OSHKOSH, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – EAA’s AirVenture may be over, but planes can still be seen filling the skies over Oshkosh this week.
For the second straight year, pilots from across the country will compete in the U.S. National Aerobatic Championships being hosted by the International Aerobatic Club at Wittman Regional Airport.
“This is kind of like the Olympics of the sky,” said executive director for the IAC Lorrie Penner.
IAC Director Robert Armstrong tells FOX 11….
“What you will see is some of the most precise aerobatic flying that you can see anywhere in the country, as opposed to airshows, which really are more literally a show. These are precision aerobatics.”
Storms grounded the competition on Tuesday, but 76 highly-skilled aerobatic aircraft pilots went up Saturday.
Penner tells FOX 11 they compete in different categories in both powered and glider aircraft.
“We will be crowning national champions in five categories for Primary, Sportsman, Intermediate, Advanced and Unlimited categories. The further up you go, the harder the figures get.”
In addition, the top finishers in the Unlimited category will earn berths on the U.S. team that will compete next year at the world championships in France.
Pilots in each category fly at least three routines.
Armstrong says all routines are scored by a group of judges, with the judging being much like what’s seen in figure skating or diving.
“A dive has a difficulty, the judges watch the dive and give a score from 0 to 10, the difficulty factor times the score results in points, and so it’s all about getting the most points.”
The event moved to Oshkosh last year, after being held in Texas for most of the past 45 years.
And while the national championship site and aircraft parking area are closed off to the public, the airport terminal area is not.
The public is invited to attend the competitions that will go through Friday.
IAC will also host a free public one-hour presentation at the airport terminal to introduce the details of competition aerobatics Friday at 1 p.m.
