Aerobatic meeting in Annecy

on October the 12th – 13th & 14^th

Were invited

• The Spanish, British, German, Austrian, Italian, Swiss & French federations, the CIVL, PWCA and the manufacturers.

Were present

• G. Tuchschmid – G. Blondeau – D. Eyraud – A. Zoller (FSVL) – H. Arch – M. Kung (DHV) – A. Rose (ACPUL) – Yves Goueslain (FFVL &  PWCA)

Organisation

• FFVL & PWCA

We decided to incude hanggliding in this aerobatic formalizing procedure.

Objectives of this meeting

The idea would be to develop aerobatic competitions, to structure them on an international level. Our first aim is the security aspect. The objective is to create regulations, which will be used during international competitions or during any other aerobatic events. These regulations must contain an organisor’s specification file, regulations for pilots, and a description of the aerobatic figures and a manner of notation and also regulations for a PWC 99 circuit. Hannes Arch will be the aerobatic technical advisor for the PWC. Project of an aerobatic PWC competition circuit.

End result of this meeting

The meeting took place in a very constructive atmosphere. The objectives we fixed were not all achieved, for the following reasons :

• Some disagreements, especially about the practised figures, appeared. The manufacturers consider deep & full stall as a configuration which must be deleted from the aerobatic figures list, while the pilots consider this as a base figure. The manufacturers recommand only figures with a blown or half-blown glider.

• A lack of maturity of this activity seems to be evident.

• As it is currently impossible for an official structure to recognize aerobatic activity if its course hasn’t a unanimous support from the partners (pilots, manufacturers, federations, & organisors) so none official recognition of aerobatic is existing. This is due to a simply problem of responsability and insurance.

Nevertheless, this meeting was a first step in the structuring and organisation of aerobatic. The group who met took 2 important decisions :

• To suggest to pilots, organisors, and to the competition jurys a guide which will help them to organise their activity. The enclosed guide isn’t a regulation on the restrictive sense of this word but an assistance and an advice guide.

• To suggest a group of persons, in Europe, who are involved in aerobatic and who can act as advisors for the organisors and for the pilots.

Gilles Tuchschmid will be centralising all information about aerobatic and he will distribute it to the representatives of each country :

France : D. Eyraud – Switzerland : A. Zoller – Austria : Mike Kung.

If some persons would like to be the representatives of their country, they have to contact Gilles Tuchschmid.

Conclusion :

• There won’t be a PWC aerobatic circuit in 1999. We will come back at the end of the 99 season, to take stock on aerobatic’s development.

• This meeting was very positive and it will certainly permit an important development & maturation of this activity.

• We will give the widest spreading as spossible to this guideline. (The participants, invited federations, media and competition organisors).

Aix les Bains, November the 10th, 1998

Yves Goueslain

ORGANISOR, PILOT AND AEROBATIC COMPETITION JURY GUIDELINE

The site :

Aerobatic competitions can only take place above water. It is necessary to get a height of at least 500-m above water in order to make the movements.

Take Off :

A necessary space to spread a minimum of 4 gliders. An Unity of place, an easy access – easy & fast access for rescue – possibility to use a winch
(2 boats – 2 winches).

Landing :

• It is necessary to have a "dry" landing. It is also possible to use a landing place on water (A protected floating platform without any blunt parts).
• Wind flags must be posted at different places of the event.

• Height control : The program must be stopped at 100 m above the ground. Banners on the mountain, which will permit to visualise the height. Helium balloons tied on the ground by 100-m rope.

• Communication : Radios and/or mobile phones (homologated if necessary).
  

Site facilities :

• Reception of the public in a delimited area (A parking close to the the event, catering, animation).
• No flight over the public.
• Headquarters with all the infrastructure for the results keyboarding, a photocopie machine, and telephone lines.
  

Aerobatic area movements :

It is the pilot’s responsability to consider the strength of the wind and to estimate its drift in case of rescue opening so that he can land in water. The beginning of the movements will start at a minimum distance of 100 m from the bank. The jury, the task Director and pilot committee, fixes the maximum strength of wind accepted during the competition.

Organisation team :

• Continuous Shuttles or cable car with priority to the competitors.
• A task director who must be present at landing place.
• At take off : A starter who is responsible of take offs and helped by 2 or 3 assistants.
• At landing field : A controler of the movement area.
• A speaker for animation.
• A cameraman with a camera who is permanently filming. This person must be placed next to the jury.
• A secretary who assists the jury and helps entering the results.
  

Briefing :

Pilot committee election (max. 2 pilots). The pilot committee gives his point of view on the competition and particularly on all the aspects concerning security.

Local regulations :

If necessary, the local regulations must be published.

Weather forecast :

Weather forecast publication. At take off information on the landing wind strength.

Safety :

• A doctor-resuscitator on the competition area.
• A permanent health cared helicopter on the competition area or one that could be available in less than 30 min.
• An ambulance at take off and one at landing place.
• 2 motorized boats with an easy access.

• 2 divers (with a double autonomous system to breath and a "cut lines"). In case of complementary animations at the event, two extra boats should be provided.
  

Official training day before the competition :

The competition entry fee includes one training day with all security aspects. Pilots have to pay the climb up to take off .

Insurance :

Each organisor has to check if pilots have a liability insurance covering air risks.

Each organisor must have a liability insurance.

Media exposure :

The organisor has to organise an event well suited to the media, at least at a national and/or local

level. An information should be given to the pilots about the broadcasting dates on the different channels of the images of the competition.

