Rob Holland Ultimate Airshows
Just how remarkable is aerobatic champion Rob Holland? Remarkably so! He recently clinched the Unlimited championship at the United States Aerobatic Championships, and here’s the astonishing part: it’s his 10th consecutive title, a record that is truly unrivaled, by a wide margin. And that’s not all; Holland is also the reigning world freestyle champion, a fact that becomes readily apparent when you watch the video. In it, he showcases flying skills that seem almost superhuman to the average pilot like most of us.
Holland held onto his title during this week’s championships held in Salina, Kansas. Over 100 pilots competed in various divisions, and the top 10 finishers went on to represent the United States at the World Aerobatic Championships set to take place next year in Switzerland.
Holland flies a custom MXS-RH carbon-fiber monoplane powered by a 380 hp Lycoming engine. Weighing a mere 1,200 pounds, this high-powered rocket ship is both incredibly agile and powerful, capable of achieving a roll rate of almost 500 degrees per second. That means, in the blink of an eye, the plane has rolled more than one-and-a-half times. In it, Holland executes a multitude of tumbling maneuvers that, when witnessed in person, seem like feats that no ordinary airplane should be able to accomplish. But Holland makes it look effortless.
Pilots of both powered aircraft and gliders at the National Championships participate in five distinct categories each – Primary, Sportsman, Intermediate, Advanced, and Unlimited. The winner of the Unlimited category among the powered contests, which has been Holland for the past 10 years, is declared the National Champion.
Contestants perform three routines: the Known, where they fly a pre-determined routine shared by the organization; the Unknown, as its name implies; and the Freestyle, where flyers have the freedom to showcase their own creativity. The latter is akin to the freestyle segment in international figure skating competitions, but with far less of Tchaikovsky and a whole lot more Lycoming. Holland, widely regarded as the preeminent freestyle flyer in the United States (if not the world), has dominated this segment in recent years.
Congratulations to Rob Holland and all the other competitors, as well as to the International Aerobatic Club, which is run by the EAA. Truly outstanding work by everyone!
