The International Perspective

Currently, the most successful countries in terms of international aerobatic competition are France and Russia. Both appear to enjoy state sponsorship schemes and systems for cultivating promising pilots. For example, the French unlimited team ('unlimited' being the highest level of aerobatic competition) receives an annual budget in the order of US$ 750,000 from the French Ministry of Sport. This money is then put to work under the control of the French Aero Club and the French Air Force.

Also in France, regional aerobatic centres exist which are sponsored by local chambers of commerce. At these centres, talented pilots have access to modern high performance aircraft at very low hourly rates thus eliminating the need for personal capital investment.

Aerobatic flying in the UK has never received any financial support from the government. Until relatively recently, the BAeF was always given to understand that the Sports Council, which controls the distribution of National Lottery funds to teams and individuals, had chosen not to recognise any motorised activity (in the air or on the ground) as a sport. Although the government say this has now changed (and to be fair, the UK Sport logo, along with other sponsors logos', has been seen on the front page of a publication for enthusiasts of radio-controlled model aircraft!) the reality is that National Lottery funds are almost exclusively awarded to elite standard Olympic athletes. In these circumstances, the only possible avenue for financial assistance for British competitive aerobatics has been the private sector; and to date this has not been either substantial or sustained.

However in recent years, despite lack of financial support, UK pilots have achieved:

• A Team bronze medal at the 1999 Advanced World Championships held in the Czech Republic

• An individual bronze medal and the Team bronze medals at the 2002 Advanced World Aerobatic Championship held in Slovenia

• The Team bronze medal at the 2004 European Aerobatic Championship in Lithuania

• A highly creditable 4th position at the 2005 World Aerobatic Championship held in Spain

• Excellent 7th and 8th places at the 2007 World Aerobatic Championships at Granada in Spain

As can be seen therefore; we do have a number of highly motivated and talented pilots, but we have been unable to make that final break-through to gaining individual medals in the elite world unlimited category because lack of funding doesn't allow us to provide the many extra hours of training required to succeed at that ultimate level. To achieve anything like the consistency of the French and Russian successes, it will be necessary for us in the UK to identify pilots with the appropriate skills and determination, and then to make suitable training regimes available to them free, or at very low cost.

Skyboard Aerobatics is based at Bagby Airfield, near Thirsk, North Yorkshire. Tom Cassells, the British National aerobatic champion in 2002 and 2004, actively participates in aerobatic training duties at Skyboard, whose website is at www.skyboard.co.uk.

There are a number of other UK aerobatic trainers and coaches, not least amongst which are: