03/11/2003 | Posted by Mike at 03:16 AM
THE 22ND WAC --- AN OVERVIEW
By Mike Heuer
President
FAI International Aerobatics Commission (CIVA)
Printed in the August 2003 Issue of SPORT AEROBATICS magazine …
Burgos, Muret, Trencin, Debrecen, Le Havre, Yverdon --- these small to medium-sized cities in Europe are now all associated in our memories with World Aerobatic Championships. For those of us fortunate enough to have attended many or all of these competitions, each had its own flavor and personality. In the past 43 years, twenty-two WAC's have been held with the most recent, Lakeland, also now a memory. But what a wonderful memory it will be!
Three WAC's have now been held in the United States --- Oshkosh in 1980, Oklahoma City in 1996, and Lakeland in 2003. But this was the first time that IAC took total control of the event and our staff, officers, directors, and many other volunteers worked for many months to make it a success. The planning for it began almost three years ago when the IAC Board of Directors decided to make a bid at CIVA for the honor of organizing the event.
Fortunately, it was IAC's great fortune to have Phil Knight step forward to serve as Contest Director. As an experienced former US team pilot, contest organizer, and chief judge, Phil brought a unique set of credentials to this job. He is the one of the few contest organizers in my memory to have served in so many different positions prior to the WAC and which gave him a vast base of experience to put this one together. Phil also knows how to delegate and to choose his staff and this he did very well, bringing people into various contest positions who knew their jobs and were tireless in carrying them out -- top quality people like Bob Stark and Bill Williamson and many others.
CIVA approved the American bid for the WAC "in principal" at its plenary meeting in Prague, Czech Republic, in November 2001. Of course, the search for a suitable site was already underway and it was shortly thereafter that the partnership with the Sun 'N Fun Fly-In organization was consummated. John Burton and Greg Harbaugh pledged their full support and were subsequently also relentless in their work.
Finally, in November 2002, CIVA gave its final blessing to the United States for organization of the WAC at its meeting near Nuremberg, Germany. The decision was not without controversy as some of the Delegates were very concerned about the level of entry fees, which were higher than at previous WAC's. Of course, complaints about entry fees are not uncommon and little was said about the deterioration of the US dollar against the Euro in that last couple of years, which gave many Europeans an advantage from previous years. Gerry Molidor and Howie Stock also assured Delegates that more would be provided than at past WAC's, including vehicles for all teams. This was subsequently done and well received.
As it turned out, the Sun 'N Fun Fly-In site was the perfect set-up for a major contest. The FAA building was contest headquarters for most of the WAC and with its excellent briefing room, personnel, and audio-visual equipment --- and Phil's "no nonsense" briefings --- everyone was kept well informed. The contest registrars worked out of this building as well, handling the mountain of paperwork and other assorted details that go way beyond any domestic contest most had been associated with. It was all handled smoothly and well.
Hangars were available and unlike many past WAC's, all of the competition airplanes were stored every day and every night in these beautiful, clean hangars. Naturally, everyone was concerned about the heat and humidity and some thought the choice of a Florida location in June and July was folly. Yes, it was very hot and very humid. But this was well planned for with plenty of water supplied to competitors, special shades constructed on the flight line which covered the airplanes while the pilot strapped in and prepared for flight, and even special hats for everyone.
The most difficult working conditions are always those suffered by the judges. Unlike most domestic competitions, WAC judges must be out on the line all day, every day for almost two weeks. Their concentration level is very high as this is very complex, Unlimited competition flying taking place and their attention can never stray. Under the leadership of Chief Judge John Gaillard, the judging line functioned very well. John brings a vast array of experience to his position as well. He has now served as Chief Judge of more WAC's than anyone in aerobatic history. His immediate helpers --- Americans who jumped in and volunteered --- included Brian Howard who served as Assistant Chief Judge; Charlie Harrison who handled the boundaries; and Brian Becker on the radios. Of course, there were many others and it is impossible to credit everyone.
The judges were supplied with comfortable chairs, umbrellas, and an air-conditioned building for rest periods which was well stocked with food and beverages. The WAC Volunteer Coordinator, Ann Salcedo, and the Chief of the Boundary Judges, Greg Dungan, did an incredible job of taking care of everyone. I had never seen such energy put into accommodating volunteers and contest staff.
At one point in the contest, Greg told me that over 75 IAC volunteers were employed at the WAC. Indeed, boundary judges (called "Line Judges" in CIVA parlance), were rotated about every two hours. With the huge cadre of volunteers that the Sun 'N Fun organization also brought in, I was informed that about 250 volunteers made the contest run. In other words, about 5 people for every 1 pilot. Quite an achievement.
