Saville wrote:
For a while I was working towards competing in the Basic category of Aerobatic Competitions. But in thinking about it, it occured to me that it's a digression. There's a lot to be done to be able to fly warbirds and I don't see how acro competition helps.
Competing will force you to build a lot of discipline in your flying, which makes you a better pilot. When someone is judging you from the ground, you learn a lot about how to fly precisely.
You'll learn to eliminate a lot of slop in the way you fly...you can get to the point where every turn is perfectly coordinated, every roll has 0 ft altitude loss, you hit your own wake on the end of a loop, etc. A requirement to fly warbirds? No, but being critiqued from the ground will accelerate your path to being a better pilot.
The other thing competing does is forces you to learn the impact of wind on flying acro, which is a vital skill should you ever wish to display a warbird. More than one accident has been caused by a guy getting blown over the showline, then panicking and getting into an accelerated stall in an attempt to get back into position.
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