few flights as the World Champion is determined. But we will give this new system a try and see how it works in 2003.
Changes to FAI Catalogue
Those of you who have flown "crossover" spins and tried to make them look good for the judges are going to appreciate this news. They are being removed from the FAI Aerobatic Catalogue this year. They go the way of the super slow roll and the barrel roll (in power) and are now relegated to trash heap of aerobatic history. I doubt if many will miss them. The removal of these figures was the only change this year to the FAI Catalogue.
The new Catalogue is available for download on this website.
New Classes of Competition
John Gaillard of South Africa --- and CIVA's First Vice President --- introduced a proposal last year to create new categories of competition centered around the YAK-52 and the Pitts S-2B aircraft. Both of these aircraft exist in large numbers around the world. The new competition would be based on the Advanced category and would be "single type" competitions. John is working on the rules now for these competitions and we expect their introduction soon.
I think it is very important for all aerobatic leaders --- both in CIVA and in the various national aerobatic associations --- to think of new ways to get more pilots involved in FAI competition. The more pilots we have participating, the better for our sport. Perhaps this will be another way to do it.
Other Rules
There are some other interesting new rules being introduced this year. Please see the Minutes for details (a table of changes is included as an attachment to those Minutes).
The bonus points for Unlimited Free Programmes have changed slightly. Reserve marks, formerly given by Judges, are eliminated and an average is now used when a minority zero is raised. New rules are also introduced on the use of video as well.
The Leon Biancotto Diploma
CIVA awards the Leon Biancotto Diploma from time to time for outstanding contributions to the sport of aerobatics. This year's award went to Martin Stahalik, a respected aerobatic pilot from the Czech Republic who made his mark in both Advanced and Unlimited competition as well as in aerobatic instruction. He lost his life a couple of years ago in an accident in the Netherlands. I was delighted with this decision --- I had known Martin for some years and had a great respect for his abilities. We miss him greatly.
Elections
In addition to various contest officials and sub-committee members, CIVA also elects its officers each year. All incumbents were re-elected and I am honored once again to be able to work with several fine individuals who have devoted much of their lives to work on behalf of aerobatics.
My congratulations to John Gaillard (South Africa), CIVA's First Vice President, who will also serve once again as Chief Judge of the World Aerobatic Championships in the USA. John is CIVA's most experienced Chief Judge and is a tremendous asset to our organisation. He also will chair the Judging Sub-Committee.
Second Vice President is Jiri Kobrle (Czech Republic). Jiri has been a close friend since 1982, when I first met him at the WAC in Spitzerberg, Austria. He is the longest-serving and most experienced Delegate in CIVA. He first competed at the 1964 WAC in Bilbao, Spain and has served as Judge, Chief Judge, and Jury member and chairman at countless competitions. His wise advice and counsel is invaluable to me and CIVA.
Third Vice President is Osmo Jalovaara (Finland). Osmo has extensive business and FAI experience, having served as President of another FAI commission. He also has the maturity and good judgement which make him a natural for a CIVA leadership position. He is active both in the WGPA and the WAG preparation. I value his views.
Karl Berger is serving once again as our Vice President of Glider Aerobatics. From Austria, Karl has also devoted most of his adult life to aerobatics. He was there when the first World Glider Aerobatic Championships were organised in the 1980's. His many years of service as Vice President, chairman of juries at many competitions, and a contest organiser himself have given him an experience base which is invaluable to CIVA.
Finally, our Secretary is Liz Cook of Australia. Liz has occupied this position for many years. Also a contest organiser and experienced judge, Liz brings an enthusiasm and a work ethic to aerobatics that I can only envy. Her "sixth sense" about issues and problems are always important in our work.
Of course, there are many other CIVA officials out there --- on the various working groups, the sub-committees, and in contest positions. Our team of workers is a large one and highly qualified. I am lucky to count most of them as friends and it is an honor to serve with them on your behalf.
Nominations have now opened for judging positions at the XXII World Aerobatic Championships and the X World Glider Aerobatic Championships. CIVA Delegates were invited yesterday by CIVA President Mike Heuer to submit names of Judges who would like to serve at these important competitions.
Hans Vogtmann of Creussen, Germany has been named by the Bureau of CIVA to head its Contest Organisation Group. This working group is responsible for establishing standards for the conduct of World and Continental Aerobatic Championships with regards to administration, logistics, and technical details. 
It is with great regret CIVA announces the passing of Paul Heyns as a result of an accident in his Cap 222 on Wednesday, 5th February. Paul had recently imported the CAP from Belgium. Paul was a member of the South African Advanced Aerobatic Team that competed at the Advanced World Aerobatic Championships (AWAC) in Slovenia in August 2002.