Tracy Municipal Airport (KTCY) in California hosted its first International Aerobatic Club West Open Aerobatic Championship in July 2022.
How the event came to KTCY is a story in itself — because it all started with a complaint about noise.
International Aerobatic Club Chapter 38 has maintained an aerobatic practice area at KTCY for more than 30 years, according to chapter president Matt Schulz.
As we all know, not everyone loves the sound of aviation, so inevitably a resident living near the airport filed a noise complaint with the FAA and the city of Tracy regarding the aerobatic traffic.
Dave Watson, IAC 38 vice president, and the FAA reviewed the documentation of the Tracy Aerobatic Box schedule thoroughly and discovered the noise complaints did not match up with the times the practice area was in use.
Tracy City Council Member Eleassia Davis also looked into the matter and got a response from the FAA that all was compliant with the club’s operations.
Club members invited her out to see an aerobatic practice. As she learned more, she realized the aerobatic club and the airport were an undervalued asset to the city.
When she learned the annual contest had been held in another city, Coalinga, for the past eight years, she advocated to move the event to Tracy. Her efforts were successful.
When a local FAA representative heard the aerobatic contest had moved to Tracy, their response was golden: “What an interesting way to respond to a noise complaint.”
According to Richard Ortenheim, president of Skyview Aviation, a flight school at the airport, hosting the aerobatic contest will not only benefit the city, but also the pilots participating in the competition.
He notes that Tracy offers more lodging options for participants, along with better dining choices and venues for the awards dinner. Proximity to the San Francisco Bay Area also could drive participation and spectator interest, he said.
The IAC West Open Aerobatic Championship spans two days, with each day’s flying split between two groups. The first group is made up of pilots in the Primary, Intermediate, and Advanced categories, while the second is for Sport and Unlimited pilots. The second day concluded with a Four Minute Free performance, which was essentially an airshow performance complete with smoke.
Elite aerobatic pilots from all over the western U.S. came to compete in this championship. One participant traveled a bit farther than the others: Hiroyasu Endo came all the way from Japan, then rented an Extra 300 to compete in.
The Tracy Airport Association provided announcers for the event, describing the action for the public who gathered outside the airport fence.
The weather was great and the event went off without a hitch. All indications are that this will be the new home for the IAC West Open Championship going forward.
West Open Championship results
Primary
- Andrew Moehrke
- Matthew Schulz
- Markus Broecker
Power Sportsman
- Veniamin Lomov
- Jake Carter
- Richo Healey
Power Intermediate
- Josh Horwich
- Mike Eggen
- Dean Hickman Smith
Power Advanced
- Michael Hartenstine
- Duncan Koerbel
- Tom Myers
Power Unlimited
- Hiroyasu Endo
- Dave Watson
- Yuichi Takagi
Four Minute Free
- Yuichi Takagi
More Photos From The Competition
Some airports I have taken off from require a turn for noise abatement. That noise does not last very long and probably isn’t very loud but it is just the aviation community being a good neighbor. An aerobatic practice area, however, can produce noise different from normal takeoffs and landings, due to the unusual attitudes of the aircraft, for hours or even days. I can see why some people would complain. In my opinion, those practice areas should not be placed near neighborhoods like this one appears to be.
FANTASTIC solution!
MORE MORE MORE! And Congrats to councilwoman Davis for having an open mind realizing the tremendous advantages for her town. BRAVO!
I’m going to visit the next time they run the contest. I used to live in Tracy, although too far north from the airport, by Corral Hollow.