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AOPA Aerobatic Certificate Courses - Basic, Standard & Intermediate
The AOPA Basic, Standard and Intermediate Aerobatic Certificates are the only recognised UK aerobatics courses. AOPA and the British Aerobatics Association (BAeA) have designed the syllabus in order to encourage those pilots who wish to become proficient in the basic aerobatic manoeuvres to undertake training through a properly structured formal course.
AOPA Basic Aerobatic Certificate
Successful completion of this course will enable the applicant to obtain the recognised AOPA Basic Aerobatic Certificate as well as the EASA Aerobatic Rating (AR). The manoeuvres learnt in this course will enable the student to take part in the Beginners' events organised by the BAeA, should they wish. The course is taught in the T67 Firefly - it is not available in the Extra 300 as the Extra is not suitable for basic training.
The course is 8 hours of flying, including 15 hours of ground instruction and around 10-12 sorties. It normally takes 5 days, weather permitting. Courses usually start on a Monday and continue through to Friday. The course can be combined with our Advanced PPL (normally 10 hours) for a reduced total of 15 hours.
Students who have passed the course will be able to fly those manoeuvres as aircraft captain, subject to normal currency/ aircraft conversion requirements.
AOPA Standard Aerobatic Certificate
The AOPA Standard Course ensures that students are capable of entering the next level of BAeA competition, which is the Standard Level. The course is 6 hours of flying and a minimum of 6 hours of ground training and normally takes 3-4 days. Candidates should have completed the AOPA Basic Aerobatic Certificate or be at an equivalent standard before applying for this course.
This course takes place in the T67 Firefly, although it is also possible to do part of the course in the Extra 300, if arranged in advance.
AOPA Intermediate Aerobatic Certificate
This course ensures that students are capable of entering the next level of BAeA competition, which is the Intermediate Level. The course is around 8 hours of flying (time may vary according to student ability) and a minimum of 6 hours of ground training (3 hours of briefing and 3 hours of self-study).
The course is flown in the Extra 300 and is around 12 sorties, usually 2 a day, weather permitting. For students to be eligible for this course, we would expect them to have at least 30 hours of aerobatic experience.
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All courses normally start on a Monday. Due to busy schedules and the considerable amount of ground briefing, we are generally unable to start new courses on other days.
Upon completion of the course, students are required to have their competence assessed in the air by an AOPA registered instructor; it should be noted that this test flight is additional to the time required for the course. When the test has satisfactorily been completed, it should be sent off to AOPA (accompanied by a small fee), who will then issue a certificate.
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