Aerobatics
Aerobatics
stories
Aerobatics is a dance. An acrobatic dance with precise steps, its own rhythm and tempo. Drawing its trajectories is also like writing, with its many letters, the simple figures at first. Then it forms words and sentences as you link and combine figures into sequences, taken from the Aresti alphabet that codifies aerial manoeuvres. As in dance, technique, repetition and respect for the rules are essential. And yet it is within this strict framework, made as safe as possible, that you will discover a unique, unprecedented sense of freedom that you will feel nowhere else, during and after your flight. Forget the negative clichés too often repeated about aerobatics. Come and make up your own mind and feel it for yourself. Step out of your comfort zone and challenge stubborn preconceptions… Listen to your heart and your desire if aerobatics intrigues and attracts you. Come and talk about it with those who have crossed over to the aerobatic side of the Force.
For my part, I still have a vivid and unique memory of my first aerobatic flight, even though it was more than 20 years ago. I came back to the ground with one idea in my head that has never left me: to take the controls and go and draw, dance in the sky myself. I will never forget the day I reached a wonderful milestone in my training: the day when integrated knowledge and practice make certain actions simpler, more natural, and free up a small, precious space in your concentration: a space that lets you live your flight and enjoy it, beyond what you have to do, link and control, even though maximum vigilance remains essential every second.
Whether you fly as a passenger or as a pilot, the sense of freedom is always there. Either way, you explore the third dimension to the full and make the most of gravity. Unique. So good. You are focused, in your flight, here and now, cut off from all your everyday worries. The concentration and mental control this sport demands are a school that will enrich everything else you do. There are the champions, not at all mad, flying their strange machines, flirting with the impossible and with excellence in competition… and there is you, flying recreational aerobatics open to all, pushing past your limits and fears to find pleasure and freedom in complete safety.
Credit: Cécile Mauger
