Flying upside down is probably on most pilots’ aviation bucket list. I first got to experience aerobatics in a Citabria in Alaska and the flight maneuvers were as spectacularly overwhelming as the scenery around me. Fun fact: “Citabria” comes from the name “airbatic” spelled backwards.
Pulling G’s, going inverted, and performing true spin recovery was all complete new to me. My CFI was in the back seat and so I was largely a passenger for most of it. But it got me wondering (and I asked her the question) – do you need a license or certification for aerobatics?
You do not need any special license, rating, or certification to conduct aerobatic flight (interchangeably referred to as acrobatics). 14 CFR 91.303 provides the restrictions on aerobatic flight, none of which are a particular license, rating, certification, or endorsement.
Quite honestly I find it odd that the FAA has taken this approach on aerobatics. While they aren’t necessarily dangerous in and of themselves, aerobatics are by definition maneuvers not necessary for normal flight. In the rest of this post we’ll cover what constitutes aerobatics as well as the verbatim regulations that govern them.
What Constitutes Aerobatics?
For a long time I assumed that aerobatics just meant flying inverted. I figured since we practiced steep turns in training and it’s not aerobatics that once the airplane goes inverted you crossed into a new threshold. While that’s partly true, that’s really only touching one part of the definition.
14 CFR 91.303 addresses the restrictions on regulations and says that “For the purposes of this section, aerobatic flight means an intentional maneuver involving an abrupt change in an aircraft’s attitude, an abnormal attitude, or abnormal acceleration, not necessary for normal flight.”
The FAA doesn’t cover aerobatics in grand detail, so it’s important to pull out the key components of this statement. Aerobatic flight has to have the following parameters:
Intentional Maneuver
While this might sound obvious, it’s an important distinction that the maneuver must be intentional to qualify as aerobatics. Bad turbulence or wake turbulence that can dramatically change the bank and attitude of an airplane abruptly would not be considered aerobatic, even if you did go inverted.
Abrupt Change in Attitude
This creates a little gray area if it weren’t for the following sections, but the FAA says here that the maneuver must be “abrupt” to qualify as aerobatics. How abrupt? Well, they don’t really say. Luckily the following parameters would probably solve the question. For example, if you did a very slow barrel roll and nothing about the maneuver was “abrupt”, but it was intentional, was that an aerobatic maneuver? The “abrupt” qualifier probably doesn’t answer that question, but the next three would.
Abnormal Attitude
Aerobatic flight consists of an “abnormal attitude” – this is inherently gray and in my opinion relies on the other qualifiers in order to become clearer. For example, during IFR training you will practice “unusual attitudes” – how is this different from “abnormal”? When does unusual become abnormal? I guess you could argue that unusual is still normal but just less so, whereas abnormal is truly abnormal. Either way, it’s a bit confusing here.
Abnormal Acceleration
The FAA doesn’t specifically address it this way, but I have always interpreted the term acceleration not just in terms of speed but more in line with physics in that it is a change in velocity or direction. So acceleration doesn’t necessarily mean going from 100mph to 110mph. Acceleration could be maintaining 100mph but changing direction. With this in mind, an “abnormal acceleration” could be interpreted as an abrupt change in direction, speed, or altitude.
Not Necessary for Normal Flight
I think this is an important “catch all” when determining if a maneuver is aerobatic or not. At the end of the day, was the maneuver performed necessary for normal flight? Steep turns have their place in normal flight, but going inverted or banking more than 90 degrees (or even close to it) do not. (We’ll cover it later in this post but actually turns greater than 60 degrees of bank and climbs or descents greater than 30 degrees relative to the horizon require the wearing of a parachute.) Climbing completely vertical does not have its place in normal flight. A “knife edge” maneuver down the runway does not have a place in normal flight. So back to my originally assumed definition that aerobatics meant you had to be inverted… that’s just not true. Aerobatics are maneuvers that are not necessary for normal flight.
Regulations for Aerobatic Flying
Below are the specific regulations from 14 CFR 91.303. You’ll notice that none of these regulations require any sort of license, certification, or endorsement. The FAA has left it up to the pilot to judge the safety of their skills, the certification of the aircraft, and the context of the flight conditions (there are some restrictions below) as to whether or not aerobatics can be performed. I don’t know about you but that is very surprising to me. Agree with it or not, here are the regulations on aerobatics:
14 CFR § 91.303 Aerobatic flight.
“No person may operate an aircraft in aerobatic flight –
(a) Over any congested area of a city, town, or settlement;
(b) Over an open air assembly of persons;
(c) Within the lateral boundaries of the surface areas of Class B, Class C,
Class D, or Class E airspace designated for an airport;
(d) Within 4 nautical miles of the center line of any Federal airway;
(e) Below an altitude of 1,500 feet above the surface; or
(f) When flight visibility is less than 3 statute miles.