Now to some comments from the Jury perspective …
Unlike domestic competitions, the International Jury plays a much different role at WAC than an IAC contest jury does at regional or national events. The International Jury is composed of five individuals (President and four members) from different countries. Our job is to oversee the event to made sure it is administered "efficiently" (as required in Section 6 of the FAI Sporting Code --- this rule was introduced in 1993); that all Regulations and Codes are complied with (for this we have to refer to CIVA Regulations, the General Section of Sporting Code, and Section 6); and that all protests and complaints are handled by the rules. This year's Jury included Jiri Kobrle (Czech Republic); Ernst Paukner (Germany); Robert Chomono (France); and Lars Frölander (Sweden).
To accomplish these tasks, I usually begin my consulting and liaison work with contest organizers many months in advance of the competition. This usually takes place, in this day and age, in the form of dozens if not hundreds of e-mails. While the Jury cannot become involved in actual contest organizational matters, when it comes to rules application and "traditions" at WAC, I do get involved. Indeed, my communications with Phil Knight began many months ago. What I appreciated about working with Phil was that he knew the questions to ask and which not to ask. I do not recall any WAC where more problems were ironed out well before the event began than this one.
Much of that, of course, was due to the fact that we all know each other and have for many years. The aerobatic community is a fairly tight-knit group and I count many friends in international and national circles. But the fact that I am an American also made it somewhat easier as communication was simple and short. Of course, I was concerned that it would be more difficult for me as well since being President of CIVA and being an American could have been a problem. I frequently recalled the Biblical phrase about how a man cannot be a prophet in his own land. But ultimately, there were few problems. In fact, my acquaintance with most of the contest staff made my job much easier and the entire Jury was treated with the greatest respect by everyone.
When we get to the contest site, the Jury's duties are divided up into four key areas --- flight line operations, the Board of Judges, boundaries, and computer scoring and weather. Jury members are stationed at the flight line and the Chief Judge's position at all times. Frequent inspections of the boundaries are made and the "Met Man" (this year it was Alex Belov) is frequently consulted. Depending on the contest, some of these duties may be relatively trouble-free and others a headache.
This year our greatest problems were not one organization but rather of wind and cloud. Typically, low clouds would move in just after the morning briefing. Sometimes, only the required "warm up" flights would get airborne before the lunch break. Then flying would resume normally in the afternoon with occasional breaks for thunderstorms or winds increasing out of limits. Alex Belov was a very busy man.
CIVA Regulations are very strict --- indeed, some have argued they are too constrictive --- regarding wind and cloud base. We can operate with breaks if the cloud base is down to a minimum of 800 meters but the contest is shut down if wind goes over headwind, crosswind, or tailwind limits. The wind has to be measured accurately (in meters per second) at the surface and 500 meters. This was done by balloon launch and theodolite readings --- an almost lost art. Martin Brenner flew in from California to help Alex and brought with him a specially modified theodolite. It worked flawlessly and provided that all important wind information that the pilots and team managers crave during the course of the competition. I think it was a surprise to some on the starting line as to how obsessive some of the managers and trainers are about this information. But it is a WAC, after all, and such attention to matters that will affect competition flights should be no surprise. In periods of rapidly changing weather conditions, wind observations were often made every thirty minutes, which kept Alex and Martin very busy for hours at a time.
I often get questions about protests and if any are in progress during the contest. This year, we only received one --- from Matthieu Roulet of France. During one of those rapidly changing wind scenarios we experienced in Lakeland, Matthieu was flying after a wind observation that showed we were in limits. However, the pilot subsequent to him was recalled by the Jury and Chief Judge when we found that wind had gone over limits at the next 30 minute interval. It was our view that Matthieu had actually flown in conditions over limit, so a re-fly was granted. While we did hear some grumbling about this from other competitors, it was the fair thing to do and the Jury is always guided by the principle enshrined in Sporting Code which says the benefit of any doubt must be given to the competitor. For me, this was a "common sense" decision. No other protests were filed during the course of the WAC and so from this point-of-view, it was also one of the best ever. I cannot recall a previous WAC where the Jury had less protests to decide.
From a technical standpoint, the contest was also good. There were three mechanicals. One was a loose oil cap on a Sukhoi flown by a Spanish pilot; a broken attachment on an aileron control mechanism on an American-flown CAP 232; and a missing landing gear bolt on the G-200 flown by the Italian team. The WAC Technical Commission Chairman, Mike Mays, handled all of them professionally and quickly. In the case of the loose oil cap, the Spanish pilot, Castor Santoba, was not allowed to fly his Programme Q again for scores as such a mechanical problem is preventable and the responsibility of the pilot-in-command. But the Jury did permit him to fly the Q in the box for safety reasons without official scores. The American pilot, David Martin, went on to fly another CAP 232 for the remainder of the competition. The G-200 was repaired. So all is well that ends well.
