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2nd World Air Games
2001 - Powered Aerobatics
Last night at 18.00, Luis Cabre --- Contest Director for WAC 2001 and the powered aerobatics section of the II World Air Games --- opened the competition with the general briefing for all participants. The roll call of pilots indicated a total of 60 pilots from 14 countries will participate. We still await the arrival of Petteri Tarma of Finland --- stuck in bad weather in Scandinavia --- but the size of the competition will equal that of last year's WAC in Toulouse. Of the 60 pilots, 16 are women. While Unlimited competition at the world level is divided by gender, all pilots will fly together in the competition and be judged in exactly the same way.
Order of flight was also done by drawing of lots during the evening briefing and Swiss pilot Peter Gafner will be the first pilot of the XXI WAC in the box in his SU-26. Last will be Svetlana Kapanina of Russia. Preceding the flight of Programme Q will be "warm up" pilots of the French and Russian teams.
Programme Q --- also called the "Known compulsory" --- is a fairly short sequence. Pilots are allowed 10 minutes from take-off to touchdown to fly the Q. Any extra time left over can be used by the pilot to practice. Q is also unique in that all 13 FAI International Judges who are now present on the contest site will be utilized. After the completion of the Q programme, a judging analysis will be done and each Judge will be given a JPF (judge's performance factor) rating. For the first time in CIVA history, JPF's will be made public this year. A maximum of 10 Judges will be selected to continue in the competition. JPF's will be derived after every flight programme and the judging panel will be reduced to the best judges if necessary. Our objective is to provide the highest quality judging possible --- to ensure the best result and so competitors come away from this contest believing they have been fairly evaluated. This morning at 09.00, a briefing of the Judges was held by Chief Judge John Gaillard. For the most part, this consisted of the administration of a short written examination on the 2001 Regulations.
The first warm up pilot was in the air at about 14.00 --- but flying was suspended after the warm ups, as the sun was too intense and directly in the eyes of the judges and video crew. Runway orientation --- as well as the box --- is on a 060/240 degree heading and with the judges pointing roughly at a 150 degree heading, the organizers felt that by mid afternoon, the northwest judging position would be acceptable. It appears now as if that judging position will not be suitable until after 16.00. That decision will be made later in the day. Morning judging position is on the southeast side of the box, so the sun is at the judges' backs during that time --- no problem. They may have to stay over there a bit longer than anticipated.
More news soon as the flying comes to a close at 19.00. Opening ceremonies at the Municipal Theater tonight with the Mayor of Burgos. The Theater is near the stunning Cathedral of Burgos which dates to the XIII century and is one of the most beautiful Gothic cathedrals in existence. It is the trademark of Burgos. 
Flying resumed this morning at close to 11.00 after the two warm up flights with Patrick Williams of the UK up first. Patrick was delayed from yesterday because the slip indicator in his CAP was shattered while getting ready for his flight.
