The International Miniature Aerobatic Club UK or IMAC UK exists to promote the discipline of aerobatic flying using radio controlled scale models. Our welcoming community of pilots are extremely skilled both in the setup and flying of aerobatic aircraft and one of our key aims is sharing this knowledge and training new pilots. Taking part in this area of our sport is a great way to improve your flying skills and grow your knowledge in a way that will improve all aspects of your flying.

We use aerobatic models commonly found at the club field such as Extras, Lasers & Yaks to fly aerobatic sequences similar to those flown by full-size aerobatic aircraft. A common misconception about the IMAC discipline has been that you need a large, expensive model to compete. This couldn’t be further from the truth with many pilots finding success with smaller electric models such as the popular 60-78” class that are readily available in ARTF form from a number of manufacturers. We will support and guide any pilot with a model capable of flying a full range of aerobatics, and highly encourage new pilots to discuss models with us and seek advice on what works well for a given budget.

As a group, our activities divide into two categories; training and competitions. We have members all over the country, so you are never far from an IMAC pilot and our members are always willing to meet up and help someone get started. Training would often involve both demo flights, and then coached flights with feedback. However, the best way to fully experience the fun of IMAC and meet the group is to come along to a competition...

A competition involves a group of pilots coming together to fly sequences of manoeuvres in front of judges. Every year a ‘known’ set of manoeuvres called a ‘schedule’ are published and used at each competition that year. To allow for a range of pilot skills, the sequences are graded into ‘classes’ which range from ‘basic’ to ‘unlimited’. The entry level class is of a similar difficulty to the BMFA ‘B’ test. As a pilot flies their schedule the judges award a score from 0-10 for each manoeuvre resulting in a score being awarded for the flight. Over the course of a competition you will fly a number of flights and the pilot with the highest overall score is the winner. Being judged may seem daunting but it is also very rewarding and the feedback you receive from your scores is the driver for your development as a pilot. When a new pilot attends a competition we ensure there is plenty of support to guide you through your first steps, we certainly won’t expect you to just know what to do!

If you would like to have a go at scale aerobatics with IMAC UK, we encourage you to contact us even if you are only thinking about it or have questions. We offer a scheme for new pilots to come along to training or a competition for free before you join so you can get a better feel for what IMAC flying is about. Overall, it is a fantastic way to improve both your technical knowledge, and take your flying skills to the next level with a group of like-minded people who promote safe, precise flying whilst also having fun.

Further details may be found on our website https://imacuk.org or by emailing contact@imacuk.org.