The premier event for the International Aerobatic Club, the U.S. National Aerobatic Championships, returns to Salina beginning this week.

The official contest dates are September 24-29.  Practice dates will be September 21-23.

Some of the best aerobatic pilots in the nation will be flying their airplanes in loops, rolls, dives, stalls and turns. Each flight is thoroughly planned to ensure the highest levels of safety while testing the abilities of both pilot and airplane.

During the championships pilots compete in five categories– Primary, Sportsman, Intermediate, Advanced, and Unlimited in both power and glider aerobatics. Pilots in each category fly at least three routines:

• Known: where all competitors fly a pre-published set of maneuvers.
• Unknown: the sequences of aerobatic figures are presented to the pilot 12 hours before.
• Free Program: pilots create their own routine based on maneuvers allowed in their category.

The flights are judged for precision and excellence.

A separate championship for the the top 10 competitors in the Unlimited and Advanced category will take place. Music and smoke are part of this event and the public can attend this and any other flights during the week as observers at no cost.

Public viewing for the event will be near Fossett Plaza located off of Beechcraft Road.

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Details for the championships can be found at: www.iac.org/nationals

Photo via International Aerobatic Club