Last month, I was in Vermont with my family when I heard some loud airplanes that sounded like high performance aerobatic airplanes. I mentioned it to my grandmother, who said, "Oh no, it's the week of the aerobatic contest. They're so loud and annoying.". When I heard that I knew I had to go. The next day, Thursday, I visited the airport where the contest was being held and found everybody setting up for the competition. While I was there, one of the pilots, Aaron Ham, asked me if I wanted to see the airplanes close up. I said, "Of course!". He took me down the line of planes on the tarmac and told me the names of the pilots and the names of the various aircraft, including his own airplane, a blue Christen Eagle II, (seen above and below) that he later flew to first place in the Sportsman class.
He also recommended that I volunteer, which I did the next two days, serving as recorder for the judges and as a boundary judge. A recorder writes down all the scores for various maneuvers as they are performed, as well as any remarks by the judge about the quality and execution of the maneuver. A boundary judge is placed at one of the boundaries and writes down and radios in whenever a pilot goes out the "box". A pilot must stay in the imaginary 3300' square box for all his maneuvers, and gets penalized whenever he goes out. That weekend I had more fun than I even hoped for. I got quite a tan from being in all that sun. If you're ever in Springfield VT in the first week of July, go to Hartness State Airport and watch the fun! You can find more info about the New England Aerobatic Club here, at their website: http://iac35.aerobaticsweb.org/
Last month, I was in Vermont with my family when I heard some loud airplanes that sounded like high performance aerobatic airplanes. I mentioned it to my grandmother, who said, "Oh no, it's the week of the aerobatic contest. They're so loud and annoying.". When I heard that I knew I had to go. The next day, Thursday, I visited the airport where the contest was being held and found everybody setting up for the competition. While I was there, one of the pilots, Aaron Ham, asked me if I wanted to see the airplanes close up. I said, "Of course!". He took me down the line of planes on the tarmac and told me the names of the pilots and the names of the various aircraft, including his own airplane, a blue Christen Eagle II, (seen above and below) that he later flew to first place in the Sportsman class.
He also recommended that I volunteer, which I did the next two days, serving as recorder for the judges and as a boundary judge. A recorder writes down all the scores for various maneuvers as they are performed, as well as any remarks by the judge about the quality and execution of the maneuver. A boundary judge is placed at one of the boundaries and writes down and radios in whenever a pilot goes out the "box". A pilot must stay in the imaginary 3300' square box for all his maneuvers, and gets penalized whenever he goes out. That weekend I had more fun than I even hoped for. I got quite a tan from being in all that sun. If you're ever in Springfield VT in the first week of July, go to Hartness State Airport and watch the fun! You can find more info about the New England Aerobatic Club here, at their website: http://iac35.aerobaticsweb.org/
