Competition Held In August Near Budapest, Hungary

Spain's Castor Fantoba outlasted Russian Mikhail Mamistov, twice world champion, and French François le Vot, currently world champion, to take top honors at the XIX European Aerobatic Championship in August.

The competition took place at Matko Airport, south of Budapest, Hungary. It was organized by the FAI, the Hungarian Aeronautical Association and the Hungarian Aerobatic Club.

According to Snap-and-Roll online, a total of 36 pilots from 14 countries participated in the most extreme and demanding aerobatic competition of the year. The best Unlimited pilots of each country had the opportunity to show their aerobatic skills to some of the most prestigious aerobatic judges in the world. Nick Buckenham was the FAI contest chief judge, and his team of judges was the responsible for scoring more than 150 flights during the event.

Four sequences were flown as part of the competition.

Castor Fantoba, who came back after a two-year break from international competitions, flew an excellent sequence obtaining the first place with a score of 3614.97 (80.691%). Russian pilot and former European Champion, Mikhail Mamistov came in second place with a score of 3561.90 (79.507%). François Levot (Extra 330SC), the current World Champion, finished third with a score of 3523.73 (78.655%).

The Russian pilot defeated both Castor and François in the Free sequence with an average score of 82.352%. The French pilot got the same second place with a score of 81.409% and the Spanish pilot finished in the third place (81.313%).

The Free Unknown was the third flight, a very technical and physical sequence that put pilots’ skills and physical conditions to the limit. Le Vot obtained the best score and won the sequence (79.337%). Castor Fantoba followed the French pilot very closely with a sharp difference of 0.157% (79.180%). Mamistov, who changed the aircraft due to mechanical problems in his Sukhoi, finished third with a very good percentage (78.771%).

FMI: www.fai.org