Malelane, Mpumalanga, South Africa

9 – 17 September 2017

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The Sport Aerobatic Club of South Africa is a section of the The Aero Club of South Africa and is the designated organisation responsible for the control of sport aerobatics in South Africa and will play host to the 29th FAI World Aerobatic Championships during September in Malelane, Mpumalanga. It is the first time that this Unlimited category of championship will be held in South Africa, however the club has hosted international formats in the past. The very first Advanced World Aerobatic Championship was held in Cape Town, Western Cape during February 1995 and has since proven to be the most popular category of the sport. South African pilot Glen Dell was crowned World Champion in the category in 2004.

Much like the Advanced category, South Africa was yet again the initial proponent of another category for world championship status, when the country hosted the first World Intermediate Aerobatic Championships in Mossel Bay during November 1994 where Durbanite Michel Leusch took top honours.

These championships are held under the auspices of the controlling body for sport aviation, Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) and the division controlling aerobatics @Commission Internationale Voltige Aerienne (CIVA).

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This championship will be flown in the Unlimited category of aerobatic sport. Sport aerobatics is an aviation sporting discipline that relies on precision flying that takes place within a kilometre-squared imaginary cube of airspace, usually located overhead an airfield. It is the only aviation sporting discipline that exploits the freedom of all three dimensions of flight. Flight sequences consist of a series of different figures, with each figure being allocated a difficulty co-efficient known as a K-factor. The pilot must execute the figures as they are drawn which are duly graded by a panel judges situated on the ground by way of reference to published criteria such as the precision of lines and angles. The judges start by assuming that the figure will be flown accurately and then deduct marks for any observed errors, allocating a score marked out of ten. There are five programmes to be flown during the course of the championship; a practised Free Known sequence, four Unknown sequences which are to be flown without prior practice and then a final Freestyle airshow-type sequence. The World Champion is the pilot who achieves the highest combined score. Medals are also awarded to the teams based on the results of their top three competitors.

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9th September 10:00 to 14:00 – Arrivals

15:30 to 16:30 – General Briefing

16:30 to 17:30 – Selection of Unknown Figures Programme 2

17:45 to 18:45 – Judges Briefing

20:00 to 22:00 – Opening Ceremony

10th September 08:00 to 08:30 – Daily Briefing

09:00 to 13:00 – Competition Flights Programme 1

14:30 to 20:00 – Competition Flights Programme 1

11th September 08:00 to 08:30 – Daily Briefing

09:00 to 13:00 – Competition Flights Programme 1

14:30 to 20:00 – Competition Flights Programme 2

16:30 to 17:30 – Selection of Unknown Figures Programme 3

12th September 08:00 to 08:30 – Daily Briefing

09:00 to 13:00 – Competition Flights Programme 2

14:30 to 20:00 – Competition Flights Programme 2

13th September 08:00 to 08:30 – Daily Briefing

09:00 to 13:00 – Competition Flights Programme 3

14:30 to 20:00 – Competition Flights Programme 3

16:30 to 17:30 – Selection of Unknown Figures Programme 4

14th September 08:00 to 08:30 – Daily Briefing

09:00 to 13:00 – Competition Flights Programme 3

14:30 to 20:00 – Competition Flights Programme 4

15th September 08:00 to 08:30 – Daily Briefing

09:00 to 13:00 – Competition Flights programme 4

14:30 to 20:00 – Competition Flights Programme 4

16th September 08:00 to 20:00 – Weather Day

17th September 08:00 to 08:30 – Daily Briefing

10:30 to 15:00 – Competition Flights Programme 5 &

Formation Aerobatics competition.

15:00 to 16:00 – Public WAC Medal Ceremony

20:00 to 23:00 – Closing Dinner

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Contest Director – John Louis Gaillard

Flight Director – Cliff Lotter

Contest Management and Registrar – Quintin Hawthorne

Planning Co-ordination – Annie Boon

Scoring Director – Natalie Stark

Media Liaison – Quintin Hawthorne