And the outcome? The International Jury's job is to insure that a WAC is run "by the book". If a contest follows the rules to the letter and the judging is good, then the result is something that everyone accepts. For anyone who knows the history of WAC over this past half-century, you almost certainly realize that such has not always been the case. In the past, rules have been flaunted and huge advantages given to the "home team". During the Cold War, international tensions that existed between the various political blocs filtered its way down to world aerobatic competition as well.
While the Cold War is over and international cooperation within the aerobatic community could not be better, competition itself is just as fierce as ever. Some teams do not enjoy the state support they used to have or have much less of it. Some teams have disappeared from the international Unlimited arena altogether --- countries with rich aerobatic traditions such as the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Germany. Because of the fact that sponsor funding is now more important than ever to just about every country's team, good results in competition flying takes on new meaning. Thus, despite the fact that political tensions may have eased between former enemies, competition is just as strong as ever. Actually, this is good for the sport. Pilots and teams want to win and they work very hard at it --- just as they did in decades past.
The Jury was very content at the conclusion of this WAC. We believed the organizers had done a very good job and attention to detail was very high. Thus, Lakeland continued a building tradition of better and better contests which started in Trencin, Slovakia in 1998 --- a contest which surprised all of us by its quality. The most recent WAC in Burgos, Spain was also superb under the leadership of Luis Cabre. IAC, Sun 'N Fun, and the volunteers had a high standard to meet if the WAC in Lakeland was to be an improvement on these events. Indeed, it was.
A couple of other notes of interest …
We had several "independents" at this competition. Mostly Americans with one Russian, these pilots were permitted to fly in the competition "hors concours", i.e. they would be ranked and scored by the judges but their scores would not count toward awards or trophies. This has been a long-standing tradition in CIVA. It was once the way we accommodated the South Africans when their country was still under the apartheid system. In recent years, it has been a way to permit pilots to fly who are not members of official teams but want the experience of an international competition. David Martin and Robert Armstrong, for example, had flown in Lithuania at the European Championships in 2002 in this status. Independents are always treated equally in all respects, however, and most come away richer for the experience.
Interestingly, an independent managed to actually score first place in the Four Minute Free (Programme 4). Victor Chmal of Russia was an independent this year for reasons unknown to me, despite his having been the World Champion in 1996 in Oklahoma City. However, because his scores could not be counted --- though I was under some pressure to alter this ruling --- Mikhail Mamistov ultimately took home the Manfred Strössenreuther Trophy, given to the first place winner in this programme. We were very happy to have the independents --- all enthusiastic and superb pilots. I am quite sure this tradition will continue.
Of course, I had countless other impressions and experiences at this WAC which I will savor in the years ahead and as we in CIVA prepare for the next WAC. Location of that competition in 2005 is not yet decided. But Lakeland will remain a standard by which all future WAC's will be judged. I also hope that some of the talented and experienced people we had in Lakeland will join the volunteer group at future contests. CIVA has managed to cultivate a truly international team of people who come in and work these events at the side of local volunteers. People like Michel Dupont who created the CIVA software for scoring the event --- as well as many others. Now I hope that people like Ann Salcedo, Brian Howard, and Greg Dungan --- all of whom expressed interest in helping in the future --- will join our ranks. Not to worry. We will not steal them away from IAC! They will become involved --- just as anyone can in aerobatics --- in just another aspect of our sport which will bring them new friends and experiences.
My congratulations to Sergey Rakhmanin, the new World Aerobatic Champion; Svetlana Kapanina, the Women's World Aerobatic Champion; and the Russian Team for your victories. Also, to those who followed very closely behind. They will be there next time, trying to wrest those trophies away and with the benefit of even more practice, experience, and skill.
Thank you, IAC and Sun 'N Fun --- for a wonderful WAC!
Sergey Rakhmanin of Russia has won the gold in Programme 1 of the World Aerobatic Championships currently underway in Lakeland, Florida, USA. Sergey flies the Sukhoi SU-31. Following him in the overall results were Svetlana Kapanina in second place and Mikhail Mamistov in third -- both from Russia. 
Speeches were made by Sun ‘N Fun President John Burton, Contest Director Phil Knight, and local officials. The keynote address was given by Clint McHenry, a former member of the U. S. Aerobatic Team. His remarks recounted the long trip of the Team into the Soviet Union in 1976 when the WAC was held in Kiev. Finally, the WAC was officially opened by CIVA President Mike Heuer and then the evening airshow began. Spectators and participants were treated to beautiful night aerobatic displays and a spectacular fireworks show which followed.
Flying continued on Friday, 27 June, in Programme Q and the flights were finished in the early evening. 
