Professional
DeveloPmenT
The arT of The aerobaT
W hat on earth am I doing up here?” my internal voice shouted, as I began my very first flight at an aerobatic competition. It “
lise lemelAnd
was a hot, sweaty, August day in New Jersey. The judges’ clearance
on the radio brought me right back to reality, and then I heard the calm voice of my safety pi-
lot and instructor Marc Nathanson encourage me: “You’re the girl, kiddo!” I smiled, began to
relax (a little), and gave my wing-wags signal before entering
the aerobatic box to start my sequence.
Three days and three flights later, my aerobatic figures
were progressing, but I was still struggling with the 45° inverted down line on the half Cuban. I developed a G-headache
(or was it just tension?), but I was having a blast. And then
somewhere in the middle of the thrills, the fatigue, and all of
this stick and ruddering, I had an epiphany….
The art of aerobatics is not really all that different from
the art I make in my studio. Aerobatics prizes an aesthetic
that has much to do with symmetry, lines and a continual
search for elegance. There is repetition and variation, all happening within the structure of an invisible 3,300-foot cube of
airspace called the aerobatic box. The box is the canvas, the
airplane is the paintbrush and the judges follow the invisible lines of the flight path. My head was spinning, my spirits
soaring. I had to compete at Kathy Jaffe!
Thursday I drove to the Flying W airport to await my airplane’s arrival. When I walked into the registration area, I
was warmly greeted, and asked if I was there to volunteer.