Last flight yesterday was by Alan Cassidy, pilot #18 in the flight, at just after 19.00. Flying had to conclude early because of opening ceremonies at the Teatro Principale in downtown Burgos. The mayor of Burgos welcomed all participants and a very nice reception was held afterwards in the theatre. The judges will remain at the southeast judging position much longer than originally planned due to the intensity of the sun. Temperature is expected to be in the mid-30's Celsius today so the field elevation --- close to 1,000 meters --- combined with the temperature will make the competition flights additionally challenging for the pilots. The plan now is for the judges to break for lunch at about 14.00 and resume at 16.00. Luis Cabre --- Contest Director --- announced this morning that we will likely fly after 21.00 in an attempt to finish Programme Q by this evening. While Q does not count toward the final results of the competition, it will establish the order of flight for Programme 1 : the Free programme --- as pilots will fly in reverse rank order. Highest placing pilots in Programme Q will fly last in Programme 1. Julie Sandman-Mangold of the US Team prepares for Programme Q:
Those who followed last year's WAC in France will remember that the "60% rule" required that anyone not achieving 60% of the points possible in Programme Q would be eliminated from further competition. This rule was changed by CIVA in November 2000. Pilots who fall below the 60% standard and who may not be flying safely may be eliminated by the International Jury, after consultation with the Chief Judge and Board of Judges. This was to eliminate the problem we had last year of good pilots getting the cut last year for simple errors that had nothing to do with safety. For example, there is a 10 minute limit on Programme Q from take-off to touchdown. Any figures flown after the 10 minute limit will be marked zero. One prominent and consistently high placing pilot made this mistake yesterday and zeroed two figures. Though the decision to zero the figures was protested by the team involved, the protest was denied by the International Jury. On another subject : let me mention something I told the mayor last night. This is a wonderful facility for a competition and the people have been very friendly and cooperative. Luis Cabre --- our Contest Director --- has been a gracious host who has vast experience in competition both as a pilot and organizer. Luis has everyone's best interests in mind and is conscientious and competent - an ideal combination. Hans Vogtmann, CIVA's Liaison Officer to the powered aerobatics section of the World Air Games, is here working every day and attending to every detail of the competition. His excellent working relationship with the Spanish and Luis Cabre in particular is very obvious. I am quite proud of Hans' work on behalf of FAI and CIVA over the many months leading up to the competition as well as the responsibilities he has been handling here. Hans is pictured below. While Programme 2 --- the first Unknown --- is still some days away, a drawing of lots as to which countries will actually present figures for the Unknown was done this morning. Ten countries are allowed to present figures. Once these figures have been presented at a briefing and checked for legality, all participating countries will be allowed to submit proposed Unknowns to the International Jury. We will then choose the sequence we believe is best. An objection period is allowed --- 2 hours --- and then it will become final. I hope to have this sequence up on the website as soon as possible. Even if Programme Q is not finished until tomorrow, it is likely Programme 1 (Free) will begin as soon as possible. Of course, it cannot begin until the rank order is established by Q which becomes the order of flight, as previous mentioned. Then, the paperwork must be assembled for all pilots --- a huge job for organizing committee here. Thus, there will be some delay in between programmes. This is one of the reasons why it is desirable to finish by evening. One of the Ukrainian pilots prepares for her flight of Programme Q :
I am back at the keyboard after Jury meetings and duties and we have just finished with the last flight of Programme Q : Robert Armstrong of the USA. Robert's flight was the last as he was feeling ill earlier in the day and the Jury approved a postponement of his flight. It is just before 22.00 and now we await the final results of Programme Q. That will be posted tomorrow after the protest period and the results are final. Incidentally, commentary for the public is being provided by Angel Negròn. Angel was a pilot on the Spanish Aerobatic Team when the WAC was last in Spain in Bilbao in 1964 and here he is participating again. It was a pleasure to meet this warm Spanish gentleman.
The International Jury departed the Burgos airfield last night at nearly 23.00 and we did not yet have the results available from Programme Q due to a computer crash. Our scoring director, Rudy Penteado, worked late into the night to correct the problem and results were available this morning upon our arrival at the airport for the 09.00 briefing. Please click here for the final standings from Programme Q (editorial note : the results of Programme Q will only be published later this week end). Eddy Dussau of France was in first place. Please note that only percentages are presented. Eddy is pictured at last year's WAC in Toulouse-Muret, France.
As mentioned in a previous report, the results from Q are used in reverse order to determine the order of flight for Programme 1, the Free. We began flying the Free this morning at just after 11.00. I expect we will finish tomorrow night, the 23rd of June. The Q was used to determine our Board of Judges as well --- so in addition to being a qualification flight for pilots, it provides a way of evaluating the judging and JPF's are derived at the end on every judge. The panel of 10 judges who will continue in Programme 1 was finalized this morning. This is our panel of Judges for Programme 1:
The Judges above who are listed as "FAI" are actually the CIVA-selected judges. This program was discussed in a previous report. All four of the CIVA judges attained high enough JPF's to remain in the competition. The judge with the best JPF was Alexandr Schipovski followed by Alan Geringer and Francis Itier. Alexandr has consistently been one of the world's best judges since we started tracking this data over a decade ago. The judges truly are the "unsung heroes" of a WAC ---- the work day is a very long one, concluding last night at nearly dark, temperatures are hot, and the rest breaks are few. My thanks to all of them. The judging line in Burgos is shown below.