For the purposes of this section, aerobatic flight means an intentional maneuver involving an abrupt change in an aircraft’s attitude, an abnormal attitude, or abnormal acceleration, not necessary for normal flight.”
Requirements for the Use of Parachutes
This indirectly puts some regulations on aerobatics in that you need to wear a parachute if you bank 60 or more degrees, or climb or descent more than 30 degrees relative to the horizon. This pretty much covers any and all aerobatic flight maneuver. So if you’re doing aerobatics, you need a parachute. There is a caveat you’ll notice below that you actually don’t need a parachute for spin training when receiving it from a CFI or ATP.
14 CR § 91.307 Parachutes and parachuting.
“(a) No pilot of a civil aircraft may allow a parachute that is available for emergency use to be carried in that aircraft unless it is an approved type and has been packed by a certificated and appropriately rated parachute rigger –
(1) Within the preceding 180 days, if its canopy, shrouds, and harness are composed exclusively of nylon, rayon, or other similar synthetic fiber or materials that are substantially resistant to damage from mold, mildew, or other fungi and other rotting agents propagated in a moist environment; or
(2) Within the preceding 60 days, if any part of the parachute is composed of silk, pongee, or other natural fiber or materials not specified in paragraph (a)(1) of this section.
(b) Except in an emergency, no pilot in command may allow, and no person may conduct, a parachute operation from an aircraft within the United States except in accordance with part 105 of this chapter.
(c) Unless each occupant of the aircraft is wearing an approved parachute, no pilot of a civil aircraft carrying any person (other than a crewmember) may execute any intentional maneuver that exceeds –
(1) A bank of 60 degrees relative to the horizon; or
(2) A nose-up or nose-down attitude of 30 degrees relative to the horizon.
(d)Paragraph (c) of this section does not apply to –
(1) Flight tests for pilot certification or rating; or
(2) Spins and other flight maneuvers required by the regulations for any certificate or rating when given by –
(i) A certificated flight instructor; or
(ii) An airline transport pilot instructing in accordance with § 61.67 of this chapter.
(e) For the purposes of this section, approved parachute means –
(1) A parachute manufactured under a type certificate or a technical standard order (C-23 series); or
(2) A personnel-carrying military parachute identified by an NAF, AAF, or AN drawing number, an AAF order number, or any other military designation or specification number.”
Commercial License for Aerobatics
It’s worth noting that if you are going to be performing aerobatics for remuneration (i.e. getting paid), you will need a commercial pilot’s license and a second class medical. That might be obvious, but sometimes I forget that you don’t have to be carrying passengers or cargo for your mission to qualify as one that requires a commercial license.
Aerobatics vs. Acrobatics
I have heard these two different terms used and until writing this article I was never really sure why that was or which one was correct. The best information that I could find is in the Aeronautical Information Manual in the Pilot/Controller Glossary. It says:
“Acrobatic Flight – An intentional maneuver involving an abrupt change in an aircraft’s attitude, an abnormal attitude, or abnormal acceleration not necessary for normal flight. (See ICAO term ACROBATIC FLIGHT.) (Refer to 14 CFR Part 91)
Acrobatic Flight [ICAO] – Maneuvers intentionally performed by an aircraft involving an abrupt change in its attitude, an abnormal attitude, or an abnormal variation in speed.”
In other words, it defines Acrobatics by pointing to 14 CFR 91.303 which defines Aerobatics. It’s essentially the same.
I think you could probably argue that “acrobatics” involves spectacular gymnastic feats performed by the human body, in which case referring to aero-acrobatics as just “acrobatics” would be incorrect or at least less correct than just aerobatics. Per the Aeronautical Information Manual “acrobatics” isn’t wrong to say, although I think the more generally accepted term is aerobatics when referring to aviation.
Aircraft Needs to Be Approved for Aerobatics
In case it isn’t already clearly known, I need to state that while there aren’t licenses, certifications, or endorsements you need as a pilot to go do aerobatics, the airplane you are flying definitely needs to be approved for aerobatics. Not all airframes are designed to withstand the g-forces (both positive and negative) experienced during aerobatic maneuvers, and not all airframes were designed from an aerodynamic standpoint to perform such maneuvers either. So definitely don’t take this article as a green light to hop in your Skyhawk, throw on a parachute, and do some rolls. Be sure to understand the specific limitations and certifications of your airplane.