FIRST flight competing at the 2023 World Advanced Aerobatic Championship!

Follow along as I talk through my experience flying Program 1: Free-known at the 2023 World Advanced Aerobatic Championship that was held near Las Vegas, NV, at a small airport called Jean from October 24-November 4th, 2023.
It was an honour being able to represent my country as the captain of Team Canada that included seven other amazing pilots that I had the immense pleasure to train with.
If you've come here after reading my article in the march/April 2024 edition of Canadian Aviator magazine. Welcome, and thanks for reading !
Let me know if you enjoy this type of content, in the comments ! Thanks for watching 🙃👊🏻
-Luke

[@1trentman]

Absolutely beautiful flying. Thank you for doing your presentation today at the Royal Aviation Museum of Western Canada this morning. I thoroughly enjoyed it and learned more about this sport of aerobatic flying. Looking forward to future videos.

[@LukePennerAerobatics]

Thank you so much for the kind comment and for attending my talk at the museum ! 🙃👊🏻

[@bobshank6826]

Can't get enough of aerobatics

[@heinbotha1278]

We done, hard work, was fortunate enough to have competed in the 1997 AWAC flying a Yak 55, super easy plane. And that RE-checking” every thing, canopy, belts etc. is real !!! 🤣👍🏻

[@LukePennerAerobatics]

Very cool! I flew the Yak55 once. Really enjoyed that airplane. How did you like your AWAC experience. It takes a lot of effort to get to but it was one of the best experiences of my flying life.

[@heinbotha1278]

Super experience, 27 at the time and probably not as prepared as I should have been, was flying the SU 29 (previously the Yak 52) back in SA so the Yak was the obvious choice, loved the USA 🇺🇸 experience, friendly ppl just great 👍🏻

[@tommo2492]

Loved watching this as someone just getting to grips with flying the 300L! Subscribed

[@LukePennerAerobatics]

Glad to have you here, thank you !! Enjoy the 300L ! :)

[@goatflieg]

I've come here after watching you get checked out in the CAM Harvard with Dave & Ron! I'm a friend of Steve's and a fellow CAM member; we met in April 2023 at the Annual General Meeting; I built an RV-8; etc. It's about time I subscribed. Looking forward to exploring more of your content and hoping to see you at CAM a few times this year.

[@LukePennerAerobatics]

Great to have you here~ thanks for your support 👊🏻 spending time at CAM is always a massive highlight of my year

[@goatflieg]

@@LukePennerAerobatics I don't get over there nearly as much as I'd like to. Really wish I'd been able to keep the RV-8 and fly in more than just once. But I shall return!

[@peterkay573]

Luke. I can't wait to see the rest.. Good job with all the hard work and bringing Aerobatics alive in Canada .

[@LukePennerAerobatics]

Thank you so much !!! I love to share this passion and getting others involved in this amazing sport !!

[@ModelAV8RChannel]

Outstanding Luke! Well flown. Thanks for sharing this and keep them coming!

[@LukePennerAerobatics]

Thanks !!! I appreciate the comment ! 👊🏻

[@ExtremeAviationIceland]

Well done! 👍

[@LukePennerAerobatics]

Takk!!👊🏻

[@StevenBakhtiari]

Great walkthrough Luke (and Aaron). I even felt those pre-takeoff nerves myself just watching you line up on the runway.

[@LukePennerAerobatics]

Thanks Steve !! Right ?? I felt them again even through the editing process 😅

[@bradlavassaur8265]

Simply awesome!! That was a great performance. I really appreciate your videos on KZbin. I'm an aviation fan and plan to keep following you. Thank you for sharing, and safe journeys.

[@LukePennerAerobatics]

Thanks for being here! I’m glad you’ve enjoyed my videos !👊🏻

[@jloureiro.aerobatics]

Really cool video format. Keep them coming man!! Nice flying

[@LukePennerAerobatics]

Thank you my friend !👊🏻

[@dbtowey]

Way to go Luke!

[@LukePennerAerobatics]

Thank you my friend !👊🏻

[@jmichaelcarbonniere9549]

Well done! While it's really difficult to judge maneuvers from a camera shot, I thought you should have scored a bit higher just watching the cockpit videos. Your rolls were nice and crisp, starting and stopping in what looked to me to be very close to perfection. Ok, I haven't flown any aerobatics in 40 years and the most advanced airplane I was ever in was a Pitts S2 (once!) but I feel I can usually judge a flight fairly well. I know how hard it can be and how much effort goes into a good aerobatic flight, so congrats on even making it into the Worlds! Cheers, jc

[@andymckee53]

This is great. Look forward to seeing your UnKnowns. Maybe try putting the figure being flown in corner of the screen? Would help a lot to follow what you're doing. Thanks.

