A Steinbach pilot has made it two for two.

In June of this year, Luke Penner claimed top spot at the Midwest Aerobatic Championships in Nebraska. It was his first ever victory in his first ever competition. Then this week, Penner competed

(The plane flown by Luke Penner) in his second career championship, with the same result. In a field of 17 pilots, Penner finished first in the Sportsman Power category at the U.S. National Aerobatic Championship in Texas.

"It was really tough but I came out on top thankfully and pulled off another win in my second time competing," says Penner. "I feel pretty good right now."

According to Penner, the weather has been a mixed bag in Texas this week. The first day of flying had very intense rain cells which skewed visibility. Penner explains in much of the competition, the pilot is trying to set up very specific angles with the horizon. But when there is no visible horizon, he says it becomes more difficult and you have to rely much more on muscle memory. Winds on the first day were 40 miles per hour, pushing planes out of position.

Penner says there was very stiff competition in his category. After the second flight he was leading and when the third and final flight ended his hands were shaking, knowing he had flown well enough to claim top spot.

"It's a really intense sequence that I fly," says Penner. "I don't know if I was shaking because of that or because I thought I flew well. I think I flew well on my last sequence."

And the judges agreed. One hour after finishing his flight, the final scores showed an American national championship for the Steinbach pilot.

The competition season is now over for Penner and he is already looking ahead to next year. Penner says his plan is to climb to the Intermediate category. After that comes Advanced and then Unlimited. But Penner says flying in Unlimited is almost like a fulltime job. He says that is another level of commitment and dedication and would require a much more superior plane.

"I know for sure I'd like to move up to Intermediate next year and maybe one day fly Advanced but to fly Unlimited would be quite a stretch at this point," explains Penner.

Penner says he already does typically four to six practice sessions per week, lasting about thirty minutes each. He notes the Advanced and Unlimited pilots are probably flying three times per day with international coaches.

Meanwhile, Penner says unfortunately, the U.S. National Aerobatic Championship must be won by an American and though he technically had a winning score, he can't actually accept the winner's trophy. Penner says even though he only learned this after his first flight, the rules makes sense. In fact, he says he might very well be the first Canadian to win this, setting a precedent. But Penner says he is not letting this concern him. His goal was to finish in the top five and meet new people and he accomplished those goals.

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