Check Out Aerobatics at the IAC

Come for the air conditioning; come back and meet Sean D. Tucker!

Aviation enthusiasts and pilots are familiar with the exciting aerial performances at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh. But did you know that an organization exists to encourage the fun of aerobatic flying for those who never intend to compete in aerobatics or fly in air shows? And of course you can check it out at AirVenture!

The EAA’s International Aerobatic Club (IAC) is an education organization that promotes and enhances the safety and enjoyment of sport aerobatics. And it has an air-conditioned store right along the flightline at AirVenture!

The IAC has its roots in the Precision Flying Division, an EAA division originally headed by Bill Dodd. According to the IAC website, “IAC was formed in 1970 under the leadership of Bob Heuer, an airline pilot from Maple Park, Illinois, and a group of aerobatic pilots mostly from the Chicago area.” At the time of its founding, the IAC literally wrote the rules for what is often referred to as “grassroots aerobatics.”

Jordan Ashley, 2025 IAC AirVenture convention chair, said the organization’s goal is to “promote and enhance safety and enjoyment of aerobatics. What we believe at our core is that flying aerobatics and doing it properly with correct training by properly rated and educated individuals makes pilots better. I think personally that every private pilot should go through an upset recovery course just to see what the airplane does when you get outside of that little box that every single private pilot is taught, because at some point you’re going to get into that situation.”

The IAC AirVenture convention chair since 2021, Jordan is serving in his final year in the role; he’ll be stepping down “after 17 years of service to let somebody else take the reins.”

The IAC is offering meet and greets this year, one of which features Nate Hammond with GhostWriter Airshows. Nate does the skywriting above the AirVenture grounds each year, as well as performing in the day and night air shows. The IAC along with EAA is also doing an aerobatic competition demo during the air show. This year also marks the 80th anniversary of the Pitts Special, and the IAC is celebrating that at AirVenture.

Air show legend Sean D. Tucker is doing a meet and greet at 12:45 p.m. on Friday, immediately after his presentation about why everyone should compete before they fly air shows. Seminars will take place at the Vicki Cruse Educational Pavilion at the IAC Aerobatic Center from Tuesday, July 22, through Friday, July 25, starting each morning at 8:30 a.m., covering a wide range of aerobatic and safety-related topics.

The complete schedule is available in AirVenture Today, in the EAA Events app, and at EAA.org and IAC.org.

In addition, the IAC is joining with the cutting-edge aerobatic flying technology and analytics company ACROWRX to demonstrate live competition aerobatics at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2025. It will give fans on the flightline and around the world an opportunity to interact with the performances during the afternoon air shows. Learn more via the links at IAC.org/AirVenture.

If you’re interested in aerobatics or you’re a pilot who has never done upset recovery training, stop by and visit the IAC, located just off Boeing Plaza at the northeast corner.

If you are looking for more information after AirVenture, the IAC has chapters much like EAA chapters. Visit EAA.org/Chapters for details.