That is a spade or shovel and has several purposes on an aerobatic airplane. The most important is that they help to make the ailerons lighter providing a sort of power steering. On the Edge, the all important spades are part of the aileron counter balance system, which keep the ailerons from fluttering. Spades or shovels can also be used as a way to trim the ailerons, making the airplane fly straighter. Spades come in different shapes and sizes and can be adjusted on the arm.

Join us next time for more Tech Tips and Info!

Photo by Mike Shore

The FAA has a few requirements that every air show pilot must meet. The first item on the list is a private pilots license, you would also need a commercial license if you plan on charging the air show organizer. You will be evaluated for a low altitude competency card, issued by an ACE, also know as an aerobatic competency evaluator. This progressive evaluation allows the pilot to move from an attitude of 1500 ft toward the surface, based on the pilots ability and the number of air shows flown. More importantly, it is helpful to have flown in competition aerobatics and to have years of experience flying aerobatics. That usually means having a good coach, instructor or mentor and being instructed in a 2 seat aerobatic airplane.

To fly a captivating show takes years of experience and tons of training.  Kirby’s very first aerobatic lesson was with Duane Cole, two-time National Aerobatic Champion and a member of the Cole Brothers Airshows. Five-time United States National Aerobatic Champion, Kirby uses his competition background to bring precision and structure to his performance. Kirby enjoys flying shows because of the close proximity to the crowd, the ability to reach out to fans and the future generation of pilots. Kirby says, “If I can impact someones life in a positive way through my flying, then I feel like I have accomplished something lasting!”

http://members.iac.org

http://www.icasfoundation.org

“The moment you doubt whether you can fly, you cease for ever to be able to do it.”
~J.M. Barrie, Peter Pan

2. Cub

3. DC-3

4. Corsair

5. Beech Staggerwing

There are so many taildraggers that Kirby would love to add to this list, but we’ll stick with just five!

Photo courtesy of Dalibor Maksimovic

Team Chambliss Mobile App is FREE and can be shared via: QR code, SMS, Email, Twitter, Facebook, and Pinterest. FREE to share and FREE to download for all users. It is an iPhone, iPad and Android App, and is viewable on all smartphones. Share it with your friends and stay in touch with Team Chambliss by checking out our Schedule, Photos, or follow us with one touch from inside the app on Facebook & Twitter! If you don’t want to use the QR code, just download at…..

http://www.appcat.com/teamchambliss

Kirby’s left wing hit a tree and then immediately afterwards the right wing hit another tree and that took about 2ft off of each wing. The trees helped take a great deal of the impact and slow the airplane down considerably. Kirby then felt the airplane roll upside down and stop on the side of the ravine. He mentioned that there was only four feet of flat land between the two slopes; he wouldn’t have been able to get to it anyway. Kirby feels like if it hadn’t been for the ravine, he might not have been able to shove the nose over or the aircraft might have dropped towards the ground and he could have cartwheeled. Luckily it allowed him to put it in the trees to get it slowed down. Kirby says, “When the aircraft stopped, I was upside down and managed to open the canopy, which only gave me just enough room to crawl out. I had to unclip my parachute and leave it behind so I could get out. I was in a hurry, because I was worried that it was going to catch on fire.”

Kirby was close to the bottom of the ravine and had to walk about ½ a mile to get out of it. It was so dense that the helicopters couldn’t get down through the jungle to rescue him. Kirby came away from the incident fairly unscathed. Kirby’s right arm was deeply bruised and his neck received friction burns on both sides from the shoulder harnesses, and that’s a good thing! His neck was super sore as was the rest of his body. The airplane did not fair so well, the wings, the tail, some of the tubes in the cockpit that surrounded his body were bent and every tube in the front broke that surrounded the engine. It appears that instead of one big hit, he took three or four smaller ones instead. If it had been one big hit, he might not have been so lucky. Seriously, this man must have nine lives and at least four left.

“It worked to my advantage to take the smaller hits, but it destroyed the airplane. If I could have made a 7000ft runway appear, I would have, but I only had enough time to say a few choice words and to tell myself that this is going to hurt. It’s very unfortunate, but I am much happier when the airplane is damaged and I’m not.”

This incident happened on Wednesday afternoon and Kirby was back in the United States on Thursday evening. He rested on Friday and was back flying on Saturday morning. Someone said that to Kirby, flying was like breathing, and we have to agree. The former World Champion wakes up every morning and asks himself if it’s worth it and the answer is always, “Yeah, it actually is.”