Wingover Aerobatics

Over the past weekend, I had the pleasure of flying a few hours with Kathy Hirtz of Wingover Aerobatics in Leesburg, FL. My goal was to get comfortable with spins, loops, hammerheads, Cuban 8s, etc...basically, all of the fun positive-G stuff that my little RV-4 is well-suited for but that I have held off on doing until I had over 100 hours in the plane AND learned how to do the maneuvers in a SAFE environment. Though they also have a Pitts available for training, I opted for the Zlin for the lower hourly rate and ease of conversation/demonstration during the flights due to its side by side seating. The Zlin is very different from the RV series in that it is quite draggy and slow to gain speed when pointed down. Knowing this, we set an imaginary airspeed limit below what the Zlin usually accelerates to on the downlines - this got me used to pulling power coming over the top and keeping an eye on both the airspeed and G load during the pull out. Kathy is a fantastic instructor - I couldn't even shake her nerves during my bad attempts of the "falling leaf" (it wasn't pretty, but we had a blast.) If anyone is looking for a some spin/acro instruction, I'd recommend a trip to KLEE and a few hours with Kathy.

Wingover Aerobatics

Congrats to you Ryan. Sounds like a lot of fun.

I'll have to check them out for my next BFR.
I've taken the unusual attitude in the super decathlon but would like to get some Pitts time.

Good post Ryan! I went throught Flight Safety's Upset Recovery course in Vero Beach, a few years ago. They used the Zlin, as well. It is a tough airplane. Can't do any acro in my -10, but I am going to give Kathy a call and schedule some Zlin time with her.

Are you by any chance going to the Cannon Creek fly-in this Saturday?

Good for ya for doing this. Maybe a good thing you didn't fly the Pitts. Ending up wth two airplanes gets expensive.

Thanks for the post Ryan. I am planning to do this soon also for the new 7a, but we have an aerobatics company on our field. How about some details? How long did you fly, have you tried the maneuvers in the 4 yet?

I flew with Steve

in the Zlin a few years ago while they were still in Creswell Oregon. Steve is also a great instructor and makes acro feel like the most natural thing in the world. Big problem when you move into the Pitts - you will immediately want one and will seriously think about selling your build project and anything else you own to raise the cash. Fortunately my friends had a group intervention and I got over it-just barely.
Steve

DanLandry said:

I'll have to check them out for my next BFR.
I've taken the unusual attitude in the super decathlon but would like to get some Pitts time.

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You'll have a blast in the Pitts, Dan. A few years ago I did an hour of instruction in an S2-C with Fred Cabanas in Key West. It was some of the most exciting flying I've ever done, in part because it was my first exposure to aerobatics....it was quite the introduction.

dmaib said:

Can't do any acro in my -10, but I am going to give Kathy a call and schedule some Zlin time with her.

Are you by any chance going to the Cannon Creek fly-in this Saturday?

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I think you'll really enjoy it, David. I have yet to make it up to Cannon Creek, and would like to, but for the sake of gas money, I think I'm going to hit the closer (to me) EAA breakfast at the Flying W (9FL1) Saturday morning.

BillFear said:

Thanks for the post Ryan. I am planning to do this soon also for the new 7a, but we have an aerobatics company on our field. How about some details? How long did you fly, have you tried the maneuvers in the 4 yet?

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Hi Bill. I flew two hours with Kathy - not enough to fly the maneuvers to IAC competition standards by any means, but enough that we were both comfortable with me practicing them in my plane. And yes, heading home (in the RV-4) after my second lesson with Kathy, I went up to 6,500 and spun it both left and right. Satisfied with the spin recoveries, I then looped it a few times. Fun stuff for sure. I went up again for 30 minutes last night to practice some more. Needless to say, I'm having a blast!

axlr8r said:

I flew with Steve in the Zlin a few years ago while they were still in Creswell Oregon. Steve is also a great instructor and makes acro feel like the most natural thing in the world.

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Trivial note: Steve was also Van's first employee. He was telling me about sitting in the wooden RV-4 mock-up with "Van" making airplane noises way back when the RV-3 was the only model available!