See aircraft flip, turn, roll and more at the 2023 U.S. National Aerobatic Championships

People in Salina may notice some unusual sights and sounds coming from the sky near the airport as the U.S. National Aerobatic Championships take place this week.

The championships, hosted now for the fourth year at the Salina Regional Airport, features 85 pilots competing in the air sport of aerobatics.

Aerobatics is the act of pilots performing flying figures such as rolls, spins, flips and other maneuvers that are combined to form a sequence. For competition aerobatics, these sequences are judged and scored.

"There's a lot of general aviation out there, but a relatively small proportion of those do aerobatics at all, and even a tiny proportion of those aerobatics competition," said Barrett Hines, a competitor and judge at this year's championships.

Hines said the reason for this small number of competitors comes down to the skill-level of flying it takes to do the sport.

"There are a lot of little details to know and be safe about," Hines said. "You want the proper training and the proper aircraft."

Five categories of competition at the U.S. National Aerobatic Championships

As skills increase for an aerobatics pilot, so does the level of competition they can decide to take part in.

These five main levels range from primary, which Hines said is a basic beginner-type category, consisting of the simplest figures.

"It's meant to introduce people to the sport and the processes that we do in the contest," Hines said.

As competitors build up skills they usually move into higher levels of competition, with sportsman, intermediate, advanced and unlimited categories.

"Each level (of competition) there's additional figures that are allowed," Hines said. "Intermediate starts to do some more inverted, things, but in advanced you do a lot more inverted stuff."

While the lower categories of aerobatic competition may have moments where the pilot is flying their aircraft steady and getting ready for the next figure, Hines said the advanced and unlimited categories are constantly in motion to the next sequence.

"In advanced and unlimited ... they're almost always doing something," Hines said. "You don't just fly straight ... there's just constantly doing something."

Within these five categories are also two different types of aircraft: powered, which is those with an engine and propeller, and gliders, which have no engine and are instead towed by an aircraft into the air before being released to allow momentum and gravity to do the work.

Salina Regional Airport the perfect place to host championships

This is the fourth time in the past five years, with one year taken off due to COVID-19, that the U.S. National Aerobatic Championships have taken place at Salina Regional Airport.

"There are a lot of things that factor into the right place to have it," said Shad Coulson, the contest director this year. "Location is certainly one. We want it to be as central as possible in the U.S. which makes it as enticing for folks from across the country to come to the national event."

In addition to being centrally located, Coulson said it's important to have the resources available to the competitors and the support staff and volunteers at the airport.

"The airport here is amazing, with good facilities (and) good hangar space to keep all these beautiful, valuable airplanes protected from the elements," Coulson said.

Additionally, he said, the weather is usually decent this time of the year in Salina, which helps make sure the competition stays on schedule.

"On top of all of that, we need good amenities," Coulson said. "We need good hotels, good restaurants (and other things). Salina is really the perfect spot for that."

U.S. National Aerobatic Championships happening all week

The championships began Sunday, Sept. 24, and will continue until Friday, Sept. 29, with competition flights happening throughout the mornings and afternoons.

While this is a competition and not an official air show, there is an opportunity for spectators to watch these aircraft in action with an official spectator area designated at Fossett Plaza, 2035 Beechcraft Road.

Coulson said that it will be a great sight throughout the week for spectators but the most entertaining program comes at 2:30 p.m. Friday.

"(That's) the final program of the contest, which is what we call the four-minute free," Coulson said. "That's more in line with what folks think of when they think of aerobatics."

While it is still a competitive run, Coulson said the four-minute free has more theatrical elements like music, smoke and the like to entertain those who make it to Fossett Plaza at that time.

"We really encourage the community to come and enjoy it," Coulson said. "You have some of the best pilots in the world (flying) in Salina right now."

This article originally appeared on Salina Journal: Salina airport hosting 2023 U.S. National Aerobatic Championships