[@LukePennerAerobatics]

Noted ! :) thanks for watching !

[@michaelad8096]

Thanks did like the inside perspective

[@LukePennerAerobatics]

Glad you enjoyed !👊🏻

[@AndyNZ1983]

Love these videos Luke, keep em coming.

[@LukePennerAerobatics]

Thanks so much !! Glad to hear you enjoyed !👊🏻

[@tonywilson4713]

Thanks for the upload Looking forward to the rest of it.

[@LukePennerAerobatics]

Thanks for watching !! 👊🏻

[@tonywilson4713]

@@LukePennerAerobatics I was going to score it but then I can't fly as well as you do. I actually haven't flown for a couple of years after an illness took me out. I'm hoping to make it back before too long. I love competition aerobatics and miss it greatly. I think the pursuit of perfect control at any attitude suits my brain.

[@tonywilson4713]

@@LukePennerAerobatics And I hope the rest of the comp goes well for you. Just remember its more important you stay focused on what you're doing and fly well than uploading. it wont hurt me or anyone else if you upload a day later.

[@Hugocraft]

I took a screen shot of the sequence to reference that while you did the sequence to get an idea of what you were going to do before doing it

[@LukePennerAerobatics]

Excellent ! Thats what I was hoping people would do :) Thanks for watching !

[@alexandercoats]

so glad i'm not the only one who does a million canopy checks before I launch

[@ModelAV8RChannel]

Imagine seeing you here. Lol.

[@LukePennerAerobatics]

There can never be too many !! 😅

[@SaintChesty]

Holy negative G Batman! Is there a good online resource for reading those FAI cards?

[@LukePennerAerobatics]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/gZmZmJqQedN6gNk check this video out to explain the Aresti symbols

[@JSFGuy]

All right, thanks for sharing. I need to cast this to the 60 in flat screen. The S21 plus just isn't getting it. 😎

[@LukePennerAerobatics]

Do it ! Let me know how it looks all blown up 😃

[@JSFGuy]

@@LukePennerAerobatics Copy that!

[@Mrfabulous7]

Nice video. 👍🏼😎 Do you know why (as far as I know) the Extra 330 has won most of the aerobatics championships and no Zivko Edge 540? Is it because the Edge is an experimental, and not allowed to compete? How does the Edge 540 compare to the Extra 330 in aerobatics? The Edge should have a higher roll rate and better climb performance, at the Red Bull Air Race the Edge has dominated. 🤔

[@LukePennerAerobatics]

Thanks ! Great question. The 330SC is certified in Europe, and perhaps a few other countries. In the USA it’s technically under the experimental category and in Canada mine has a special C of A. The Edge540 is certainly an incredible airplane and one of my top 3 bucket list airplanes to fly. Why they haven’t done well at the unlimited level at the world level …. It’s a great question and I can only really speculate my own thoughts. For one, their heyday is over given that their manufacturer, Zivko, doesn’t really support the airplane anymore, as they haven’t produced an airframe in many many years. Whereas, Extras have been in constant production for many decades now so the support is excellent. Having watched quite a few Edges compete, I don’t think they have any significant additional roll rate over an SC but they do have more vertical penetration, being lighter. That said, Extra airplanes have a much much better safety record than Edges, where Edges have had ailerons depart the aircraft in flight as an example. Part of the SC’s “secret sauce” is how well they present to the judges with their size (the Edge’s are smaller and are harder to see) and the Edge does not seem to snap as well as an SC and at the advanced/unlimited level ~ the contests are won and lost on quality of snap rolls. Just my two cents.

[@Mrfabulous7]

@@LukePennerAerobatics Thank you for your very detailed answer. I hope for you, that you one day can take a seat in a Zivko Edge 540 and test it yourself. I didn't know that the SC snaps better. I would have guessed it would have something to do with aerodynamic differences and/or with the control precision, or feedback. It's interesting to think about. You mentioned also that Zivko doesn't support the Edge any further, this means you're better served with an Extra. Looking forward to your next videos. ✌🏼

[@DWBurns]

I can’t say I understand what you are doing, I have been a pilot for over 35 years and never intentionally rolled beyond 60*. I can say it sure looks like a good time. How close is your head to the canopy?

[@LukePennerAerobatics]

It’s the most enjoyable type of flying that I have found ! My head is around 3-4 inches below the canopy

[@DaveGillespie-w5f]

COOL

[@alexandercoats]

what camera are you using? I love this perspective

[@LukePennerAerobatics]

Insta360 X3. Fantastic camera ! Its stabilization handles aircraft movement much better than a Go pro