Introduction

The Mantra of

Vintage Aerobatic World Championship

“ VAWC gives these fabulous old-timers a new sense of purpose and do re-ignite their proud owners and pilots. VAWC unites the competitive and social SPIRIT and gives you personally a sense of going somewhere, rather than retreating ”

– Hardy Vad, VAWC 2016 champion in category “Rolling the Circle” (KZ8) created a Mantra of VAWC:

Vintage Aerobatic World Championship 2024

August 22-25

H.C.Andersen Airport (EKOD/Odense) just in the middle of Denmark. (same venue as VAWC 2021) 

Dear fellow
Vintage Pilot

Our beloved vintage airplanes are capable of performing the most beautiful manoeuvres in the sky. Add the sound of a Gipsy Major, Renault or Tigre … or a radial. We can do air-ballet, soaring towards our piloting dreams and romantic flying desires. Even a fantastic performance of a silent vintage glider will take us to sky of dreaming.

Every one of us loves to fly! Let’s do it together! Let’s connect and have some fun. Teach some old dogs new tricks, and give some young pup’s useful tips. Build some fun-flying relations. If you own a vintage airplane capable of aerobatics, please read on. If you don’t, read on anyway, we might need you on the judging line and/or in the bar! Many type of aircraft is welcomed and able to join – Tiger Moth, Chipmunk, Bücker Jungman, SAAB Safir, KZ-2, KZ-8, Klem 35, Stearman, Zlin, you name it.

To respond to many participants desire for learning new “stuff” and improve their flying elegance and precision we will arrange for a “Teaching the Tricks” flying/coaching day the day before the competition. Experienced pilots and judges will coach aerobatic rookies. Please just reach out for someone to coach you.

At VAWC 2024 we will build on the success of the special free-style-flight flown to music of your choice (please insert this during your registration). For 2024 we will again have “The Performance” split in two sub-groups: SoloPerformance and TeamPerformance. The “scoring principle” will still be based on selected pilots and judges functioning as a collective judging team. Great fun and socially intense! Please be aware that pilots flying “The Performance” shall explain/”dance” their Performance Flight at the bar-room floor the evening before the flight… allowing their judges to know and understand their creative intention with the air ballet. (and choice of music!!)

TimeWinder competition:
Try to BEAT CLAUS! (again!)

We will invite to a social competition for the award evening: Who – pilot or team – can dress up to their plane? (..and time-age). Special judges will be hosting this great-fun-competition… actually with an ambition, that we will end up in a fantastic HangarParty!!!

Categories

Vintage category

Airplanes with type certificate (or alike) before 1955 and a least 69 years old.

Classic category

Airplanes with type certificate (or alike) before 1975 and after 1955, and a least 49 years old.

Replica category

Replicas of Vintage or Classic airplanes. Re-engined/modified vintage- and classic airplane

NB: Both powered planes and gliders are welcome. ( Glider pilots should arrange for tow-planes themselves. Often provided by the local organizer, however. Check out “contact” and reach out… )

Borderline cases will be accepted or denied by the steering group of VAWC

Flight categories

Please note that flying elegance and refinement is valued highly at VAWC… on par – or higher – than complexity. There will be three flight categories – you decide which suits your level of ambition.

(…select category in the registration form. Select only one category. Add your personal version of “The Performance” if you desire)

Know programs for VAWC 2024

Looping the Loop

  1. Half Reverse Cuban Eight: From horizontal flight, the aircraft pulled to a 45-degree attitude and performs a half roll to inverted. Pull through 5/8th loop to level flight. Entry and exit altitude may be different. A line after half roll is optional in this category.
  2. Loop: From horizontal flight, the aircraft is pulled up and flies a complete vertical circle.
  3. Half Cuban Eight: From horizontal flight, the aircraft is pulled up into 5/8th of a loop to a 45-degree downline. Roll upright, mark a 45-degree downline and pull out to horizontal flight. Entry and exit altitude may be different. Line before half roll is optional in this category.
  4. Wing-over: From horizontal flight a pull and bank are started at the same time. Halfway through the maneuver, the aircraft has turned 90°, the fuselage is level with the horizon and the bank is 90°. The plane is above the original flight path. The nose then keeps dropping below the horizon and the plane keeps turning, while the bank is shallowed. The nose is pulled up towards the horizon and the plane reaches horizontal flight with wings level after 180° of turn. At the completion of the maneuver, the plane is at the same altitude as on entry and flying in the opposite direction.
  5. Loop: See above
  6. Wing-over: See above
  7. Barrel Roll: From horizontal flight, the aircraft makes a complete rotation on both its longitudinal and lateral axes, causing it to follow a helical path or “spiral”, maintaining its original direction. It is sometimes described as a “combination of a loop and a roll.
  8. 270-degree horizontal Turn: The aircraft is rolled into minimum 60 degrees bank, a 270 degrees turn is completed, and the wings are rolled back to level flight. Turn- and exit direction is optional.

