A personal account of my participation at the World Advanced Aerobatic Championships held at Jean Airport, Las Vegas, USA from 24 October to 4 November 2023.
By Tristan Eeles
About 12 months ago, my dad (Barrie Eeles) came to me and said we should go to the World Champs. As a young aerobatic pilot, I thought this would be fantastic. I was all in!! Little did I know what kind of an adventure I was about to embark on…
First off, I needed to make the team selection which would be at Nationals. At this point the training began to ramp up… with many weekends spent at Vereeniging, it all paid off. I was selected to represent South Africa at WAAC 2023. To be chosen was an honour and privilege!
Without any rest, the focus shifted straight to WAAC! But before anything, we needed an aircraft to fly in the US. Finding someone to rent an Extra 330SC is not a simple task to say the least. Fortunately, with my dad’s many past World Championship experiences and friends made, he got in contact with USA Unlimited Aerobatic pilot, Craig Gifford who agreed to kindly let us fly his Extra 330SC.
Once our aircraft was secured, we arranged Visa’s, FAA License Validations, Flight Tickets, Accommodation and Car Rental. All the paperwork was now in order, entries were submitted and it was at this point I realized there was no turning back. I knew I had to now put my head down and make the most of this opportunity!
This meant practice and training! We had many training camps all over the country with contests in between. I thought this worked really well as the contests could confirm if the training was working or not. A big thanks must go to Quintin Hawthorne, Johnnie Smith and Patrick Davidson for your time spent on the judging line and all your assistance as well as to Ricky Fouche for all the video work.
Before I knew it, it was time to pack our bags and jump on a plane to the USA. After a long 36-hour haul, we arrived in Las Vegas. We were eager to get to the airfield, start flying and make friends with the aircraft we would be flying. On arrival at Jean airfield, my dad and I looked at each other as if to say ‘are you sure we at the right place?’. Not a hangar in sight, a few aerobatic aircraft on the apron and a skydive aircraft on final approach. Once we saw our yellow Extra 330SC, we knew it had to be the right place.
Unfortunately, due to FAA delays with regards to our license validations, we lost two days of training. Once our validations came through, the time had come to see what Craig’s plane would be like but the aircraft was perfect apart from ‘very’ heavy ailerons. With some small tweaks to the spades, it felt better and we felt more comfortable.
All we needed now was our final team mate, Elton Bondi. Elton had quite a venturesome ferry from Texas to Las Vegas which I will leave for him to tell… none the less it was great to finally have Elton with us!
After a few days of training and familiarising ourselves with the surrounds of the aerobatic box, the contest was declared open at the opening ceremony. It was here where I was awarded my green blazer. A very special moment indeed, especially that my dad presented it to me!
The first flight was probably one I will never forget. The emotions were inexplicable -the nerves, the excitement and the thrill of wanting to perform. I think this is the feeling that brings you back!
Between the pilots, coaches and team managers, the amount of aerobatic experience at one aerodrome is not quite comprehensible. It is interesting to see how each team operates and how each pilot’s preparation is so different. I learnt a lot and came back with information to work with and practice. All different aspects, both from judges and pilots.
It was an honour to fly alongside my dad and Elton, two gentlemen who are experienced and well known on the world stage. This helped me tremendously and played a massive part with less to worry about as they know exactly how the World Champs operates.
The results for each flight were not quite what I was expecting and I think I speak on behalf of the team in that regard. Overall, I was happy with my final standing as well as making it into the final 25 pilots, selected from the field of 58, in order to fly the final Free Unknown program.
My experience of a World Championship was fantastic and it was even better that I got to fly alongside my dad, coach and mentor.
Elton participated in a rented Extra 330LX while my dad and I shared the Extra 330SC.
Final placings were;
23rd Overall. Barrie Eeles
24th Overall. Tristan Eeles
33rd Overall. Elton Bondi
5th Overall. Team SA
Detailed results can be viewed at www.civa-results.com
I look forward to the next one!