The contest is running very smoothly as the normal start-up problems are sorted out and everyone eases into their duties. I feel a tremendous desire to "do it right" on the part of the Spanish organizers here. They often ask, "Is everything OK?" and they mean it. This morning at the briefing, 10 countries presented figures for the first Unknown: Lithuania, Italy, USA, Ukraine, France, Spain, Norway, Great Britain, Brazil, and Russia. The period for objections to these figures expired at 16.00 --- as usual, the selections are never without controversy. Already, teams have begun submitting proposed Unknowns to the International Jury. As soon as the Unknown is selected and finalized by the International Jury, I will publish it here. I am actually wrapping up this report on Saturday morning at 09.00 ---- flying stopped last night at pilot #22 in the Free---- I believe we will finish this programme today. The deadline for the submission of proposed Unknown programmes was this morning at 08.00. I have 8 proposed sequences in my possession as I write this and the rest of the Jury members are now carefully reviewing them. Our choice will be announced this morning, a 2-hour protest period will begin, and the sequence will become final after that.
I started preparing this report on the morning of 24 June ---- just a short update. Yesterday, the 23rd of June (Saturday) we continued the flying of the Free Programme. The Chief Judge and organizers made the decision to stop flying just after 20.00 and to delay the flying of the last 10 pilots until Sunday morning. This meant that the highest ranking pilots from Programme Q would be flying in the same conditions and all together. It was a good decision which I fully supported and was similar to the situation we found ourselves in last year at the WAC. We are doing our best to preserve the intent of using rank order as the determining factor in order of flight --- to make sure that similarly skilled pilots flying in nearly the same environmental conditions to achieve the most fair result. CIVA has now employed the bonus point system in the Free for a few seasons now. What has occurred is that everyone is now making use of it. As can be seen below, most pilots are flying 7 figures. Here are the numbers:
The Free was finally finished this afternoon at around 14.00. The last 10 pilots flew their sequences today with Eddy Dussau --- being the first ranking pilot in Programme Q --- finishing the flight programme. The scoring system produced final results in just a few minutes --- as fast as the scoring staff could feed the sheets through the optical reader on the judging line ---- and American pilot David Martin won the gold medal for this flight in his beautiful CAP 232. Final results for Programme 1 will be published here on Monday morning. David is shown below as he taxis onto the runway after being given the "green flag" by the starter.
After a break for lunch, flying of the first Unknown --- Programme 2 --- will begin this afternoon. Judges are now shifting to the northwest judging position as I write this update. I still do not have an image of the Unknown to put here on the FAI website but hope to soon. Any volunteers?
24 June 2001 - Special Report From The Flightline Sunday's flightline was hot, but unusually quiet, as the top ten-ranked pilots after last week's qualifying flights prepared to fly the Programme 1 Freestyle flight. The air was heavy with anticipation and a focused intensity since the day's results would garner medals and set the pace to determine which pilots will capture the world championship titles.
Interestingly, there are five former world champions on the flightline, each playing an integral part in the outcome of this first of four championship flights. 1982 World Champion Victor Smolin is a coach for the Russian team, while Coco Bessiere (1990 World Champion) and Patrick Paris (1998 World Champion) are the trainers of the French team. Russia's Victor Chmal, 1996 World Champion, and two-time Women's World Champion ('96-'98) Svetlana Kapanina are both competing in this flight. The flightline is populated with only the final ten contenders, coaches, team managers, mechanics, umbrellas and water bottles. Pilots sit in any available shade in deep concentration, some appearing to be in an almost meditative state. Others walk through their sequence, hand-flying the figures,their coach at their side. Svetlana Fedorenko sits in a Sukhoi 31, oblivious to the Russian team assistant who is racheting her tightly into the cockpit before her flight, while Kirby Chambliss receives a massage therapy treatment on his neck in the USA tent of the International Village. Next door, another pilot steps through his sequence in an "aerobatic box" marked by tape on the green turf floor of the tent. Kapanina is strapped in, canopy locked and ready to roll when she learns there will be a 10-minute delay. She speaks little English, the official language of the competition, but clearly exclaims, "No!" She had been mentally ready, and now she must reset her concentration. The large, white umbrella is swiftly whisked over to shade her during the wait.
