2025 IAC Nationals

Ed Haywood

Ed Haywood

Final Approach
Joined
Jul 12, 2020
Messages
7,624
Location
Tampa FL
Display Name
Ed
Home Airfield
FD77
National Championships are today through Friday at KSLN, Salina Kansas. Turnout is great, with ~120 pilots competing. Several college teams turned out in force.

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It is being live streamed on YouTube. For anyone interested in watching, here is the link:

youtube.com

International Aerobatic Club

Videos from the International Aerobatic Club, a division of the Experimental Aircraft Association. www.iac.org
youtube.com youtube.com

I am competing for the first time, in Sportsman category. My goal is to finish in the top half of the field. I am #16 in order of flight tomorrow morning.

Weather is forecast to be excellent all week, which is a really good thing.
 
Ed Haywood said:
National Championships are today through Friday at KSLN, Salina Kansas. Turnout is great, with ~120 pilots competing. Several college teams turned out in force.

View attachment 145582

It is being live streamed on YouTube. For anyone interested in watching, here is the link:

youtube.com

International Aerobatic Club

Videos from the International Aerobatic Club, a division of the Experimental Aircraft Association. www.iac.org
youtube.com youtube.com

I am competing for the first time, in Sportsman category. My goal is to finish in the top half of the field. I am #16 in order of flight tomorrow morning.

Weather is forecast to be excellent all week, which is a really good thing.
Click to expand...
6 kids in front with blue/red jackets….that’s the Metro State University of Denver team.

Go Roadrunners! weird for an air team, but that’s what we got.
To the right of them in uniform….USAF Academy…who we’ve beat 4 of the last 5 years.
 
Love the guy in the front row with the cane! Nothing holding him back.

Good Luck to you (and him).
 
murphey said:
6 kids in front with blue/red jackets….that’s the Metro State University of Denver team.

Go Roadrunners! weird for an air team, but that’s what we got.
To the right of them in uniform….USAF Academy…who we’ve beat 4 of the last 5 years.
Click to expand...

Great bunch of kids! Likewise for the UND team, which is ginormous. I love seeing the aviation colleges stepping up. Except for one that rhymes with Remby Biddle, :cough: :cough:.

USAFA has a great turnout for gliders, but nobody for power.
 
For Vans Nation, an RV-14 is about to fly sportsman. He has a lot of decals, so he must be good!
 
First sequence is done. I am 8th out of 20 9th out of 24. Not a smashing performance, but I didn't screw anything up too badly. I read my critiques and have a reasonable chance of cleaning some things up enough to move up on my next 2 flights.
 
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You are in a small group who chose aviation, smaller yet who chose aerobatics, and even smaller yet who chose to compete, and “above average” of that competition. Call it Top 10 in racing. Not too shabby for an old guy. Go get em!!
 
Ed Haywood said:
National Championships are today through Friday at KSLN, Salina Kansas. Turnout is great, with ~120 pilots competing. Several college teams turned out in force.

View attachment 145582

It is being live streamed on YouTube. For anyone interested in watching, here is the link:

youtube.com

International Aerobatic Club

Videos from the International Aerobatic Club, a division of the Experimental Aircraft Association. www.iac.org
youtube.com youtube.com

I am competing for the first time, in Sportsman category. My goal is to finish in the top half of the field. I am #16 in order of flight tomorrow morning.

Weather is forecast to be excellent all week, which is a really good thing.
Click to expand...

Is that the Pilots-N-Paws entry front row left?
 
Yep. One of the first aviation guys I started to watch a while back. Nice humble guy from his online persona. He’s Canadian, so that might have something to do with it, lol! He and others built that plane.

From the group pic, Steve is the guy whose head is next to the elbow of the dude waving.
 
Congratulations on being there! One of my hangar neighbors is there with a green Pitts S-1-11.
 
2nd flight did not go well. I omitted the point in a two point half roll. It was part of the sharks tooth, the highest scoring figure, so I will get a zero and lose about 20% of my score for this flight. Uggh, sometimes this sport can be very frustrating. Zero chance to move into contention now. I have one more flight, maybe I can salvage a top 5 flight at least.
 
Ed Haywood said:
2nd flight did not go well. I omitted the point in a two point half roll. It was part of the sharks tooth, the highest scoring figure, so I will get a zero and lose about 20% of my score for this flight. Uggh, sometimes this sport can be very frustrating. Zero chance to move into contention now. I have one more flight, maybe I can salvage a top 5 flight at least.
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Don't be hard on yourself. As you noted above "I am competing for the first time, in Sportsman category." As I read your words I'm reminded of this:

"It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat."

;)
 
Ed Haywood said:
2nd flight did not go well. I omitted the point in a two point half roll. It was part of the sharks tooth, the highest scoring figure, so I will get a zero and lose about 20% of my score for this flight. Uggh, sometimes this sport can be very frustrating. Zero chance to move into contention now. I have one more flight, maybe I can salvage a top 5 flight at least.
Click to expand...


Do you need some "come from behind" motivational speeches?

Cause I can give you some...

Edit: Crap, hang on, wrong video.
 
Daleandee said:
Don't be hard on yourself. As you noted above "I am competing for the first time, in Sportsman category." As I read your words I'm reminded of this:

"It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat."

;)
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Teddy Roosevelt. Got that on a Plaque when I left the Black World.
 
Daleandee said:
Don't be hard on yourself. As you noted above "I am competing for the first time, in Sportsman category."
Click to expand...

To be clear, I have competed many times, just not at nationals. A contest is a contest; same rules, format, etc.

I developed a bad habit that finally bit me. Rather than refer to my sequence card in flight, I have been flying from memory. It was only a matter of time before adrenaline caused me to rush a maneuver and omit something.

In this case, I flew a half roll instead of 2 points of a 4 point roll coming out of a half Cuban. Dumb mistake.

TBH it's been a hard year and my tolerance for frustration is low.

Oh well, one more flight to redeem myself.
 
Ed Haywood said:
No, did poorly again.
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Piperonca said:
You won by showing up.
Click to expand...

When the results of an auto race are posted, below the last place finisher comes DNF - did not finish. But below that comes DNS - did not start, the absolute bottom rung.

Ed, ya done great just by finishing. Congratulations for showing up and competing at such a high level, especially after such a long layoff.

Have a safe flight home.
 
As of this afternoon (oct 2), Sean Tucker is #8 in Intermediate Power.
 
If anyone wants to watch, the unlimited 4 minute free program is about to start. This is where the top competitors in the US show the very best they can do. Should start at about the 5 hour mark.

 
Holy **** these cats are flying hard. Unfortunately the video doesn't show how low they are. Box floor is 328 feet. Not as low as airshows, but the airshow guys aren't pushing to inverted from a vertical dive at that altitude.
 
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