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Jerry Esquenazi to compete at the US National Aerobatic Championships

ronschreck

Well Known Member
I have been closely following Jerry's progression in competitive aerobatics for two years now. We became good friends following our first contest together in the Fall of 2016 at Sebring, Florida. I blew a tire while taxiing for takeoff for my final flight in the competition. I was on my way to a spot on the podium but with no time to repair the blown tire I was resigned to pack it up. Then Jerry stepped up an offered to lend me his RV-8 to fly that final flight. If you have seen Jerry's plane you know that it is one of the finest RV's on the planet and up to this point no other pilot but Jerry had ever flown it. Now he was begging me, practically a stranger to borrow it! And turn it upside down!



See what I mean? It's gorgeous!

Fast forward to present day: Jerry is burning up the Sportsman class in IAC competition and will be representing all you RV pilots at the US National Aerobatic Championships in Oshkosh, Wisconsin next week. Sportsman flights are scheduled to be flown on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday. You can follow the action on the US National's Facebook page and I will be doing my best to post some updates here on VAF. Let's all wish Jerry success! (That's Jerry pictured below with his typical haul of contest bling.)



I'll be at Oshkosh, too. I am humbled and honored to have been selected to judge the Unlimited category of competition this year. These pilots will be competing for a slot on the team that will represent the United States at the 2019 FAI World Aerobatic Championships which will be held in Ch?teauroux, France. No pressure!
 
Jerry my friend,
I wish you the best and have a feeling you are going to bring home the Gold. Honored to be your friend and the success couldn't have happened to a nicer guy. I know Mark is proud and will be watching over you and cheering you on during the Championships.
 
OK, now that Ron has put me up on a pedestal... NO PRESSURE! :)

I'm honored to have this opportunity to represent the RV community at Nationals. I hope to make everyone proud. As you may know I'm not the first to compete at Nationals with an RV. Both Ron Schreck and Bill McLean competed very well at Nationals in 2016 with Bill taking 2nd place in the Sportsman category. And Galen Killam competed last year at the 2017 Nationals.

The wonderful thing about this sport is that although it is an individual sport by and large (with exception to the US World Teams), it is a group effort. I cannot and have not been able to do this alone. Many people stepped up to the plate and volunteered their time and effort to help me get to to where I am, starting with Ron who is responsible for getting me into this in the first place. He's been a great coach, mentor, and friend. Bill and I have trained with each other and he has given me valuable insight. Amir made a reference to the late Mark Fullerton who I will address in a separate post. Mark also was a great coach, mentor, and friend. He gave of himself to this sport like no one else I've seen and was a friend of the RV community. Eric Standifer is another friend of the RV community that has posted so much valuable information on this forum concerning aerobatics. There have been many others who selflessly help others. It's a great thing to see.

Ron made a reference about me lending my plane to him during the contest. I just want to say I'm not alone in this in the contest environment. I was emulating the generosity I had heard about and since witnessed at various contests. It is common practice for teams to share airplanes at the World Aerobatic Championships. When one fellow's Pitts was down for a comm issue, another offered his Extra. When Rob Holland lost his MX, another competitor, Marty gave Rob his MX to finish the airshow season and Stan offered Marty his Extra so that he could continue flying contests.

Also, if I can't trust someone that has flown an RV-8 more than 2000 hours in various air shows and contests, who am I going to trust? Anyone that can eat/drink cookies and milk while flying aerobatics is alright by me!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ieJPoRPi7F8

Thank you guys for all of the kind words and encouragement.
 
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Results delayed

Jerry flew his first of three flights yesterday. The weather closed in and the entire category was unable to fly so they will complete the first flights and have their second flights all on Wednesday afternoon. Tuesday is a complete bust due to low ceilings.
Jerry's first flight was quite good and I think he scored well. We will hopefully know more tomorrow.
 
Forget the $100 hambuger, Jerry took me on a six figure BBQ run!

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Making us proud buddy!
 
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Hey AJ,

Thank you very much. I?m glad to be the one to blame for your purchase! Beautiful airplane!
 
US Nationals Aerobatic Championship PIREP

Hello all,

Many of you have been asking about my progress. I really appreciate everyone’s support.

Well, it’s a wrap. Not getting to bring home any trophies or medals this time. The competition was stiff. I knew of 2 or 3 that were going to be hard to beat and they were. There were at least a few others I didn’t know about. I came in 6th place out of 19 overall. At least I ended up in the top third. Each of my two flights were excellent and I was very satisfied with my performance.

