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Gerald Cooper wins Best Fixed-Wing Display Award

Posted 6 July 2012 · Add Comment

British Aerobatic Champion Gerald Cooper has received the award for the Best Fixed-Wing Flying Display at 2012 RNAS Yeovilton International Air Day for his stunning, dynamic display in the XtremeAir XA41.

Performing an unlimited aerobatics display, Gerald wowed the crowds on Saturday 23 June with his awe-inspiring freestyle routine and impressed the Flying Control Committee (FCC) with maneouvres that they claim ‘appeared to defy the laws of physics and aerodynamics.’

Lt Cdr Phil Thornton, Lieutenant Commander (Flying), RNAS Yeovilton said: “Gerald’s routine was admired for the way that it appeared to defy all the laws of physics and aerodynamics and the way it made the FCC squirm uncomfortably at the thought of the amount of positive and negative G being experienced in the cockpit.”

Fitted with a 315hp Lycoming engine, flat out the XA41 is capable of over 220mph and has a roll rate of 450 degrees per second, which is one and a half times round per second. It has a climb rate of 3,500ft per nm. It is light on the controls weighs just 500 kilos and is comparable to a supercar. In fact Steve Jones Display Pilot for The Matadors compares it to a modern Bugatti.

The XtremeAir XA41 is a new carbon fibre aircraft that has superior power to weight ratio providing lots of room for a creative pilot’s imagination to invent new figures whilst expanding their own envelope. Gerald describes the XA41 as ‘a fast, good looking and incredibly light to the touch. It is also a capable tourer – with a range of 650 miles – ideal for transit between air displays and aerobatic competitions.’

It is the XA41’s impressive power to weight ratio combined with Gerald’s imaginative freestyle technique that creates such a dynamic display, demonstrating why Gerald is currently ranked as seventh in the world for competition aerobatics. Lt Cdr Phil Thornton added: “It was the only display of the day that received a spontaneous standing ovation from the crowd!”

Gerald won this highly coveted award at Yeovilton Air Day over established Fixed-Wing displays including the Royal Air Force aerobatic team the Red Arrows, RAF Tucano and Hawk Display Teams, Saudi Hawks, Sea Fury, Hawker Hunter and many more.

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