NB: Flyable in “all” low powered airplanes. Remember you ARE allowed to dive for speed.  

Looping the Loop Piktogram

Dancing the Cloverleafs

  1. ¼ Clover, roll up: From horizontal flight, the aircraft is pulled into a complete loop. A ¼ roll is integrated and centered in the loop portion between horizonal upright and horizontal inverted. In this sequence, the figure is started cross-box and exits 90 degrees to the entry.
  2. Half Reverse Cuban Eight: From horizontal flight, the aircraft pulled to a 45-degree attitude and performs a half roll to inverted. Pull through 5/8th loop to level flight. Entry and exit altitude may be different. A line after half roll is optional in this category.
  3. ¼ Clover, roll up: See above. In this sequence, this figure exits cross-box, direction is optional.
  4. ¼ Clover, roll down: From horizontal flight, the aircraft is pulled into a complete loop. A ¼ roll is integrated and centered in the loop portion between horizonal inverted and horizontal exit. In this sequence, the figure is started cross-box and exits 90 degrees to the entry.
  5. Loop: From horizontal flight, the aircraft is pulled up and flies a complete vertical circle.
  6. Half Cuban Eight: From horizontal flight, the aircraft is pulled up into 5/8th of a loop to a 45-degree downline. Roll upright, mark a 45-degree downline and pull out to horizontal flight. Entry and exit altitude may be different. Line before half roll is optional in this category.
  7. Stall turn (Hammerhead): From horizontal flight, the aircraft is pulled up into a vertical upline. When the speed is low, the aircraft pivots 180 degrees around the yaw-axis. The radius of the turn should remain within one wingspan. A vertical downline follows, and the aircraft exits back to horizontal flight. Entry and exit altitude may be different. Entry and exit radii must be identical.
  8. Roll: From horizontal flight, the aircraft completes one complete rotation around the roll axis. In this category, the entry and exit may be in up to a 15-degrees nose-up and nose-down attitude, respectively, with no points subtracted.
  9. 270-degree horizontal Turn: The aircraft is rolled into minimum 60 degrees of bank, a 270 degrees turn is completed, and the wing are rolled back to level flight. Turn- and exit direction is optional.

NB: (Flyable in most low powered airplanes. Remember you ARE allowed to dive for speed)

