The purpose of CIVA’s new Open Tour Series or COTS is to establish a series of national or regional aerobatic contests open to all pilots that will be linked by a standardised points scoring system so that an overall winner and a points-based results table for the series can be published. A successful prototype event along these lines was run by Klaus Schrödt at Welzow in Germany in 2020 (the results are online here, some background info here and photos here), this excellent competition providing the spur for us to consider a more substantial version, elevated into a series for broader impact. The introduction of COTS will not affect the continuation of CIVA’s well established aerobatic championships, but we are expecting this exciting new series to provide a welcome addition to the world of top-class international aerobatic challenges.
Since the initial suggestion was favourably discussed within the bureau, CIVA’s Judging Committee chairman Pierre Varloteaux has led a major effort to develop the regulations for this brand new idea, and the first version is available here in the Document Store. Pierre has also been able to identify some potential COTS organisers in Europe for 2021, though of course we all await the outcome of Europe’s Covid vaccination programmes before these events are likely to be confirmed. If your country would be interested in contributing to COTS then please contact be sure to Pierre – he can be reached by email via the Working Groups page.
A number of aspects of COTS remain to be finalised, and we expect various regulatory developments and improvements to come from the early events. At present COTS does not enjoy formal FAI status, but a move into Category 2 to elevate it to become an FAI International Sporting Event with regional prestige could be a favoured consideration.
The bureau sincerely hopes that this entirely new and innovative progression in CIVA’s portfolio of aerobatic competitions creates a new spark of interest, and that with time and no doubt a mighty effort we will be able to enjoy a significant addition to the world of multi-country sport aviation events. Your feedback and comments on this move will be much appreciated, and we will seek to improve, adapt and adopt whatever we can to support and develop the COTS project.