Tier 2 · a competition in its own right
Propeller Series
One aircraft, one standard, no hiding. A spec aerobatic aircraft, league-owned and league-maintained, running the identical Combat System at 200 knots instead of 400. No budget advantage, no equipment advantage — talent is the only variable.
Ten franchise badges, two open wildcards
The grid
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Open
Open
The airframe decision
Why a propeller, and why this one
Three certified unlimited-aerobatic types met the requirement set: in current production so the league controls supply, stressed to ±10g, single-seat, globally supportable, and insurable for low-level competition flown by early-career professionals.
| Type | Unit cost | G limits | VNE |
|---|---|---|---|
| Extra 330SC | ~$450K | ±10g | 220 kt |
| GameBird GB1 | ~$500K | ±10g | 236 kt |
| Zivko Edge 540 | ~$420K | ±10g | 230 kt |
Warbirds are
deliberately excluded
Around 150 airworthy Mustangs exist worldwide and fewer Spitfires. No two are mechanically identical, which kills sporting fairness. Hull values above $3–4M make low-level combat manoeuvring effectively uninsurable, and owners will not release them to young pilots.
Heritage is captured as programming instead — invited warbird display flights inside the event schedule, in the Saturday lunch slot, without ever racing them.
A freight-friendly subset of the jet calendar