Dancing the Cloverleafs Piktogram

Rolling the Circle

  1. 3-line stall turn (Hammerhead) w/ 45-degree exit: From horizontal flight, the aircraft is pulled up into a vertical upline. When the speed is low, the aircraft pivots 180 degrees around the yaw-axis. The radius of the turn should remain within one wingspan. A vertical downline follows, next a 45 degree line is flown, and the aircraft exits back to horizontal flight. Entry and exit altitude may be different. Entry and exit radii must be identical. Length of the 45 degree line is not a criteria.
  2. Shark tooth: From horizontal flight, the aircraft is pulled up to a 45 degrees up-line and performs a half roll to inverted, centered on the line. Pull to vertical down, pause on a vertical downline, and pull out to horizontal flight. Entry and exit altitude may be different. All three radii may be different from each other.
  3. Loop with flick-roll on top (Avalanche): From horizontal flight, the aircraft is pulled up and flies a complete vertical circle. A full flick-roll is integrated and must be centered on top.
  4. Stall turn (Hammerhead) with 2/8th roll down: From horizontal flight, the aircraft is pulled up into a vertical attitude. When the speed is low, the aircraft pivots 180 degrees around the yaw-axis. The radius of the turn should remain within one wingspan. A vertical downline follows, and the aircraft exits back to horizontal flight. Two points of an eight-point roll is centered on the downline. Exit is cross-box, direction is optional. Entry and exit altitude may be different. Entry and exit radii must be identical.
  5. Pull-push-pull Humpty with ¼ roll up: From horizontal flight, the aircraft is pulled up into a vertical attitude. A ¼ roll is performed and centered on the upline. The aircraft bunts over the top with a constant radius to a vertical downline and exits to horizontal flight, in this case, downwind. Entry and exit altitude may be different. Entry and exit radii must be identical but may differ from loop radius.
  6. Immelmann: From horizontal flight, the aircraft is pulled up into ½ inside loop. A ½ rolls follows immediately when horizontal inverted flight is reached. The roll may not be started before this, and no line may be drawn before the roll.
  7. 180 degree rolling turn, two rolls, outside-inside: From horizontal flight, the aircraft, the aircraft performs 180 degrees of turn with two rolls integrated. The first roll starts with rotation opposite to the turn, the next in the direction of turning.
  8. Goldfish: From horizontal flight, the aircraft pushes down to a 45 degrees downline (attitude), then pulls into ¾ inside loop to another 45 degrees downline. A ½ roll is performed and centered on the downline before pulling out to horizontal flight. Entry and exit altitude may be different. Entry and exit radii must be identical but may differ from loop radius.
  9. Horizontal “S”: From horizontal flight, the aircraft is pulled up into 5/8th of a loop to a 45-degree downline. Perform ½ roll centered on the line and pull up into another 5/8th A ½ rolls follows immediately when horizontal inverted flight is reached. The roll may not be started before this, and no line may be drawn before the roll.
  10. One half roll: From horizontal upright flight, the aircraft is rolled to horizontal inverted flight. The aircraft must follow a horizontal flight path.
  11. 90 degree rolling turn, one roll to the inside: From horizontal inverted flight, the aircraft performs 90 degrees of turn with one roll integrated. The roll starts with rotation in the direction of turning.

 

Rolling the Circle

 

You can choose to participate as…

1. You can complement your choice of known program by participating in The Performance either as SOLO flight or TEAM.
2. If you desire, you can compete alone in The Performance (team or solo)
3. You can compete in as well The Performance team, and The Performance solo

The

performance

Free-style performance by individual pilots or teams (two categories, two winners). Showcase the unique qualities of your aircraft. Include creative elements like manoeuvres, rhythm and music. It’s in your hands! The sky’s the limit! Please note: If you are not familiar reading the ARESTI pictograms, please do not interpret these graphics too “specifically”. Corners shall NOT be “sharp corners”, a dotted line in what could look like a half loop means a horizontal turn etc. In case of ANY doubt please do not hesitate to reach out for chief judge or Søren Dolriis.

PLEASE NOTE following: Participants in The Performance must register in this category before the competition starts, and it is also a “must” that participants do prepare and present their flight (intentions, creative design (incl. music) and flight programme) at the briefing. Also please note the time limitation of the Performance Flight to 6 min (SOLO Performance) and 8 minutes (TEAM Performance) (Do NOT feel obliged to use the maximum time :-))

Experienced

judging line

Judgeline will consist of judges with huge experience from aviation as well national and international aerobatic competitions.

  1. Chief Judge; International Judge Nick Buckenham from UK
  2. Reiner Scheler (Germany) assisted by Uwe Suthau (Germany)
  3. Lars Petter Eriksen (Norway)

Experienced competition management:
Contest Director Søren Dolriis

Scoring + assisting CD Hanna Räiha (Finland)

Jury: TBD

Our
ambition

THINK BIG! We – the organizing team – will listen and reach for the stars, and plan for a GREAT future for VAWC as a recurring event, with public interest. But we will INSIST on keeping the social/flying ambition balance. Please pre-register already now, and please do SPREAD the world in your social network. (PS: Spouses and “Ground Team” really make an important part of the atmosphere at VAWC. Please bring your “team” to St. Midhaelisdonn Airfield.

Søren Dolriis VAWC Founder