World Glider Aerobatic Championships Opens in Czech Republic

The 13th World Glider Aerobatic Championships opens today at Hosin airfield near České Budĕjovice, Czech Republic with opening ceremonies scheduled at 18.00 local time. The Championships is hosted by the Aero Club of the Czech Republic and directed by Tomas Korinek. Tom also served as the Contest Director of the European Aerobatic Championships (Unlimited Power) last year in Hradec Kralove. Chief Judge is Philippe Kuechler of Switzerland and the International Jury President if Jerzy Makula of Poland. As of today, 34 pilots are officially registered for the event from 11 countries including the Czech Republic, Poland, Hungary, Germany, Austria, Netherlands, Italy, Russia, the United Kingdom, France, and Japan. Results will be posted daily at www.civa-results.com.

CIVA Rules & Judging Sub-Committees Issue Recommendations for 2010

The CIVA Rules and Judging Sub-Committees met on 10 June 2009 in Turin, Italy during the World Air Games to consider a package of rules proposals submitted by CIVA Delegates for the 2010 competition season. Proposals mostly concerned Power Aerobatics. The CIVA Glider Aerobatics Sub-Committee will meet in Hosin, Czech Republic next week to consider glider-specific proposals made by Delegates.

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The Darius & Girėnas Trophy

From time to time, information on the beautiful trophies that CIVA presents at our various FAI Aerobatic Championships will be featured on the website. This will bring attention to these magnificent awards and their importance in the world of aerobatics. We present today the Darius & Girėnas Trophy. The Darius & Girėnas Trophy is presented to the winning Men’s Team at the European Aerobatic Championships each two years. The trophy was donated by Lithuania in 2003. The trophy has been won by the Russian Team every year since its inception (2004, 2006, and 2008). The award is named after two famous Lithuanian flyers, Stephen Darius and Stanley Girėnas. In July 1933, these pilots attempted a non-stop flight between New York City and Kaunas, Lithuania flying their Bellanca CH-300 “Pacemaker” which they had named “Lituanica”. Tragically, the flight ended in a crash near Rosenthal, Germany in Pomerania (now Rozansko) just 404 miles short of their goal. They had flown 3,984 miles in 37 hours, 11 minutes. These brave pilots remain among Lithuania’s greatest aviation heroes to this day.

World YAK52 Aerobatic Championships Closes

The 2nd World YAK52 Aerobatic Championships was completed on July 3rd at Rojunai Airfield in Lithuania. Twenty pilots from six countries competed in this "single type" competition. The 1st Championships was held last year in Novosibirsk, Russia. The new World Champion in the YAK52 is Alexander Myakishev of Russia (shown in photo). In second was Onute Motiejunaite of Lithuania and in third, Sergey Dadykin of Russia. Contest Director was Arminas Murauskas and Chief Judge was Pavol Kavka of Slovakia. Team Champions were (1) Russia, (2) Lithuania, (3) Ukraine, and (4) Kazakhstan.

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Filippini and Ecalle Win World Air Games

The final flight programmes of the World Air Games were flown in Power and Glider on Saturday, June 13th, and the WAG has now been completed. It has been a hot and busy week but a good experience for all involved. Special thanks to the Judges and Jury members who did their best -- in cooperation with their Italian colleagues -- to make the aerobatics section of the WAG a success.

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World Air Games Opens

The World Air Games in Turin, Italy has officially opened. Power and Glider Aerobatic pilots (8 Power and 9 Glider) practiced yesterday in the box at Turin and are continuing their practice flights today. Programme 1 for both disciplines will begin tomorrow.

Rules Proposals for 2010 - Power and Glider

The deadline for the submission of rules proposals has passed and 11 countries have submitted suggested changes to FAI Sporting Code, Section 6, which would take effect on 1 January 2010. The rules proposals have been allocated to appropriate Sub-Committees. CIVA Rules and Judging Sub-Committees deal with proposals which affect both Glider and Power Aerobatics and judging issues including analysis and selection. These CIVA Sub-Committees will meet in Turin, Italy on 10 June 2009 during the World Air Games. The meeting will be chaired by CIVA President Mike Heuer.

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Jury and Judges for 2009 FAI Aerobatic Championships

The list of Jury members and Judges for all five of the FAI Aerobatic Championships scheduled in 2009 is now available for download (see below). This list is combined to make it easy for reference. 2009 will be a particularly challenging year for the small number of CIVA international officials who work at these events since the calendar has expanded in recent years to include the World YAK 52 Aerobatic Championships and the World Air Games. Our thanks to all who have agreed to serve the sport of aerobatics. The list was updated on 21 July 2009.

LausitzCup 2008 Tests Winch Launches for Glider Aerobatics

Last year in Rothenburg, Germany, the "Lausitzpokal 2008" Glider Aerobatics competition was held and intended as a proof-of-concept of using winch launches for aerobatics. To quote Gerd Ottensmann, one of the Judges at the competition:

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List of FAI International Aerobatic Judges for 2009

The 2009 FAI International Aerobatic Judges List is now available at www.fai.org/aerobatics/judges. The list of judges is reviewed annually at the plenary meeting of CIVA and new judges are added and non-current judges deleted.

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