Jury :

The jury is composed of at least 5 juges and it must be composed of at least 2 different nationalities and/or a representative of each manufacturer. All the expenses of the jury are paid by the organisor (accommodation, catering, and travel expenses).

This 5 members are choosen by the organisor among credible persons who have a good paragliding experience and if possible also in aerobatic.

The jury must get together during the training day in order to harmonize the notation and to organize the working method.

Functionning of the jury :

• Notation & Program : Each jury suggest a global note. Th efinal note is consituted by the average of the 5 other notes. The jury must immediately give a  note.  The jury determines, on the training day, the compulsory figures program, depending on the weather forecast, on the site and on its height.

• Place of the jury : In case of lack or no wind conditions, the jury is next to the public (Inferior to 15km/h) and the reference axis of the pilots is faced to the  public. In case of wind superior at 15KM/h pilot’s axe of reference is faced to the wind and the jury get into the position he wants and not too far from the public.

• Disciplinary action : The jury may take disciplinay action against a pilot who didn’t respect the regulations or who executed some non-controled figures (example : Execution of figures at 100m above the ground). The sanction can be a penalty and also the expulsion from the competition. The pilot has always the possibility to do appeal against the jury decision.
  

The tasks :

An aerobatic competition is composed of 2 kind of tasks :

• A compulsory figure program :

The jury and the task Director will determine a compulsory figures program that will be submitted to the pilot committee. If necessary this program may be used for a cut.

• A freestyle program : All pilots will present to the jury their freestyle program with a description of the figures and the determination of the reference axis.The pilot has to signal to the jury, the beginning and the final of his program by making big ears. When the pilot has finished his program, the jury can’t note anymore.

The pilot must have finished his program at 100 m above the ground. Each aerobatic event will have at least 2 tasks.

Notation :

The jury will take into account on an equivalent manner 5-reference points :

• Harmony
• Technique
• Sequence
• Respect of the program
• Difficulty of the program.

The attributed note can’t be contested. The jury will individually announce their note so as to be immediately known by the pilot & the public (for example : with a pannel). This note will take into account the 5 reference points noted above.

The final note will be the average of the 5 notes.

The secretary will take notes of each jury as long as the competition takes place.

Basic figures :

The compulsory figures program will be built depending on the following movements. They must be under control of each pilot :

• Full & deep stall
• 360° asymmetric
• Spin
• Wing over.
  

Material :

• Use of a life jacket is strongly recommended (Compulsory if the ballast has a superior density as water).
• A helmet must be worn (The integral helmet is not recommended, as it is impossible for the rescue team to let the pilot breath with an autonomous system if he is under water).
• Harness : Automatical buckles are strongly recommended – Back buoyancy sitting systems are not recommended as they favour pilot’s turning and so his drowning.
• No ballast with a superior density as water except if the pilot wears a life jacket.
• A rescue with a manual extraction is compulsory.
  

Paraglider :

There is no restriction on the employed material.

Nevertheless, it is recommended for the pilots & organisors to follow the next 2 recommendations :

• Marking of the glider at each competition : the organisor must put a stamp on the central rib of each glider with a distinctive sign (for example : a stamp with a big A, as Aerobatic and the date of the competition). This will permit to distinguish the gliders when they are sold.

• A manufacturer’s statement authorizing the pilot to take part at the competitions with a defined material.
  

Conclusion for pilots and organisors :

Take into account the recommendations noted in this guideline and take some advices nearby the experimented pilots and/or the organisors who have already organised several events.

Organisation of aerobatic during the 1999 season :

Gilles Tuchschmid will centralise all information regarding aerobatic and he will distribute it to the representatives of each country:

David Eyraud (France) – Alain Zoller (Switzerland) – Mike Kung (Austria) and if some other persons are interested to be the representatives of their country, please contact Gilles Tuchschmid.

Addresses of the aerobatic meeting participants :

• Blondeau Grégory - 13, Rte de Saverne – 67205 Oberhausbergen – France
  Tel : ++ 33 6 61 70 19 62 – Fax : ++ 33 3 88 56 13 73

• Rebel Events – Gilles Tuchschmid – CP 16 – CH-1884 Villars sur Ollon – Suisse
  Tel ++ 41 79 35 755 50 Fax : ++ 41 24 495 19 21 – Email : rebel-events@bluewin.ch
  
• Arch Hannes – Seestrasse 17 – CH-9326 Horn – Suisse
  Tel : ++ 41 79 601 9341 – Email : hannesarch@paus.ch
  
• Kung Mike – Oberdorf 174 – 6261 Strass i.z. – Autriche (DHV)
  Tel : ++ 43 664 10 00 651 – Fax : ++ 43 5244 61557 z.Hd. Mike
  
• Eyraud David – Ancienne école – 74290 Bluffy - France
  
• Zoller Alain – Air Turquoise - Case Postale 6 – CH-1873 Val d’Illiey – Suisse (SHV – FSVL)
  Tel & fax : ++ 41 24 477 61 31 – Mobile : ++ 41 79 202 52 30 – Email : airturquoise@bluewin.ch
  
• Rose André – Aerotest – 2, Rte de Nice – 06740 Chateauneuf – France
  Tel : ++ 33 4 93 42 73 70 – Fax : ++ 33 4 93 42 74 91 – Mobile : ++ 33 6 09 54 81 62
  
• Goueslain Yves – 24 bis, chemin des Marmillons – 73100 Aix les Bains – France (FFVL et PWCA)
  Tel : ++ 33 4 79 88 24 43 – Fax ++ 33 4 79 88 92 04 – Mobile : ++336 08 66 06 12  - Email : yves.goueslain@wanadoo.fr