As each pilot flies, rival pilots glance skyward to watch, careful not to break their own concentration.The spectators in the grandstand clap and cheer for each pilot when they open their canopy after taxiing in from their just-completed flight. There are pats on the back, handshakes and smiles of encouragement for each. Camera crews move in to shoot the action. Down the flightline, Martha Martin, the wife of USA pilot David Martin, watches intently as David flies. Martha is an IAC-certified US National aerobatic judge herself. At a critical moment in David's flight, I can hear her talking through every single detail of the aircraft's maneuvering. The intensity of her facial expression, which I manage to catch on film, tells it all. Minutes later, we learn that David has captured the gold medal for his superb flight. Martin lives in Texas and is a former US Air Force Pilot who received the Top Gun award after his F-16 training. Stayed tuned for more "inside" news and photos from the WAC here in Burgos throughout this week.
Just a short report this morning (actually it is the 25th --- we all lose track of time at a competition like this) as I wanted to post an image of the 1st Unknown (Programme 2). Last night (the 24th) we finished 15 pilots. Today we will fly about 34. This keeps the top 10 for tomorrow morning. Here is the Unknown we are flying now:
This morning after briefing, the International Jury met briefly to select Unknown #2 from the 4 proposals we received from the UK, France, USA, and Italy. The Italian proposal was selected after slight modification by the Jury. The 2-hour complaint period on the Unknown now begins. Back later in the day ...
We finished up to pilot number 49 in Programme 2 last night and it was after 21.00 when French pilot Jean-Michel Delorme completed the first Unknown in his CAP 232. The top 10 ranked pilots are flying this morning and we should have final results at about mid-afternoon today.
The second Unknown (Programme 3) was finalized yesterday and I have now it available for all of our readers here. The Unknown was an Italian proposal. In accordance with CIVA Regulations, Part 1, paragraph 1.2.5.2., a mandatory cut of 25% of the pilots will be introduced after Programme 2 --- which means that 45 pilots will fly the second Unknown. While there has been some controversy about this on the contest site, the International Jury is sticking by the rules, as we are obligated to do, though we expect that delegates to CIVA may bring this issue up again at some future meeting. The issue of cuts after programmes has long been an item of discussion at CIVA. Of course, it is obvious that with good weather and adequate flying time, it would seem that flying the most amount of pilots -- if not all -- is the desirable thing to do. However, generally weather has been a factor and almost without exception over the past 10 years or so, we have been pressed for time. But there is another issue which is sometimes not given adequate attention by competitors --- and that is the stress and strain on our Board of Judges. The WAC is the longest aerobatic competition of them all. Most domestic competitions are much shorter in length and the workload on the judges never approaches that of a WAC. The sequences are also the most difficult to judge. As I mentioned in a previous report, 48 of the pilots here are flying 7-figure Frees. Imagine judging these --- one after the other with only short breaks and lunch. Just yesterday while at lunch, the Judges came in from the line for their meal and most looked very tired and fatigued. And keep in mind, since we use rank order in reverse to determine the order of flight, the most mistakes, zeroes, and judges conferences tend to take place at the beginning of the program. It is no mystery that as the Unknown programmes progress, the flying quality steadily improves and the flights become easier to judge. By introducing a mandatory 25% cut, the pressure is taken off the organizers and the International Jury to make a decision on how many to cut --- which every time I have been at a WAC has always been an unpopular decision. By cutting the bottom 14 pilots, we are not only saving almost 3 hours of flying time --- which is not particularly crucial at this event which has had wonderful flying weather --- but we are also reducing the stress on our judges, which is so critical at the end when we are determining the final winners and at the point in time when they have also been judging for several days. I support the present rule. Let me also mention that cuts have often been discussed when the subject of shortening the competitions has come up on the CIVA agenda. Almost universally, delegates have supported making contests shorter. This can only be done in one of three ways --- by restricting participating pilots (shrinking team size, for example), by cutting after programmes, or by flying fewer programmes. My view is the best solution is to cut and fly more programmes in order to determine our World Champions.
