Competition Guide

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A Typical Competition Weekend

 

Most glider aerobatic competitions in the UK run over two days, with a third day held in reserve as a weather contingency. They are open to pilots of all experience levels — from Club through to Unlimited — with everyone flying within the same competition framework.

 

Each contest is managed by a Competition Director (CD), who is responsible for the safe and fair running of the event. Supporting them is a team that includes a Chief Judge and judging panel, who score every flight according to defined criteria. Other vital roles include the scoring team, who collate and input results into the competition system, and the video team, who record each flight for later review and judging verification.

 

The weekend begins with the airfield’s daily flying briefing, usually delivered by the duty instructor and covering local operations, weather, and airfield procedures. This is followed by a competition briefing from the Contest Director, outlining how the event will run, the flying order, safety messages, and any local restrictions.

 

The Aerobatic Box

 

All flights take place inside an imaginary “box” — a cube of airspace measuring 1 km × 1 km × 1 km, usually centred on the airfield. Sometimes the box is slightly displaced to avoid obstacles or controlled airspace, or to better align with ground references.

An aerial view showing the box location is published on every competition’s sign-up page. Pilots are encouraged to fly at the site beforehand to familiarise themselves with key visual features such as box edges, landmarks, and wind cues.

 

Heights and Safety Limits

 

Each flight starts from around 4,000 ft (upper limit) and must finish above the floor height, which differs for each class and is defined in the British Aerobatics General Rules.

Flying below the floor results in penalties, while descending below the exclusion height leads to disqualification from that flight. Maintaining good situational awareness and altitude control is therefore essential for safety and scoring.

 

Sequences and Flights

 

Every class flies at least one Fixed Known sequence — a pre-published routine issued annually by British Aerobatics. All pilots can practise this in advance.

Depending on weather and time, a second flight may be flown:

For Club Class, this is usually another Fixed Known.

For Sports and higher, the second flight is an Unknown Sequence, released during the competition so that no pilot has the chance to practise it beforehand.

 

If the weather doesn’t cooperate, the Contest Director may decide to split a sequence into two shorter flights (for example, flying the first half from 2,500 ft and the second half later) to make best use of limited height windows.

 

Scoring

 

Each figure in a sequence has a difficulty rating, or K factor. Judges award a mark from 0 to 10 for how accurately the figure is flown, and the score is multiplied by its K factor to produce the total for that figure.

For example: a 45-degree downline (K = 7) flown perfectly (score = 10) earns 70 points. The final result for each flight is expressed as a percentage of the total points available.

 

After all flights are complete, the scoring team enters the marks into Acro, the official aerobatic scoring system, which calculates the overall results for each class. The top three pilots in each category receive medals, and many events also award trophies for best overall performance or highest percentage score.

 

Weather and Waiting

 

Aerobatic contests are weather-dependent. Pilots may spend time waiting for conditions that provide a cloud base above 4,000 ft and minimal thermal activity. Patience is part of the sport — and the camaraderie on the ground is often as enjoyable as the flying itself.