However, it wasn’t looking good after the 1st flight. I came in 11th place on that flight. Myself and others felt that perhaps I was graded a little harshly on that flight. No ill intentions, it’s just that there are some judges not used to watching an RV. The RV flys a little differently than what they’re used to. The angle of incidence of the wing and the spin entry characteristics have a lot to do with it. In any case, it wouldn’t have made much of a difference in my final standing.

The second flight brought me up to 6th place overall. Unfortunately we didn’t get to fly a third flight in my category. We had significant lost time due to weather, ATC, and other issues. A third flight may have improved my position, but it probably wouldn’t have been enough to put me on the podium.

Competition aerobatics continues to be great fun and a huge challenge. What’s next for me? I’ve got one last contest this season in three weeks in Farmville VA. It will be my last contest in the Sportsman category. Next season I will be following in Ron Schreck’s and Bill McLean’s footsteps and move up to Intermediate. I’m looking forward to snap rolls, negative g pushes from inverted level flight to 45 deg nose high, rolling circles, and the Unknown program. All of these maneuvers are within the capability of the airplane. Let’s see if they are within the capability of the pilot!

Jerry

Final standings... https://flic.kr/p/2a8xF72
 
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Good job Jerry.
Thanks for representing at Nationals.
You successes continue to impress me with you resent entry into the IAC game.
 
Two Thumbs Up!

Yes Jerry, very well done. Inspirational, actually. Looking forward to seeing you do very well at Farmville!

Best regards,

Merrill
 
Yes Jerry, very well done. Inspirational, actually. Looking forward to seeing you do very well at Farmville!

Best regards,

Merrill


Good job Jerry.
Thanks for representing at Nationals.
You successes continue to impress me with you resent entry into the IAC game.

Thank you very much Mark and Merrill. I promise to keep you and the VAF community posted on my progress. I appreciate your support very much.
 
RV IAC

It's over! The 2018 US National Aerobatic Championships wrapped up with the awards banquet on Friday evening. Our two RV competitors didn't walk away with awards but did do us proud. Jerry Esquenazi finished with a very respectable 6th place in the field of 19 Sportsman competitors and Galen Killam finished 16th. Both pilots improved their placement in the standings after their first flight but weather and ATC delays precluded a third flight so further improvement was not possible. Here are the final results for the category:



Standings for the RV Aerobatic Series is unchanged:



We celebrated at the awards banquet along with competitors from all categories. Notably, Rob Holland again came out on top and claimed his place in the record books as US National Unlimited Aerobatic Champion for eight years in a row! The record was previously held by the late Leo Loudenslager with seven wins. Congratulations, Rob. You can see all the results HERE.

I was unable to compete due to recent spine surgery but I did judge all of the Unlimited flights and the final flight in the Advanced category. I was also on the jury that decided several protests during the contest.

Many have asked if the Nationals will be held in Oshkosh next year. That decision will be made by the IAC Board of Directors and I'll report on that right here as soon as information is available.

Despite the mosquitoes (the Wisconsin national bird, I'm told), the ATC delays and the cold and cloudy weather, we managed to pull it off. My thanks to Jerry Esquenazi, my companion and friend who made the adventure a true joy.

Jerry and Ron at the banquet:

 
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I was unable to compete due to recent spine surgery but I did judge all of the Unlimited flights and the final flight in the Advanced category. I was also on the jury that decided several protests during the contest.

I want to emphasize that Ron “volunteered” for these positions. He was handpicked by the contest organizers to serve as an Unlimited judge and a jury member. This was a huge time and financial commitment to go through and not compete (9 nights in a hotel, rental car, etc.) Thank you Ron! He did an exceptional job in both capacities. He was a little busier than expected as a jury member. The jury hears and resolves official protests. As a an Unlimited judge, he had to sort through extremely complicated figures (maneuvers) and assess an accurate grade and submit comments in mere seconds. Well done Ron!
 
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Jerry, I remember well the first time you flew your newly completed RV to Oshkosh. What a beauty! (the plane, NOT you) :D

Congrats on placing well at the Nationals. I'm sure you'll only improve with time and experience. Well done, sir!
 
Jerry, I remember well the first time you flew your newly completed RV to Oshkosh. What a beauty! (the plane, NOT you) :D

Congrats on placing well at the Nationals. I'm sure you'll only improve with time and experience. Well done, sir!

Hey Don,

Great to hear from you. Thank you very much for your compliments and congrats!

I was always impressed by your airplane too. You did a great job replicating that little fighter look and feel. I bet you must miss it. Do you ever see it again?
 
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Congrats Jerry and Ron for doing a great job representing RVs and motivating other RV pilots like me. Susan Bell (first place) is a girl from one of my local IAC contests (I belong to two). She's awesome! Really nice sweet girl, but also one fierce competitor!
 
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