So here we are … finishing up Programme 2 today and beginning Programme 3 later in the day. The plan is to finish Programme 3 by tomorrow night (Wednesday, 27 June) and to have Thursday as a "free day" --- the first one at a WAC I can remember since at least 1990. Friday --- the last day of the competition --- will be devoted to Programme 4, the 4 Minute Free. A decision has not yet been taken on how many pilots will fly this programme. CIVA has introduced extensive changes to the judging criteria for this flight, so it will be even more interesting to see the final results. Pilots are vying for the Manfred Strössenreuther Trophy. Speaking of trophies, I have written Juan Castaño, the representative of the central WAG organizers here (called the WAGLEOM) and asked the Royal Aero Club of Spain (RACE) to take on the responsibility of cleaning and restoring the beautiful Aresti Cup. The Cup has been presented to the Overall World Aerobatic Champion since 1964 though it has the winners engraved on it since the first WAC in Bratislava in 1960. Over these past 40 years, it has suffered some damage from being transported from the contest site to the winner's home country and return and is in need of restoration. Thus, it is likely that the Aresti Cup will remain here is Spain so it can be returned to its former glory and as a fitting tribute to the donor of the trophy and one of the fathers of our sport, Jose L. Aresti of Spain. On another note, it is unfortunate at this WAC that we do not have enough women's teams to present the FAI Challenge Trophy. There will be no Women's World Champion Team named at this event. Surprisingly, both the French and Americans did not come with at least 3 women and the only full women's teams were fielded by the Russians and Ukrainians. At least 3 teams are required to declare a Champion Team. The trophy will either be given back to the 2000 winners or be returned to Lausanne --- this decision has not yet been made. More later in the day when we have results from Programme 2.
Since I promised results earlier in the day, please click here for the Final Results and Official Standings from Programme 2 --- the first Unknown. We are beginning the flying on Programme 3, just as I write this, at about 17.00. This Second Unknown sequence has already been published. More as we get results --- or have news. I welcome Karen Diamond to our website as well and hope you enjoy her perspectives and photos.
It was a very long day today --- Wednesday, the 27th of June. There were problems with cloud in the box which delayed flying and a couple of air aborts due to precipitation --- which according to our rules means that flying must be terminated. Nevertheless, all of Programme 3 was completed last night at about 21.00 with Eddy Dussau being the very last pilot to fly in the part of the WAC which determines the Overall World Aerobatic Champion. Once again, because rank order is used to determine order of flight --- and Eddy was in number 1 rank position after Programme 2 --- the pressure on him must have been considerable. Unfortunately --- bad luck. Eddy zeroed figure #8 in the Unknown --- a three-quarter vertical negative flick. Everything changed in the competition at that very moment. Other top ranking pilots had problems with the sequence, though it was a very nice flying set of figures, but it was a joy for all of us to watch these top pilots as the competition came to a close on Wednesday night. Everything hung in the balance. Mikhail Mamistov of Russia, flying the Sukhoi 31, performed a beautiful sequence and won the programme by 112 points over second place pilot Robert Armstrong of the USA. Robert is flying the CAP 231EX --- an older version of this series of French aerobatic airplanes --- but his skills and talent overcame any handicaps this older aircraft may have presented and his flight was almost flawless as well. In third place was Jean-Michel Delorme of France in the CAP 232. Therefore, on the basis of his outstanding performance, Mikhail Mamistov --- a former glider aerobatic pilot as well --- becomes the 2001 World Aerobatic Champion and the winner of the prestigious Aresti Cup.
