Canadian National Aerobatic Championships Uplift Many Spirits

October 2020 – Few aerobatic contests managed to get off the ground due to the COVID crisis. However, the Canadian National Aerobatic Championships were successfully held September 4 and 5, 2020, in Rocky Mountain House, Alberta. Fourteen pilots from Alberta, Manitoba, and British Columbia competed for awards in four aerobatic levels: Primary, Sportsman, Intermediate, and Advanced.

This event is held annually with the location alternating between eastern and western Canada.

Jason Katerenchuk's Game Bird C-FJKX. – Photo credit Janos Englert

Patrick Spencer's Christen Eagle C-GMBP. – Photo Credit Janos Englert

The following pictures were taken by Jeff Seaborn. Congratulations on your first-place finish in the Intermediate category, Jeff. – Ed.

A few of the competitor's planes awaiting their turn.

An early morning shot prior to the contest. No, the Piper Navajo in the background wasn’t taking part in the contest. It just wanted to hang out with all the "cool kids."

Biplanes on the left, monoplanes on the right. That darn Piper Navajo photo bombed another picture.

Jerzy Strzyz’s Sukhoi.

Jason's beautiful Gamebird. The first and only one in Canada.

The Advanced category saw the most competitors with five pilots representing all three provinces. They performed both known (practiced) and unknown (only seen for a few hours and never practiced) sequences of 10 aerobatic figures.

Competition in this category is keen as everyone in this group hopes to be selected to be part of the team that represents Canada in the World Advanced Aerobatic Contest in Las Vegas, Nevada, in 2023.

Many thanks go to the Rocky Mountain House community and airport staff for their continuing support. The contest would not run without our many volunteers and our potential team would have difficulty practicing.

In 2021 western Canada plans to have contests in Killam and Rocky Mountain House Alberta, Steinbach, Manitoba, and a joint contest with our U.S. friends in Cutbank, Montana. More information can be found on the Aerobatics Canada website.

The award standings are as follows:

Primary
First – Scott Holmes
Second – Contessa Bishop

Sportsman
First – Byron (Ted) Reynolds
Second – Arun (Alex) Praveen Kumar
Third – Phillip Dewsnap

Intermediate
First – Jeff Seaborn
Second – Jesse Mack
Third – Ann Follinger

Advanced
First – Neil Harris
Second – Jerzy Strzyz
Third – Luke Penner