Box - Flights - Judging - Scoring - Aresti

There are few sports that demand as much physically and mentally from the participants as sport aerobatics. The competition sequences, as the flights are called, must be flown with split-second timing, precise speed and altitude control, constant calculation for such variables as wind and temperature, and very precise planning on the pilot's part. Any wrong turn, misplaced pullout, and or roll in the wrong direction can put the pilot out of the running because of a zero score by the judges. World level Unlimited aerobatics pushes the physical limits of the human body with the tremendous G (gravitational) levels achieved by modern high-power aerobatic aircraft. It is made all the harder by the fact that it all must be done in a box, a fixed section of airspace in a moving sea of air.

The Box

Sequences are flown in an aerobatic zone, commonly called the "Box", over an airport. This box is an area 1,000 meters square, with the top set at 1,000 meters AGL (above ground level) For the World Aerobatic Championships (WAC), the bottom of the box is set at 100 meters AGL. All aerobatic competition flying is done inside the box. The box is a cube of air 1,000 meters square and with the top at 1,000 meters above the ground (AGL). The bottom of the box is set at 100 meters AGL for Unlimited competition. Any pilot who flies outside the box during the performance will be assessed penalty points. Positioning Judges sitting at the corners of the box determine when a competitor has left the box. "Outs" are called in to the Chief Judge by radio and recorded.

VRML Box

A VRML browser would let you move through the airspace at the Contest on your desktop, if we were to turn the following picture into a VRML File.

This is what a VRML scene of the competition box at the XVIII World Aerobatic Championships (that you could use to examine the airspace in which the figures must be flown) would look like--if we had it running. AIR&SPACE doesn't have the VRML file for the aerobatic box at Page ready to serve just yet. But you should go find a VRML browser and configure your system to use it while we are finishing the file.

Design: Recursive Arts - Mailto: webmaster - Build Date: Tue, Jul 16, 1996