Akrofest Brings Precision Aerobatics to Borrego Springs

Pilots take to the skies over Borrego Valley Airport for IAC Chapter 36’s annual fall competition

The skies over Borrego Valley Airport came alive October 23 and 24 as Akrofest 2026 brought competitive aerobatic pilots, specialized aircraft and a full ground crew to Borrego Springs for two days of precision flying.

Hosted by International Aerobatic Club Chapter 36, Akrofest is one of two aerobatic competitions the chapter holds each year in Borrego Springs. Chapter 36, based at Borrego Valley Airport, has promoted precision aerobatics through competition, coaching and camaraderie since 1975. The chapter says its spring and fall contests are normally among the largest regional aerobatic competitions in the country.

This year’s event was directed by Bryan Jones, with registration and practice beginning Thursday, October 22, followed by competition Friday and Saturday. Pilots gathered for mandatory morning briefings before flying began each day, and the weekend concluded with an awards banquet at Borrego Springs Resort.

Built for Aerobatics

Borrego Valley Airport has long been a destination for aerobatic pilots.

The competition box sits immediately alongside the airport’s approximately 5,000-foot runway, allowing pilots, judges, volunteers and spectators to remain close to the action throughout the contest.

Unlike an airshow, competitive aerobatics is about precision. Pilots fly prescribed sequences of loops, rolls, vertical lines, turns and other figures while judges on the ground evaluate how accurately each maneuver is performed.

The 2026 contest offered all five power categories — Primary, Sportsman, Intermediate, Advanced and Unlimited — as well as corresponding glider categories and a Four Minute Free program.

Saturday’s posted flight order included competitors in the Sportsman, Advanced and Unlimited categories.

Among them was AJ Wilder, flying an Extra 330SC. A look at AJ Wilder’s four-minute freestyle flying, like the performance he brought to the skies over Borrego Springs during Akrofest

The aircraft represented at the contest reflected the highly specialized nature of the sport. The posted flight sheet included Extras, Pitts biplanes, Decathlons, a Gamebird GB1, a Panzl S-330 and Laser aerobatic aircraft.

The Challenge of an “Unknown”

One of the distinctive elements of higher-level aerobatic competition is the Unknown sequence.

Instead of flying only a routine that has been practiced repeatedly in advance, competitors are given a new sequence to study and must then execute it accurately in the air.

A posted Flight 5 order at Akrofest Saturday was designated an “Unknown,” putting pilots’ ability to read, visualize and precisely fly a new sequence to the test.

From the ground, the result can appear almost effortless — aircraft climbing vertically into the desert sky, rolling rapidly, stopping precisely on heading and diving back toward the aerobatic box.

Behind every maneuver, however, is careful planning and exact control.

A Team on the Ground

The flying is only part of what makes an aerobatic competition possible.

Akrofest relies on judges, assistants, recorders, starters, aircraft wranglers and other volunteers to keep flights organized and scores accurately recorded.

Saturday’s volunteer assignment sheet listed Bryan Jones as chief judge, assisted by Stella Lu. Judges included Mark King, Endo, Malcolm Pond, Jennifer Watson and Dave Watson, along with additional volunteers working throughout the judging line and flight operations.

That combination of pilots and volunteers is central to IAC Chapter 36, which encourages participation even from people who do not fly. The organization notes that some of its longest-serving volunteers are not pilots at all.

A Very Borrego Competition

Akrofest is designed not only as a pilot competition but as an event the community can watch.

Aircraft stage just off the runway, judges sit alongside the competition area and spectators can watch much of the flying from the airport grounds.

And few venues provide a backdrop quite like Borrego.

Aerobatic aircraft climb against the San Ysidro Mountains before dropping back toward the desert floor, with the open landscape making even the smallest aircraft easy to follow against the sky.

For the pilots, it is a demanding precision sport.

For those watching from the ground, it is also an unmistakably Borrego Springs spectacle — high-performance aircraft, open desert and some extraordinary flying overhead.

Akrofest 2026 concluded Saturday, October 24. As of Sunday, official results had not yet been posted to the International Aerobatic Club’s online contest database.

A special shoutout to Sally W. and The Propeller for the warm hospitality.

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