In addition, Men's Team Champions were named and the Russians took the top prize as well --- the Nesterov Trophy --- for their outstanding team performance. Team results for the men can be found here. At the completion of flying, the American team hosted a wine and cheese party in a tent on the flight --- the evening had been cold and windy --- and as we all gathered together in the tent, congratulating the winners, I was reminded of how wonderful our community of aerobatic pilots and officials really is. It was a fine ending to a series of beautiful flights and everyone was in high spirits due to the superb organization of this competition and the dedication of all of the volunteers and people who came from around the world to make it happen. But the WAC is not yet over, though we have named a new World Champion. The 4 Minute Free Style --- a spectacular display of flying --- remains for tomorrow. The contest's top 20 pilots will fly for the judges and compete for the Manfred Strössenreuther Trophy --- named after the late German aerobatic champion and a friend to many who are on this contest site. Results of this special programme will be posted on Friday, the 29th of June. Closing ceremonies and awards givings are scheduled for Friday night as well and then this large group of aerobatic pilots and enthusiasts will depart for home --- to return again to the WAC in 2003.
27 June 2001 - Karen Diamond reports RUSSIA'S MAMISTOV AND KAPANINA CLAIM WORLD AEROBATIC TITLES Mikhail Mamistov of Russia claimed the Absolute World Aerobatic Champion title and Men's Division Championship Wednesday when he won Programme 3--the 2nd Unknown flight--by a margin of 112 points. He had been ranked second behind France's Eddy Dussau going into Programme 3. Mamistov, 36, is a pilot/instructor from St. Petersburg. His win also earns him the title of 2nd World Air Games Aerobatic Champion. This is Mamistov's 2nd World Air Games title, having won the World Glider Aerobatic Championship in 1997 at the World Air Games in Turkey.
Russia's thirty-two-year-old Svetlana Kapanina captured the Women's World Championship title for the third time in her career. Kapanina won the championship in both 1996 and 1998. Her and Mamistov's performances led the Russians to both the Men's and Women's team world championship titles. In the overall standings, Robert Armstrong of the United States captured the silver medal, trailing Mamistov by 175 total points. Armstrong, 46, had taken the bronze medals in both Programmes 1 and 2, and was ranked 3rd going into Programme 3, where he placed second, earning him the number two spot overall. A serious error in Programme 3 cost France's Eddy Dussau his 138-point lead and quite possibly the world title. Dussau, 28, ended up in the 15th spot for the Programme, but still claimed the bronze medal in the overall standings. On Friday, the top 20 ranked pilots will fly Programme 4, the 4-Minute Freestyle. Programme 4 is a separate trophy flight to determine the World 4-Minute Freestyle Champion. Awards ceremonies will be held Friday evening at Centro Cultural Casa Cordon in Burgos. The World Aerobatic Championship is sanctioned by CIVA, the International Aerobatics Commission of FAI (Federation Aeronautique International), the world-wide governing body for all air sports. The World Aerobatic Championship is part of the 2001 World Air Games, underway this week throughout Spain.This marks the second WAG, the first having been held in Turkey in 1997. Official Results and Final Standings (Partial list) 2001 World Aerobatic Championships --- (combined scores after three programmes)
Programme 2 Won by Klaus Schrodt German pilot Klaus Shrodt brought home the Manfred Stroessenreuther Trophy as a result of his spectacular flight in Programme 4 of the XXI World Aerobatic Championships in Burgos, Spain. A total of 20 pilots flew the last programme of the WAC. Click here for Overall results Note: In accordance with CIVA Regulations, a 25% cut was introduced after Programme 2. Therefore, only 45 pilots flew Programme 3. The zeroes shown above were not for reasons of disqualification but rather because these pilots did not actually fly the Programme.
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| OTHER ARTICLES OF ASI JULY 2001
ISSUE | From The Secretary General's Desk | Air Waves | | News In Brief | Letters To The Editor | World Records | | Glider Aerobatics | Gliding | Paragliding | | Powered Aerobatics | Ballooning | Parachuting | | Microlight | Hang Gliding | Powered Paragliders | | Symposium on Air Sports Medicine | 
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